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Bengal

Do not become centres of earning: Partha to pvt institutes

Kolkata: The state Higher Education department is pitching for disbursement of scholarships to students of private institutions through the department itself. State Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday that a proposal regarding the same has already been given to the Association of Professional Academic Institution (APAI) which is the sole representative of all the self-financed engineering and technological institutions in the state.
"The aim of the state government is to ensure that needy and meritorious students get concessions. However, in case of private institutes, things are not happening as desired. Whatever happens, when we set up a private university, we are subjected to criticism. In many cases, we have come across loopholes in the standard of education imparted by them. The government has a role to play in this regard," Chatterjee said addressing a seminar on Higher and Technical Education organised by the weekly Sangrami Ma Mati Manus magazine.
The minister mentioned that in recent times there have been a number of cases when allegations have been raised against the government for irregularities at various institutes even when it is not controlled by the same.
"The government will not compromise with the standard of education imparted by the private colleges or universities," he added.
In a word of caution to the private institutes, the minister reiterated that institutes should not be converted into a "places of earning" from "places of learning".
The minister's outburst comes in the wake of a number of complaints of exorbitant fees charged by a number of private institutions. According to Chatterjee, the skilled manpower available in Bengal has the potential to serve the entire world in the days to come.
"Money and infrastructure is not enough. Manpower is most important and Bengal wants to contribute in a big way in the supply chain of skilled manpower. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dreams of Biswa Bangla and Bengal has the potential to rule the world in skilled manpower," he maintained.
Chatterjee also highlighted the progress made by the Education and Technical Education department and stated that nearly 50,000 students from other states now come to Bengal to pursue education.
"We have given the nod to as many as 46 colleges to impart education at the post-graduate level. We are also ushering in a change in syllabus at the graduation level with an aim to make the young generation more employable," he said.
Purnendu Basu, minister of Technical Education, Training and Skill Development was also present at the event.
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