UP to invest Rs 300 crore in new ITIs, polytechnics

250 industrial training institutes and 50 polytechnics to come up in backwards areas of the state.

To strengthen the technical education sector in Uttar Pradesh, the state government is planning to set up 250 industrial training institutes (ITIs) and 50 polytechnics at a total investment of about Rs 300 crore. The new institutions will mostly come up in the hitherto un-served and economically backward areas such as eastern UP and Bundelkhand regions.

“In the first phase, 60 ITIs and 20 polytechnics will be established during this fiscal,” Alok Ranjan, principal secretary (vocational and technical education department), told Business Standard.

All these institutions will be set up in the private sector and the state government will act as a facilitator and catalyst. “We have already received several proposals from interested private parties and things will start rolling after the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.

Besides, the state will be setting up institutions of excellence, on the lines of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), with an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore, Ranjan said.

“The state government is serious about developing skill sets required by the industry and produce quality workforce in sufficient numbers to cater to the rising demand,” he added.

Meanwhile, the state government’s proposal to hand over 25 polytechnics and 125 ITIs to private partners after the bidding process had been put on hold due to stiff opposition from the employees.“Since the employees are opposing this plan, we have decided to concentrate on setting up new institutions at present,” Ranjan said.

Earlier, the state government had formed a committee to study the private-public-partnership (PPP) model being followed in other states. The six-member committee, led by UP special secretary (technical education) Ram Ganesh, had visited Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Haryana to study the PPP model in technical education. It submitted the report to the department in January this year.

The committee also gave a representation to the agitating UP State ITI & Polytechnic Joint Action Committee, which alleged that the state was planning to privatise institutions that have valuable land worth several hundred crores of rupees under the PPP garb.

There are about 106 polytechnics and 156 ITIs located at prime locations in UP. They have a total staff strength of around 20,000 including teachers and employees.