Nishant Saxena

The BJP led hotbed of politics in India, Uttar Pradesh is all set to be home to India’s first education township in India. During a recent meeting with representatives of Deloitte India, the consultancy firm appointed to explore and suggest ways to make Uttar Pradesh a $1 trillion economy, the state’s Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, directed his officials to prepare a comprehensive action plan for setting up five education townships in the State on the premise of ‘Single Entry, Multiple Exit’.

Likening the move to the concept of Gurukulas, where an individual entered as a child and exited as a worldly-wise individual capable of making meaningful contributions to society in various ways, Vice Chancellor of the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University, Prof NB Singh avers, “This was a much-awaited move. It is perfectly in sync with the New Education Policy and shall certainly pay huge dividends in the long run.” He adds, “Such a structure will ensure holistic growth of a student and will ensure that an academic degree awarded to an individual is not just a piece of paper and is in fact a certification of fantastic skills an individual possesses.”

Officials privy to the development say the idea is to build these townships on the lines of the ones found in USA. The end goal is to enhance the quality of education in the state.

“This is a piece of fantastic news. I wish this happened five years ago when my daughter had to leave the State to pursue engineering. But now, it seems such world-class education townships will not only minimize such avoidable relocations but will also ensure better career avenues for children,” feels Vinod Kumar Pandey, a Lucknow-based government servant.

Considering the fact that it is home to over 240 million people and is the largest sub-national entity in the world, it does not have the kind of educational infrastructure, that a geography of such proportions should have. Barring the IIT Kanpur and the IIM Lucknow, there are hardly any educational institutions, which a student would aspire to join in the hope of graduating with a successful career.

Towards this end, the government looks at the private sector as a major part of the supply chain. It is expected that prestigious government and private universities of the country and the world will have their presence in these townships.

The Government also has plans for school-level education. There will be primary and secondary schools like Atal Residential Schools in the same place.

Talking about school-level education, Dr. Sunita Gandhi, a well-known educator whose family runs City Montessori School, the world’s largest school, welcomes the idea as something “positive and brilliant”. Commenting on the development, while onboard a Chicago-bound aircraft, she says, “Anything that prepares individuals for jobs and equips them with skills that enables them to find fitment in multiple job environments is certainly a welcome move.” Underlining the relevance of soft skills and skills in computer usage, she says, “It is observed that youngsters often do not have basic skills like writing a letter or using a computer for some basic functions. But these simple skills can prove to be a game-changer when it comes to finding a job. Having a setup that promotes such a culture is certainly going to help our youth.” She concludes saying, “It will however be easy to see how they ultimately set it up and what all is on offer.”

Highlights of the proposed education townships in Uttar Pradesh

1. Prestigious government and private universities of the country and the world will be able to open their campuses in the township.
2. There will be primary and secondary schools like Atal Residential Schools in the same place.
3. Universities and colleges will be established for undergraduate and postgraduate studies wherein studies and research works related to management, technology, law, and medicine will be carried out.
4. The education township will also feature skill development universities where training will be imparted to the youth in different types of skills. Besides, many other coaching institutes like Abhyudaya will be started in these education townships so that more and more students can be successful in competitive examinations like NEET, IIT, Union Public Service Commission, etc to be held in the country and the state.
5. Accommodations will be provided to both teachers and students in the township.
6. With the introduction of the ‘Single Entry, Multiple Exit’ system in the state, students will be able to avail of cheap education loans.
The idea seems brilliant on paper and experts welcome it, but much depends on its execution and subsequent outcomes. So, it now remains to be seen how it is executed and what value it adds to the overall quality of education in UP.

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