Even after 60 years of Independence, India has neither seen progress nor change in the education sector. The country continued with a lop-sided educational system inherited from the British, N. Murali, Senior Managing Director, Kasturi and Sons, said here on Monday.
Speaking at the 57th Founder's Day celebrations of the NIA Educational Institutions, Mr. Murali said while the rest of the world had updated their systems of education, in India focus in this segment has just started. But how and when the changes would come about remained unanswered. But institutions such as the NIA had done pioneering work in bringing about a dynamic education system, he said.
India was moving towards a knowledge-based society. "It has started moving towards its rightful place and rediscovering its position in world trade and economic development and is emerging as a super power," Mr Murali said.
Lauding N. Mahalingam, Chairman-Emeritus of NIA Educational Institutions, for planning and introducing a dynamic educational pattern, Mr. Murali said education had to create job makers and not job seekers. The educational system in NIA was unique in many ways as it had an interface with the industry.
He said there was no use in just producing graduates as the industry required time to train them for a job. He stressed the need for close industry-institution partnership, especially in technical education. The impact of technology, especially information technology, was more on education than in any other sphere.
A nation's development rested largely on its education system. On the proliferation of self-financing colleges, Mr Murali said the quality, objectives and motives of such institutions were open to doubt.
Mr. Murali reminded the students that those under 25 years of age had a larger role to play in democracy. This particular segment had the power, skill and knowledge to decide the destiny of the country, he added.
Observing that there had been an erosion of values, he said governance had collapsed over the last 10 years. The last year had been “a year of shame, with successive scams of mind-boggling magnitude".
He exhorted the students to excel in academics and clean up the system. Mr. Murali called for a research on the uniqueness of the Kongu region, especially on successful businessmen paying back to society through quality higher education.
Earlier, Mr. Mahalingam said private players came into the field and offered quality education as a service only after 1957. He called upon The Hindu to bring out a compilation of its editorials, with each volume containing editorials published over five years.
Mr. Mahalingam presented the "Kongu Naatu Sadhanayalar" award to Chairman of RVS Group of Educational Institutions K.V. Kuppusamy. Mr. Mahalingam said Mr. Kuppusamy had opened more than 100 educational institutions at over 13 centres in the State.
Mr. Kuppusamy said he was only repaying the community.
Chairman of NIA Educational Institutions M. Manickam and secretary C. Ramasamy spoke.
