Kolkata, July 18, 2025: West Bengal government has invested heavily in setting up requisite infrastructure to promote education both at the school level and towards higher education by setting up colleges and universities. Besides, the government is working extensively to promote digital education which are leading to positive changes, Binod Kumar, Principal Secretary School & Higher Education (Additional), West Bengal, said.
This has helped the State to achieve significant stride in the field of education in the last 10-12 years.
“In the last 14-15 years if we see the kind of work the state government has done, then the budget for school education in 2010-11 was Rs 829 crores, which has increased to Rs 10,260 crores in the 2024-25; for higher education it was Rs 1,724 crore which has increased to Rs 6,404 crore. The number of universities, which was at only 12 in 2010-11 currently stands at 46 universities (31 state universities and 15 private universities); the number of higher education institutions has increased from 1,056 to 2,049 and we have added 7,260 schools in the last 12-13 years and now the number of schools stands at 57,690. The gross enrollment ratio in 2010-11 was 13.24 lakhs which is now 27.22 lakhs, the gender parity was 42 per cent which now has come to 50 per cent, so we are very happy as there are equal number of boys and girls in the education field,” Kumar said while speaking at the 9th edition of The EduMeet 2025, organised by Assocham here on Friday.
The event saw the release of the Assocham EY Knowledge report on AI as a catalyst for Education Delivery.
UK and India present a huge opportunity for collaborating in the field of education, H.E. Dr Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India, said. UK is estimated to have issued as many as 1.3 – 1.4 lakh students visa to Indians last year.
“Students going to the UK have the benefit of the graduate visa route. When we changed our policy a few years ago to give that opportunity, we’ve seen a huge amount of success. I think 43,000 graduate route visas were granted to India last year, ending March 2024. That’s an immense number. So, I think it’s definitely an attraction and more students have chosen to go to the UK because of this opportunity,” Fleming said.
Australia is well placed as an education community to partner with India across not just the university but also the secondary and vocational and skills training sectors and other aspects of education, said Kevin Goh, Acting Consul General, Consulate General of Australia.
“There are three main elements to our cooperation in education. Firstly, at the people-to-people level, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, known as ECTA, that came into force at the end of 2022, includes mobility outcomes that foster people-to-people links and contribute to this cultural exchange between Australia and India. Mutually beneficial skills and knowledge transfer between Australia and India is now also possible under the Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early Professionals Scheme, or the MATES scheme, as we call it. This enables the temporary mobility of Indian university graduates and early career professionals with qualifications in fields such as engineering, AI, ICT and renewable energy, among others. In the other direction, it’s also important to mention that under Australia’s New Colombo Plan, or NCP program, groups of Australian university students are having the opportunity to come and study for periods of time in India, alongside Indian students, which again reinforces not just education and skills, but also the deep personal connections between the two countries,” Goh said.
While talking about globalising education and achieving excellence, it is important to brainstorm on one small aspect and that is to bring the “best brain” to come in as teachers, said Dilip Shah, Rector and Dean of Student Affairs, The Bhawanipur Education Society College.
“Why is that we do not attract these people? At the end of it all, no matter what we say, I think regularization is one of the key factors, working conditions, the kind of exposure, the kind of allowances that they get,” he said.
Assocham leadership Taranjit Singh, Chairman, Assocham Eastern Region Development Council and Manoj Joshi, Chairman, Higher Education Council – East, Assocham, shared the vision and commitment to education sector.