Centre announces plan to establish virtual university; proposal expected to find mention in Budget 2021

The Union government has on Friday announced that it will establish a virtual university to boost technology adoption in education. The central government also indicated that the Budget 2021-22 may give it a special attention.According to a report in Mint, the education ministry has said that the government will soon take necessary steps to establish virtual universities, which will be different from the concept of open universities. The education ministry added that this will help in achieving the desired GER (gross enrolment ratio in higher education, as envisaged in the National Education Policy.According to a report in The Indian Express, education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank held a meeting in this regard, which senior officials of the ministry attended. .Pokhriyal also reportedly said that the branding of Study in India programme should be taken up on a wider scale.The National Education Policy (NEP) unveiled last year had envisaged the establishment of a National Education Technology Forum, to work as a platform for free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to improve learning, assessment planning and administration for school; and higher education.