Agartala, March 2 (IANS): The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is very low in the northeast region and it can be improved by setting up a Virtual Education Trust (VET), an official has said.

"The northeast region in the last decade has progressed in providing higher education and it has also made progress in GER, but is still much below the national average," S.S. Mantha, chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said here Saturday.

While delivering a speech at the 6th convocation of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala, he said: "The northeast region can set an example by providing an impetus to the growth paradigm by creating alternate systems like VET skill building and education."

VET is a team of professional who have vast experience in the field of higher education and have worked in various reputed universities of India.

VET was established in 2001 with the objective of providing modern education with special emphasis on information technology and management through virtual and distance learning modes.

The AICTE chief said that out of 650 plus districts in the country, almost 250 are terror prone. "This is the result of social and economic inequities and education in our country should ensure that such inequities are narrowed down."