Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday interacted with directors of top centrally-funded technical institutions and stressed on the need to develop “innovative” and “flexible” education models to meet future needs, and make India a “hub for research and development”.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister Office (PMO) said Modi emphasised the need to adapt higher and technical education to keep in tune with the changing environment and emerging challenges.
“This requires the institutions to reinvent and re-evaluate themselves, develop alternative and innovative models in accordance with the present and future needs of the country and society... There is a need to progress towards education models that are flexible, seamless, and able to provide learning opportunities as per requirements of the learners,” Modi said at the virtual interaction, adding that access, affordability, equity and quality should be the core values of such education models.
The interaction was attended by over 100 heads of institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Indian Institute of Science. It was also joined by newly-elected Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and ministers of state for education.
Officials who attended the meeting said Modi was briefed on the ongoing research and development (R&D work) at these institutions and on the improvement in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the past few years.
{{/usCountry}}Officials who attended the meeting said Modi was briefed on the ongoing research and development (R&D work) at these institutions and on the improvement in the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education in the past few years.
{{/usCountry}}“Digitisation of higher education can play a big role in increasing GER, and students will have easier access to good quality and affordable education,” Modi said.
GER is a statistical measure used in the education sector to determine the number of students enrolled in school at several different grade levels (like elementary, middle school and high school), and use it to show the ratio of the number of students who live in that country to those who qualify for the particular grade level.
The Prime Minister lauded the R&D work carried by these institutions towards meeting challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan will form the basis of dreams and aspirations of India in the coming 25 years when we celebrate 100 years of Independence. We need to focus on developing futuristic solutions in fields of education, healthcare, agriculture,defense, and cyber technologies,” he said.
The Prime Minister also spoke on the need to develop an ecosystem of technological education in Indian languages and translate global journals into regional languages.
“Had an enriching interaction with Directors of leading IITs and @iiscbangalore during which we exchanged thoughts on a wide range of subjects including making India a hub for R&D (Research and Development), innovation and popularising science among the youth,” Modi tweeted after the interaction.