Akola is a district in the state of Maharashtra with the city of Akola as its headquarters. The district was previously a British Raj Berar Province and it is presently forming the central part of the division of Amravati. The district is spread over an area of 5431 km2 and it is bounded by the Buldana District to the West, Washim District to the South and by Amravati District to the north. The district is popular for some of the forts like Balapur Fort, Akola Fort, Akot Fort and Narmala Fort.

The literacy rate of the district is 81.41% and the talukas functioning under the district are Murtajapur, Barshitakli, Patur, Balapur, Akola, Telhara and Akot. When it comes to higher education in the district of Akola, the district acts as the home for the Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University and the university attracts students from different parts of the country through its best quality agricultural engineering & technology courses. The district has many prominent colleges and the names of government colleges offering education in this district are given below:

Medical College:

• Government Medical College, Akola

Teacher Education College:

• Government College of Education

Polytechnic College:

• Government Polytechnic College, Murtizapur

Some of the details regarding these three colleges operating in the district of Akola in Maharashtra are given below:

Medical College:

Government Medical College, Akola was established in the year 2002 and the college was inaugurated on the 12th of September 2003 by the then Chief Minister of the state. The college earned affiliation form the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences on July 2002 and approval from the Medical Council of India on August 2003. The MBBS course offered by the college has an intake capacity of 100 students per year and admission is done based on the merit secured by the students in the MHT-CET examination, which indicates Maharashtra Common Entrance Test.

Teacher Education College:

Government College of Education came into existence in the year 1956 and the college is presently offering full-time B. Ed and M. Ed courses with affiliation from the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University. The B. Ed course is meant for candidates with UG or PG degree in any discipline with an urge towards the profession of teaching and the M. Ed course is meant for candidates with B. Ed from a recognized university or institution.

Polytechnic College:

Government Polytechnic College, Murtizapur was established in the year 2009 and the college offers diploma courses in the following branches of engineering with an intake capacity of 60 students per year for each course:

• Mechanical Engineering

• Electrical Engineering

• Information Technology

• Computer Engineering

These courses are approved by the All India Council for Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra and by the Maharashtra Board of Technical Education.

In addition to these government colleges in the district of Akola there are two other medical colleges, an engineering college, 13 senior colleges, more than 300 secondary schools and more than 1000 primary schools as well. These educational institutions are known to offer the best education not only to the students belonging to Akola, but also to the students belonging to the nearby districts and other states as well.