By 2025, India would have the largest and youngest working population and it is time to create the right opportunity for them. And apart from the government, private sector firms and other institutions should work in this direction by providing the right facility for the development of the skill sets, said the Minister for Human Resources and Development M.M. Pallam Raju. He was delivering the chief guest’s message at the diamond jubilee celebration of Andhra Loyola College here on Saturday.
According to Mr. Pallam Raju, the Right to Education Act that was implemented in 2010 has placed over 25 crore children in schools. “In the last 10 years the government has launched various programmes for development of primary school and high school level of education and it has embarked on an ambitious project called RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) for giving fillip to the higher education system,” he said.
He also pointed out that in the last 10 years, the government had initiated 152 new institutions and had increased the expenditure budget for education many folds. “But along with the numbers, quality should play a key role and for which both the State government and the institutions have to chip in a big way. It is the responsibility of the State Higher Education Councils to not only increase the numbers but also enforce quality. As a step towards that direction we have made accreditation now mandatory,” he said. Appreciating the efforts taken by Andhra Loyola College, he said that colleges such as ALC should take the lead in setting the barometer for quality.
Earlier, talking about the journey taken by the college, the correspondent of the college Fr. S. Raju said that the college was initiated in 1954 by its founding principal Fr. Devaiah and has grown to include PG courses over the years, with ‘A’ grade NAAC accreditation.
The former MP of Vijayawada Lagadapati Rajagopal, Krishna University Vice-Chancellor V. Venkaiah, Principal of the college Fr. G.A.P. Kishore, Andhra Jesuit Province Provincial Fr. P. Anthony and others present spoke.
A huge contingent of alumni from the ALC Alumni Association, former teachers, present staff members and students were present. The four wings of the Nation Cadet Corps conducted an impressive march past and the students enthralled the gathering with a number of traditional, folk and fusion dance performances.
