Higher education neglected in Telangana: NITI Aayog

A major chunk of the enabler ranking was based on Telangana’s initiatives in improving the ‘Human capital’ in which the State scored low. 
NITI Aayog ( File Photo | PTI)
NITI Aayog ( File Photo | PTI)

HYDERABAD:  The India Innovation Index report released by the NITI Aayog highlights the neglect faced by higher education, school education and science from the Telangana government and underpins the need for the government to invest more in the ‘demographic dividend’ of the State. 

Telangana was ranked fourth for overall performance in innovation among all states. However what has to be noted is that the State has been ranked ninth in the ‘Enablers’ category, which is actually the measure of a State’s capacity for innovativeness. 

A major chunk of the enabler ranking was based on Telangana’s initiatives in improving the ‘Human capital’ in which the State scored low. Human capital includes parameters like Enrolment in PhD, higher education institutions with NAAC grade A and above, percentage of schools with ICT labs, percentages of colleges connected through National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). 

Telangana also scores low on expenditure in science, technology and environment, State government expenditure on higher and technical education. The State also scored low on private R7D institutions in the State, Number of industrial clusters and industrial designs by origin. The State’s higher overall ranking is mainly due to the high score in the economics and industrial side of the innovation which included parameters like FDI inflow, ICT exports, presence of high and medium-tech manufacturing industries, number of incubator centres and Ease of doing business score. 

Telangana can take a cue from its neighbours. While Karnataka was ranked overall first and third in the enabler category, Maharashtra was ranked third overall and first in the enabler category. The former vice-chancellor of the Osmania University in Hyderabad, Prof Tirupati Rao, points out that the State government has a very important role to play in improving the quality of school, higher education and research and that it needs to do much more than what it is doing.

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