Maharashtra will waive academic fees for girls whose families earn no more than Rs. 8 lakh

The Maharashtra state government has approved a full academic tuition waiver for girls from households making no more than Rs 8 lakh or less in an effort to encourage the enrollment of females in higher education. The money will be reimbursed by the state. The policy is probably going to encourage more females to enroll in college.

Chandrakant Patil, the minister of higher and technical education for Maharashtra, made this announcement on February 2 during the Joint Board of Vice-Chancellors (JBVC) meeting. In the same category, there was a 50% academic fee waiver recently, and that waiver is now 100%. Patil went on to say that colleges should make an effort to guarantee that more women be admitted to programs in higher education across a range of disciplines. She also asked venture capital firms to launch targeted campaigns in support of this goal, emphasizing the significance of institutions announcing results on schedule.

In his role as Chancellor of all state institutions, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais convened the Joint Board of Vice-Chancellors (JBVC) and counseled all VCs to announce results on schedule. According to an Indian Express story, he said, “This is important to ensure that students do not miss out on their academic years or job opportunities, due to delay in results.”

Last year, the governor had also censured institutions for their tardiness in releasing findings. He had said that VCs will be held accountable for any delays in the release of marksheets and the announcement of results.

Speaking on the need for skilled labor in India from nations like Germany, Japan, and Israel, Governor Ramesh Bais emphasized the need for colleges to provide programs that are both skill-based and career-oriented. Additionally, he gave the Vice Chancellors instructions to take 10 villages within the purview of their respective university in order to promote social and academic advancement in rural regions.

Universities were also instructed by the governor to participate more in the National Institutional Ranking Framework. He asked colleges to provide a comprehensive report on how the National Education Policy (NEP) was implemented and what steps were made.

Additionally, Minister of Skill Development Mangal Prabhat Lodha declared plans to set up skill centers in every university, providing students with training to get jobs and businesses.

Chief Secretary Nitin Karir called on colleges to provide private university students internships in government and semi-government agencies, stressing the value of students acquiring a variety of languages and abilities. With a proposal to eliminate GST on associated costs, the state government hopes to expedite scholarship payouts. This proposal will be reviewed at the next GST Council meeting.

The meeting’s agenda was presented by Vikas Rastogi, principal secretary of the department of higher and technical education. It included introducing new credit courses, addressing issues faced by autonomous colleges, implementing the Maha-Swayam online learning platform, and expanding the internship policy to include several state government departments prior to cabinet approval.