State's only skills varsity awaits campus, teachers

In March 2021, the state legislature cleared the way to establish the Maharashtra State Skills University (MSSU), a one-of-its-kind varsity dedicated to skill-based and employment-oriented higher education.

- MUSAB QAZI

The institute would train and provide jobs to a large number of youths through an industry-aligned curriculum, it was announced. The varsity was to have six sub-campuses, dubbed as Centres of Excellence (CoE), one each in the state’s six revenue divisions.

Three years on, these lofty plans still appear to be a distant dream as the state is yet to put some of the basics in place. While the institute started its first academic session in 2022, it is yet to get a permanent campus or a regular faculty. As a result, the nascent varsity rents classroom spaces and hires contractual faculty to teach its 300-odd students.

The idea of setting up skills universities came to the fore after the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre in 2014. While the Union government initially began the process of establishing national skills universities, and even came out with a draft bill, the plan was shelved in 2018. Instead, the Centre decided to allow the states to establish these varsities as per specific needs.

Varsity Sans Staff