Education, Careers & Professional News
PM Admits Fund Crunch For India’s Education System
Emphasising on the need for the improvement in the quality of education, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has admitted that fund crunch is an impediment.
There is a genuine funds constraint in the public sector that is being neutralised only in part by private sector. Together the public and private sectors are not able to cope with the demand for higher and professional education, Prime Minister said while launching the newly constituted Knowledge Commission here today.
He admitted that the public and private sector even together were not able to cope with the demand for higher and professional education in the country.
Expressing concern over the quality of education being imparted in the country he said that there was a need for a second wave of institution building in education and research.
Our universities and centres of excellence are falling behind the best in the world, both in terms of human capital and physical infrastructure, he said.
The time has come to create a second wave of institution building and of excellence in the field of education, research and capacity building in India so that we are better prepared for the 21st century, said Singh.
He emphasised on the need to improve both access and excellence in primary schools, higher education and research institutions of national excellence.
There are, of course, fiscal and administrative challenges to be tackled and there are intellectual and leadership issues to be addressed. We must address them boldly, he said. He said that India should be able to attract global investment in research and development activity.
I think we should put in place required legal and physical infrastructure that can attract more foreign investment in research and development activity in India, he said.
The Prime Minister said that the vast pool of young people in the country should be utilised properly. ven as other countries begin to age, India will remain a country of young people. That I believe is potentially our great advantage, he said.
Singh said that the proportion of working population is increasing in the country which should boost the saving rate in the country.
If we can find productive job opportunities for our working population, it would give us a big opportunity to leapfrog in the race for social and economic development and our growth rates should go up and we are today, he said.
However, he warned that if they are not utilised properly the vast young population might become a liability for the economy.
It might be our opportunity to leapfrog in the race for social and economic development, he said.
These youth can be an asset only if we invest in their capabilities.
A knowledge-driven generation will be an asset. Denied this investment, it will become a social and economic liability, said Singh.
Hence, we must invest in building the knowledge base of our coming generations, he added