Eklavya University is a state private university located in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was established under a Madhya Pradesh state legislative enactment as a self-financed private university and offers undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes across a range of disciplines. The university serves the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, an area that has historically had limited access to higher education institutions.
| Name | Eklavya University |
|---|---|
| Type | State private university |
| Location | Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Country | India |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Madhya Pradesh |
Private universities in Madhya Pradesh are constituted through individual state legislation, and each is regulated by the Madhya Pradesh Niji Vishwavidyalaya Viniyamak Aayog (Madhya Pradesh Private Universities Regulatory Commission). Like other private universities in the state, Eklavya University derives its degree-granting authority from the University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956, by virtue of being established through a state Act.
The university is named after Eklavya, the self-taught archer from the Mahabharata, a figure widely invoked in Indian education to symbolise dedication to learning.
Damoh is a district headquarters in the Sagar division of Madhya Pradesh, situated in the Bundelkhand region. The town is connected by rail on the Katni–Bina section and by road to Sagar, Jabalpur and Katni. The presence of a private university in Damoh forms part of the broader expansion of higher education infrastructure into smaller cities of central India during the 2010s and early 2020s.
The university typically organises its teaching through faculties and schools covering areas such as engineering and technology, management, commerce, computer applications, sciences, humanities, social sciences, education, law, agriculture, and paramedical and allied health studies. Programmes are offered at the diploma, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels, with admission generally based on qualifying examination performance and, where applicable, entrance tests.
As a private university established under state legislation, Eklavya University is headed by a Chancellor, with academic and administrative leadership exercised by the Vice-Chancellor. Statutory bodies typically include the Board of Governors, the Board of Management, the Academic Council and the Finance Committee, in line with the model framework prescribed for private universities in Madhya Pradesh.
Eklavya University contributes to higher education access in the Bundelkhand belt of Madhya Pradesh, where most established public universities are concentrated in larger cities such as Sagar, Jabalpur and Bhopal. Its establishment reflects the policy direction taken by the Madhya Pradesh government to encourage private investment in tertiary education, particularly in professional and technical disciplines.