Vocational Training University in Maharashtra needed: Governor

Updated on: Monday, August 22, 2011

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan called for creating a 'Vocational Training University' that would create a large pool of skilled manpower in the state.

Recalling that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set the goal of creating 500 million skilled manpower in the country by the year 2022, the Governor asked the universities in Maharashtra to design and develop skill based courses of short term duration both for university students and for students outside the higher education system including the school dropouts.

The Governor, who is also Chancellor of Universities in the state, was addressing the meeting of Vice Chancellors of non-agricultural universities in the state in Pune.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Minister for Higher and Technical Education Rajesh Tope, Vice Chancellors and Pro Vice Chancellors of non agricultural universities were present.

"Today it is easy to get an engineer, but difficult to find a skilled worker like a plumber, carpenter or an electrician to do small household jobs," the Governor said.

He asked universities to design skill based programmes in relevant trades in as many trades as possible to create employable manpower in the state, according to an official release.

The Governor expressed concern over the state of science education in Maharashtra saying that the situation is 'far from encouraging'. He said few students are going for graduation in pure sciences and fewer are pursuing post graduation in pure sciences.

The Governor asked universities to ensure that vacant posts of Principals and teachers are filled up without delay.

Calling for administrative reforms in Universities, Sankaranarayanan directed the Vice Chancellors to declare results of examinations within the stipulated period and to take serious cognisance of every complaint received from student and other stakeholders.

The Chief Minister said that unlike countries like Saudi Arabia which are rich in mineral resources, India is rich in human resources, and therefore the country can meet its aspiration for development only by developing its human resources through education.

It is "disturbing" that almost 50 per cent posts of teachers are lying vacant in our colleges and universities, Chavan said. Innovative solutions are needed to fill up the posts of principals and teachers in the state, he said.

If required, the UGC should be requested to dilute the norms of appointment of Principals and teachers as there was no point in keeping these posts vacant, he said.

The Chief Minister said that every college in the state should be accredited by the NAAC and its ranking be posted on the website.

Mentioning that not a single university in Maharashtra features in the top 200 universities in the world, he said hard decisions will have to be taken to enhance the standards of higher education in the state.

Vocational Training University in Maharashtra needed: Governor

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