More than half a century after completing his postgraduation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned to his alma mater, Panjab University, on Tuesday.
On the Special Convocation of the university, Dr. Singh laid the foundation stone for an auditorium-cum-examination centre. He was conferred the degree of Doctor of Law ( honoris causa) by the university.
He said: “I am deeply indebted to this great university. I spent some of the best years of my life here. I have no hesitation in saying that the education I received in Panjab University has played a major part in whatever I have achieved in life. It is with great humility that I have received today’s recognition. It is an honour that I will always cherish.”
Dr. Singh, who did his B.A. and M.A. in Economics from the university in 1952 and 1954 and became its professor at the age of 32, said: “I feel proud to have been associated with this great institution, both as a student and later as a faculty member.”
Emphasising the importance of education in a modern society, the Prime Minister said: “It is a potent tool for empowering people and also essential for achieving sustained high economic growth. In the last five years or so the Central government has made unprecedented efforts for expanding and improving educational facilities at all levels. In fact, I often refer to the Eleventh Plan as an Education Plan.”
Comparing the standards of education in the country, Dr. Singh said that at present, in any year, only about 12 per cent of the students who completed secondary education enrolled for higher education which did not compare well with the figure of about 70 per cent in some developed countries.
“We must increase this proportion. We must also address the existing imbalances in our higher education system. Today, nearly half of the institutions of higher learning exist in only five States, nearly 70 per cent of the total intake capacity for professional courses exists in another five States, there is a large gender gap in enrolments for higher education and we must address these deficiencies.”
The Prime Minister said the quality of higher education was a major problem, where the pass-outs were nowhere near international standards.
To address this issue, Dr. Singh said the Centre had announced a progressive pay package for attracting and retaining talented faculty. The University Grants Commission had raised the entry level standards for fresh faculty members and had also started new training programmes for them.
