Upgrade polytechnics to med, engg colleges in rural areas: CM

New Delhi, Jan 19 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said technical education played a vital role in a country's development and called for upgrading polytechnics to medical and engineering colleges in rural areas.

''No area can progress unless it has an adequate number of educational institutions. Today Delhi has several universities imparting higher education in different areas including the technical field,'' Ms Dikshit said.

However, despite the growth of self-financing colleges of engineering and technology in and around Delhi, a large number of 10+2 science stream students still continue to move out of Delhi in pursuit of higher education in these streams, she regretted.

The Chief Minister was speaking at the dedication function of the Ch Brahm Prakash Government Engineering College, Jaffarpur.

She expressed confidence that with the commencement of this Engineering College, students of rural areas would be greatly benefited.

Ms Dikshit said to support the phenomenal growth of technical education in Delhi, the state government had established the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, which promoted the growth of self-financing institutions under its affiliation.

Paying tributes to the first Delhi Chief Minister late Ch Brahm Prakash, she announced that the Government Engineering College, Jaffarpur had been renamed after him. ''Choudhary Sahib did a lot of work for the development of the area of Jaffarpur,'' Ms Dikshit added.

Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, local MLA Ranbir Singh Kharab and Leader of Opposition in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma were present on the occasion.

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