The country's education system is not conducive to India's growth into a developed nation, according to Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari. The country needs to restructure the system and also invest heavily in colleges and universities.
He said Tamil Nadu's efforts on the education front, as detailed by School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu, were commendable. “I hope other States follow this lead.”
At an interactive session with students of B.S. Abdur Rahman University here on Tuesday, Mr. Ansari dispensed with the traditional “chief guest address” and called on the students to suggest ideas and discuss issues with him.
In reply to a question, he said the idea of becoming a developed nation was “desirable,” but rejected suggestions that India could develop into a superpower. Instead of chasing illusions they could do without, the country's youth should try to come up with solutions to the development problems.
“Public effort is needed to solve these issues. We cannot leave it to one section of society,” he said. In particular, innovation was needed in the education sector to ensure quality, as the system was not encouraging a sense of “physical and mental adventure” needed for growth and development.
He said more colleges of excellence and universities needed to be created and said such facilities should be created in rural areas to provide access to education for a large segment of society.
The present rush for engineering education was due to market demand and a negative perception about careers in science. The government should step in and ensure a balance between research-oriented pure science and applied sciences, he said.
On brain drain, Mr. Ansari said former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's statement in the late 1980s that the so-called drain was actually creating a bank on which the country could rely on later was now coming true. He stressed that exchange of ideas was important and while individuals who found opportunities left the country, there were others who came to India from other countries.
Earlier, P. Kanniappan, Vice-Chancellor of the university, delivered the welcome address and presented a report of the university's activities. He invited Mr. Ansari to inaugurate an international conference on ‘Future challenges and opportunities for minority higher educational institutions in the global scenario,' to be held in September or October this year.
