The National Education Policy (NEP), once implemented, will transform the educational landscape of the country, Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan said on Saturday.
Addressing the 17th convocation of the SRM Institute of Technology virtually, he said NEP focused on the close linkage between academic institutions and industry. He said the idea behind NEP was to ensure affordable, accessible, equitable and quality education for all. Highlighting the role played by technology in changing people’s lives on a large scale, he said COVID-19 had made the country realise this even more. He said it was important for the education sector to keep itself updated, in tune with the changing dynamics of the contemporary world.
In his convocation address, delivered virtually, G. Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, stressed the need for academic institutions to be the drivers of innovation. He said if the country had to become a net exporter of technology, academic institutions should focus on cutting-edge research that could in turn be put to use by the country’s research organisations, like the DRDO, and the industry. He said the government was implementing a number of initiatives to encourage innovations and appealed to the youngsters to make use of such opportunities.
T.R. Paarivendhar, MP and founder-chancellor of SRMIST, presided over the convocation and awarded the degrees. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Vice-Chancellor, SRMIST, presented the annual report.
