The Rajasthan government — as part of its strategy to upgrade the education sector in the state — has charted a major plan to promote scientific temperament among the youth.
“For this, the state government proposes to set up science parks and centres in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur,” a senior state government official said.
Besides, he said, planetariums will be constructed in Jodhpur, Kota and Udaipur at a cost of about Rs 10 crore each.
The state government is also busy establishing big international-level institutes like Rajasthan Centre of Advanced Technology (RCAT), Rajiv Gandhi Digital Fintech University-cum-Institute and Rajasthan Institute of Advanced Learning, among others.
The government also plans to establish APJ Abdul Kalam Institute of Biotechnology in Jaipur. It will provide research & development and certification courses related to the government’s priority areas of health and pharmacy, agriculture and bioinformatics. It is estimated to cost around Rs 300 crore.
To give a further push to mining, the state government also plans to establish a mining university in the Kota division.
Apart from this, government colleges and girls’ colleges will be opened to expand higher education in the state.
To upgrade Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the state, the state government has decided to set up smart classrooms in 66 ITIs during the current financial year.
Meanwhile, the state government has approved setting up the Rajasthan State Faculty Development Academy (RSFDA) for educational reforms and orientation in the field of higher education.
“With this approval, 120,000 college-going students and 45,000 students studying in Class XI and XII will get soft skills training,” said the state government official.