Education in Uttar Pradesh
The state of Uttar Pradesh had a small tradition of learning, although it had remained mostly confined to the elite class and the religious establishment.
Sanskrit-based education comprising the learning of Vedic to Gupta periods, coupled with the later Pali corpus of knowledge and a vast store of ancient to medieval learning in Persian/Arabic languages, had formed the edifice of Hindu-Buddhist-Muslim education, till the rise of British power.
But, the system became decadent as it missed the advancements that were taking place in Europe during and after the Renaissance, resulting in large educational gaps.
The increase in overall literacy rate is due to persistent multi-pronged efforts made by the state government: to enrol and retain children, specially of weaker sections, in schools; to effectively implement the adult education programmes; and to establish centres of higher education.
One more notable feature in the state has been the persistence of higher levels of illiteracy in the younger age group, more so in females, especially in the rural areas.
In order to make the population totally literate, steps are being taken by the government to involve public participation, including the help of NGOs and other organisations.
Some of the oldest educational institutions – founded by the British, the pioneer educationalists and other social/religious reformers – are still functional.
In addition, a number of highly competitive ivy league centres of higher or technical education have been established since Independence.
Most schools in the state are affiliated to Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (commonly referred to as U.P.
board) with English or Hindi as the medium of instruction, while schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) with English as medium of instruction are also present.
Considering the size of Uttar Pradesh, it is not surprising that it has a large number of academic and research institutes.
A good number of State and Central Government universities are founded in Uttar Pradesh to provide Higher Education in various course works.
The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOP&NG), Government of India set up the institute at Jais, Rae Bareli district, Uttar Pradesh through an Act of Parliament.
At present in Uttar Pradesh, 137[2] Government Degree Colleges has been established to fulfill the above criteria.
Most of the money for the university came from Hindu princes, and its present 1,350-acre (5.5 km2) campus was built on land donated by the Kashi Naresh.
Regarded as one of the largest residential universities in Asia,[7] it has more than 128 independent teaching departments; several of its colleges—including science, linguistics, law, engineering (IIT (BHU) Varanasi) and medicine (IMS-BHU)—are ranked amongst the best in India.
Located in the city of Aligarh, it was among the first institutions of higher learning established during the British Raj.
It basically focusses on research and offers integrated dual-degree courses in engineering, biotechnology, Bsc, BBA+MBA, BBA+LLB, humanities and Buddhist studies.
Its campus is spread over 511 acres and is located in Greater Noida in close proximity to many industrial units.
The institute was conferred deemed university status in 2000, empowering it to award degrees following the setting of its own examinations.
IIITA has an extension campus at Amethi, Sultanpur District (the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology).
It provides technical education, research and training in such programs as engineering, technology, architecture, town planning, pharmacy and applied arts and crafts which the central government decrees in consultation with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The campus Vidya Vihar is located off Rae Bareli Road, about 10 km south of the Charbagh railway station in Lucknow.
The university's Institute of Engineering and Technology was established in 1995, and it has a successful job-placement bureau throughout India for graduating students.
