Lok Sabha Question No. 214 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Shortage of Infrastructure Facilities in Higher Education in Hingoli District, Maharashtra
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Bapurao

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 214 ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025

## Shortage of Infrastructure Facilities in Higher Education in Hingoli District, Maharashtra

*214. Shri Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Bapurao:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Hingoli  district  is  facing  acute  shortage  of infrastructure/facilities for higher-education, including limited seats in technical, vocational and professional courses, forcing students to migrate to other districts, if so, the details thereof; (b)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  establish  new  Government  colleges,  skill development centres or upgrade existing institutions in Hingoli to improve access to quality education, if so, the details thereof; (c)  whether the Government proposes to provide special financial assistance for modern classrooms,  digital  learning  facilities  and  teacher-training  programmes  in  rural  areas  of Hingoli, if so, the details thereof; (d) whether any steps has been taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to expand scholarship and education-loan support for economically weaker students in the district; and (e) if so, the details of the steps/measures taken in this regard along with its timeline for

- implementation and if not, the reasons for delay?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) to (e): A statement is laid on the table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF  LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  214  ANSWERED  ON  15.12.2025  ASKED  BY  SHRI AASHTIKAR  PATIL  NAGESH  BAPURAO,  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF  PARLIAMENT REGARDING SHORTAGE OF INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN HINGOLI DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRA

(a) to (c): Education being in the Concurrent List, enhancing the quality of education is the responsibility of both the Central and State Governments. The Central Government has implemented various schemes for supporting State Governments.

As  per  AISHE  Report  2021-22,  there  are  7003  total  number  of  Higher  Education Institutions (HEIs) in Maharashtra. As per the latest AISHE database, there are a total of 87 HEIs in Hingoli district.

The government is implementing Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), which is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, aimed at funding specific State government Universities and Colleges, so as to improve their quality by ensuring their conformity to prescribed norms  and  standards.  The  government  has  launched  the  third  phase  of  Rashtriya Uchchatar  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (RUSA)  in  June  2023  in  the  form  of  Pradhan  Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM-USHA) with an outlay of Rs. 12926.10 crore for the period  2023-24  to  2025-26  to  cater  to  needs  of  educationally  unserved/  underserved areas. Under  the  Scheme,  support  is  provided  to States/UTs  for strengthening infrastructure, including construction of hostels, academic and administrative buildings, laboratories  and  other  facilities  required  for  improving  access  and  quality  in  higher education. In Maharashtra, a total of 144 projects have been approved for a total amount of Rs. 1431.31 Crore under various components of the scheme. Furthermore, 2 Colleges have been approved support in Hingoli district for a total amount of Rs. 9 Crores, including establishment of a new Model Degree College under the Erstwhile Model Degree College component.

University Grants Commission (UGC) has facilitated HEIs to provide skill based education under National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) in Colleges and Universities through its  scheme  of  Community  Colleges,  B.Voc  Degree  Programmes  and  Deen  Dayal Upadhyay Centres for Knowledge Acquisition and Upgradation of Skilled Human Abilities and Livelihood. UGC has also formulated the "Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions to offer Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme 2025" for offering programmes in all disciplines in universities as specified in the guidelines.

The Department is also implementing  Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP)  through  151  the  Malaviya  Mission  Teacher  Training  Centres  (MTTCs) established in various HEIs across the country, out of which, 15 MMTTCs are located in the  State  of  Maharashtra.    Approximately,  42,346  faculty  members  from  the  State  of Maharashtra, including those from rural areas of Hingoli district, have been trained under the scheme.

To address the digital divide in rural areas and improve access to online learning, several measures  have  been  undertaken.  The  UGC  has  translated  27  SWAYAM  NonTechnology  PG  MOOCs  into  regional  languages,  viz.  Hindi,  Marathi,  Bangla,  Tamil, Kannada,  Telugu  etc.  to  promote  multilingual  education.  The  translated  content  is available at http://www.ugceresources.in. The UGC e-resource portal, e-content from the e-PG Pathshala and UGC MOOC Portal have been integrated with digitalseva.csc.gov.in, a platform operated by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for rural outreach via Common Service Centres (CSCs).

Under  PM-USHA,  States/  UTs  and  Universities/  Colleges  can  undertake  various activities  aimed  at  enhancing  access,  equity  and  excellence  in  education,  including promoting  Online  Distance  Learning  (ODL)  and  online  programs  such  as  SWAYAM/ MOOCs; construction of smart classrooms/ computer labs/ research laboratories/ digital libraries  with  subscriptions  to  reputed  journals;  and  training  to  develop  21st-century skills, etc.

(d)  &  (e):  The  Department  of  Higher  Education  is  implementing  Pradhan  Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students (PM-USP CSSS). Under the Scheme, financial assistance of Rs. 18.34 Crore has been released as scholarships to 13,837 beneficiaries in 2024-25 in the State of Maharashtra.

University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  is  also  implementing  National  Scholarship  for Postgraduate Studies (NSPS) scheme to encourage higher studies by providing financial assistance. Under NSPS, financial assistance of Rs. 2.1 Crore has been released to 140 beneficiaries  in  2024-25  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra.  All  India  Council  for  Technical Education (AICTE) is also implementing various Scholarship schemes like AICTE Pragati Scholarship Scheme (Degree & Diploma), AICTE Swanath Scholarship Scheme (Degree &  Diploma),  AICTE  Saksham  Scholarship  Scheme  (Degree  &  Diploma),  AICTE  PG Scholarship Scheme, AICTE Doctoral Fellowship (ADF). Under these schemes, financial assistance of Rs. 16.47 Crore has been released to 3,268 beneficiaries in 2024-25 in the State of Maharashtra.

Further,  the  PM  Vidyalaxmi,  a  new  central  sector  scheme  has  been  launched  in November 2024. The main objective of the scheme is to ensure that no student is denied the  opportunity  to  pursue  higher  education  due  to  financial  constraints.  Under  the scheme, collateral-free and guarantor-free education loan is provided to all the students who get merit-based admission in top Quality Higher Education Institutions (QHEIs) and who desire to avail the education loan and there is no upper limit for this. Further, for students with annual family income up to ₹ 8 lakh, the scheme provides 3%  interest subvention on education loans up to ₹ 10 lakhs. Since launch of PM Vidyalaxmi Portal in February, 2025, a total of 4,559 education loans have been sanctioned to the students belonging to Maharashtra for a total amount of Rs. 724.73 Crore.

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