Gurgaon must learn from G Noida

Three universities and over 70 engineering and management colleges have helped the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida emerge as a major education hub in the NCR. Besides students from across the country, international students from around 30 nations come to study here. Kapil Datta reports.

Three universities and over 70 engineering and management colleges have helped the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida emerge as a major education hub in the NCR. Besides students from across the country, international students from around 30 nations come to study here.

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Industrial centres at Noida, Surajpur and Kasna Industrial areas and the future development of industrial sectors in Greater Noida motivated the town planners to develop education hubs. This facilitated the supply of trained manpower for industries and good placement opportunities for the students. No wonder then that companies from Gurgaon look for qualified staff in Noida and Greater Noida.

"During the planning stage we had earmarked space for knowledge parks to set up schools and technical colleges. Our vision was to develop good education centers for the National Capital Region," said Brijesh Kumar, former Chairman Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority.

"Due to the readily available qualified employees several multinational companies have been opting for twin cities over rest of the towns in NCR," added Dinesh Jain, president, Noida Management Association.

The city's ambience also scores with the students coming to study in the institutes here. "The city is clean and green. The quiet environment here is ideal for studying," says Ritwik Das from Bangladesh who is pursuing B.Tech from an institute in Greater Noida.

And it's close to home for many students. For Sarwat Usmani, Assistant Station Director, AIR, and resident of Sector Beta, Greater Noida, higher education for his children did not mean they had to live away from home. "Our children do not have to go out of town to study engineering or management. My son is studying at Galgotia College, barely 10 minutes away from our house. My daughter is in class XII and she wants to become doctor and there is a medical college too in the vicinity."