Revision as of 21:28, 4 June 2018

Private universities

As in 2018

Ritu Dutta, June 3, 2018: The Times of India

Courses on offer
From: Ritu Dutta, June 3, 2018: The Times of India

Private universities have changed the education landscape of tier II cities like Jaipur. These universities offer a wide variety of courses, and this provides students with more choice...

The educational scenario in the state of Rajasthan has undergone a seachange in the last decade. Getting admission into government-funded colleges and universities used to be the only way for aspiring students but today the choice is vast. With private universities entering the market, students have been given an alternative path to higher education. Jaipur itself has around nine private universities.

Also, these universities are offering off-beat courses providing more opportunity for students to opt for a subject of their choice. "While earlier, we only thought of going for a history, political science or zoology or English, now there is a vast array of subjects to choose from," says Avantika Chabbra, a first year student, "I was an arts student but I wasn't interested in going for a simple BA. I was always interested in astrology, so I opted for a course in Vedic astrology. It is interesting and in future I can start my own business of reading and making astrological charts."

From courses in animation, mass communication, fashion technology, languages, literature and society, law and governance, social work, pharmaceutical, communication and signal processing, clinical research to business law, these universities offer a plethora of choices for students.

And for those looking to make the most of their three-year degree course, there is also an opportunity to go for an integrated dual course like BTech and MTech or a BTech combined with an MBA. "I have opted to do my BTech along with MBA, since I wanted to do an MBA anyway after the completion of my degree," says Naveen Kothari.

These courses offer students a better chance to get employed soon after they complete the course. "Most students aim to get a good job soon after their studies are completed. And these universities with the courses they offer, help students to achieve their goal," says Kiran Bharti, an educationist, "Many of my students have started their own business after doing a course in physiotherapy and astrology and are happy with what they are doing."

Says Sandeep Bakshi, chancellor of Jaipur National University, "Private universities have been instrumental in the introduction of innovative, integrated and dual degree programmes that are today attracting students from all over the country. Not only do these programmes save time but also money, giving students real value for their money."

Statistics, higher education

2017: more girls than boys higher education

In a first, more girls than boys enrol in Raj colleges, October 9 2017: The Times of India

For the first time in history , Rajasthan Higher Education department has recorded more girls than boys in enrolments at higher education institutes. For the academic year 2016-17, the department has recorded a total enrolment of 4.67 lakh girls against 4.65 lakh boys at colleges, universities and diploma centres.

“Girls enrolment percentage touched 50.07% while boys at 49.93% in Rajasthan,“ the department's report stated.

Sources said it took 17 years for the state to attain 100% growth in girls' enrolment in institutes. Figures reveal that barely 50 girls were enrolled for every 100 boys in 2000-01.Now, that has doubled with 101 girls against 100 boys in 2016-17. The progress is reflective in the share of girls in all the streams. Girls have superseded boys in humanities with 3,19,935 enrolments while boys with 2,70,745 in the year 2016-17. Girls are also heading closer to boys in the Science stream. Experts have attributed the rise to the exponential growth in the number of girls' colleges from 100 in 1997-98 to 482 in 2016-17.

“The enrolment of girls in Science stream was 43.7% while for boys it was 56.3%,“ read the report. Girls are also fast picking with boys in law and agricultural courses. The data says that 5,412 girls enrolled in law while boys were 12,665 enrolled.

While, the national figures for 2016-17 were not available, it has also shown a considerable increase in girls' enrolment. In 2015-16, 48% girls had enrolled in higher educational institutes, showing a massive growth of 23.92% from the previous year. According to experts, this growth is highest in the country.