New Delhi, May 10: Noting that minorities need much greater access to professional education, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the government would open 370 colleges in educationally-backward districts, a large number of which have a substantial concentration of minority population.

"The government has recognised that minorities in particular need much greater access to professional education and modern skill training," Gandhi said addressing the eighth convocation of the Jamia Hamdard University here.

She said the UPA government has recognised the need to put special focus on the traditionally disadvantaged sections of society, which is why it has vastly expanded scholarships for minorities, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, OBCs and girls.

Gandhi said 370 new colleges will be opened in districts which are educationally backward, adding these include most of the 90 districts that have a substantial concentration of minority population. In her speech at the function, where HRD Minister Arjun Singh was also present, Gandhi stressed on the need to improve the quality of education institutions.

"I believe it is the fundamental responsibility of the government to provide education and with increasing enrolment, we must also improve the quality of all educational institutions," she said.

"This encompasses much more than just buildings and faculty. We need to harness Information Technology and adopt state-of-the-art teaching methods," Gandhi said.

Making a special mention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said he has put his personal imprint on the initiatives to expand the infrastructure for higher education.