UP cabinet clears three new pvt univs, number goes up to 56

Lucknow: The state cabinet on Monday approved the establishment of three private universities in the state, a move aimed at expanding access to quality higher education and strengthening research and skill-oriented learning opportunities for students.

With this, UP now has 56 universities that are run and managed by private players.The decisions were taken after evaluation under the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act, 2019, higher education minister Yogendra Upadhyay said.The first of the three private universities that got approval is Maharshi Mahesh Yogi International Agriculture University, established by Swami Brahmanand Saraswati Charitable Trust, Delhi, on 51.7 acres in Bilhaur tehsil of Kanpur Nagar.

“The university is expected to boost agricultural education and research in the state,” Upadhyay said.Named Ajay Kumar Garg University, the second university will be set up by the Indian Institute of Management and Engineering Society in Dasna, Ghaziabad, on 26.2 acres of land. According to officials, the sponsoring institution already runs medical and engineering colleges and plans to expand its higher education offerings through the new university.

The third university, Thakur Yugraj Singh University, will be established by Anglo Sanskrit College in Fatehpur on 20.4 acres of land.“Higher education infrastructure has seen rapid expansion since 2017. While UP had 14 govt universities before 2017, the number today stands at 22. Likewise, the number of private universities increased significantly — from 27 in 2017 to 56 after adding the three new ones,” he said.