Nitish backs 33% quota for girls in tech colleges

PATNA: Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said onethird of seats in medical and engineering colleges in the state should be reserved for girl students.

Kumar made this announcement during the course of presentation of by the departments of health and science and technology about setting up of medical and engineering universities in the state.

The CM said reserving seats for girls would encourage them to come forward for higher and technical educations in large numbers. “The establishment of the varsities would facilitate better management of engineering and medical colleges and 33 per cent of seats in these colleges should be reserved for girls,” he said. “It will also go a long way in ensuring a higher enrolment of girls in these technical institutes of higher learning,” he said.

The latest move is in line with the Nitish Kumar government’s emphasis on women empowerment and girls’ education.

Earlier, the state government had increased scholarship amount for girl students under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana. Girls completing graduation will now be provided Rs 50,000 while those passing intermediate (class 12) would be getting a scholarship of Rs 25,000. Earlier, graduate girls or those with an equivalent degree were provided Rs 25,000, while intermediate girls received Rs 10,000.

Kumar said his government was committed to ensuring there was a sufficient number of medical and engineering colleges so that boys and girls interested in these disciplines did not feel compelled to migrate to other states for their studies.