M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India was the chief guest at the 9th convocation ceremony of the Lovely Professional University at Phagwara, Punjab. While addressing the audience he talked about some major concerns such as to introduce radical changes in the higher education system and to increase the number of seats for poor students in private institutions.
Reservation of Seats for Poor in Private Institutions
According to the Vice President, it is impossible for the public sector alone to provide quality higher education and to cater to all the students. Therefore, it is very important for private institutes to pitch in. As per him, efforts should be made to make quality education available to all.
Private institutes should reserve some seats for underprivileged and poor students of the society so that they have equal opportunities to pursue higher education and build a successful career.
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Complete Overhaul of India’s Education System
During his speech at the 9th convocation ceremony of LPU, Vice President addressed another critical issue regarding our education system. According to him, the country’s education system needs a complete overhaul. Instead of making students employable, institutes are just producing students who are equipped with degrees.
He further said that majority of higher education institutes have become breeding centres as most of the students who pass out of the colleges do not possess employable skills. As a result of that, it is very difficult for them to find relevant employment opportunities. Colleges just focus on imparting theoretical knowledge rather than combining it with practical skills. He added that the entire system has to be changed.
At last, the Vice President said that it is time for universities to impart the skills to students in accordance with the requirements of the industry. The changes have to be made both in learning and teaching methodologies.
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Meanwhile, to meet India’s target of a gross enrolment ratio of 30% by 2020, many new universities and higher education institutes are coming up to meet the growing demand of students and to provide them with a quality higher education.