1,225 qualified teachers to teach in engr. colleges in backward areas

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : To fulfil the vision of PM Narendra Modi to provide thrust to good quality technical and higher education in the backward areas of the country, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has recruited more than 1,200 highly qualified and motivated graduates including from IITs and NITs to teach in Engineering Colleges in States/UTs like Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand etc. This is the first time that such a measure has been taken to improve the quality of education.

Addressing a press conference Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on January 31, 218, said that these bright minds will bring with them the openness to innovation, new methods of teaching and enthusiasm to serve and act as agents of change. He said that this initiative will help meet the aspirations of youth in the backward areas and fulfil the vision of Prime Minister. He hoped that these teachers would contribute to the entire educational eco-system of the backward areas, apart from promoting a start-up culture among students.

A public appeal was issued to the MTech and PhD students from the premier institutions to express interest to work in these backward areas and serve the nation. There was an overwhelming response to the call and more than 5,000 highly qualified persons applied. The interviews were conducted in 20 NITs by constituting expert teams, according to a PIB release.

The entire process of giving a call and selection has been completed through a competitive and rigorous process of selection done through NITs in a record 2-month period. Finally, 1,225 candidates were selected and they have joined 53 colleges in these states. The new faculty will train the youngsters in host of technical institutions for the next 3-years.

Each of the new faculty will be paid Rs 70,000 per month and the Government is planning to spend about Rs 375 crore in 3-year period on this initiative. With this measure, more than 1 lakh engineering students in the most backward areas would be benefited with better quality education.

The reason for backwardness was essentially lack of quality teachers in these areas. Many of these institutions have vacancies of teaching faculty (some of them have 40% vacancies), The States have requested Ministry of HRD to help find teaching support.