Education and Universities
In the early 1900s, the people in Orissa were not ready to embrace the British education that was being forced upon them. Education was not considered a priority throughout the state.
However, things have changed in recent years. India’s government has pushed the idea of primary and secondary education. Programs such as the mid-day meal program which provides free lunch to students who attend school as helped to increase the attendance of young students throughout India.
Young people in Orissa have now begun to understand the importance of a quality education. As high tech jobs move into Orissa, they understand that they must receive a university education in order to obtain these positions.
There is still a large discrepancy between the amount of men and the amount of women who are literate. Approximately 76% of men can read compared to only 50% of women. The overall literacy rate in Orissa is around 63% which is slightly lower than the 64% which is India’s average.
There is a very high drop out rate in Orissa education. At the primary school level, over 35% of girls and 31% drop out. Once students reach the high school level, 62% of boys and 66% of girls drop out.
Orissa is home to many colleges and universities. There are nine universities here and over a thousand schools of secondary education. The federal government has not provided Orissa with any prominent colleges or universities. However, private investments are making possible the opening of Vendata University. It is being modeled after American Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Stanford. It will cost over three billion dollars to complete. When it opens, it will be home to over a hundred thousand students and twenty thousand faculty members. This will make it one of the largest universities in the world.
Also being built in Orissa is the National Institute of Science Education and Research which is located in Bhubaneswar. It will have a focus not only on education, but becoming a top research facility.
There are twenty four engineering and technical institutes in Orissa. They are located in cities such as Bhadrak, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, and Rayagada.
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