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PM Modi: NEP will pull India out of ‘slave mentality’ of English
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) will pull the country out of slave mentality and asked people to “teach a lesson” to those who constantly “abuse and insult” Gujarat, without naming any political party
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) will pull the country out of slave mentality and asked people to “teach a lesson” to those who constantly “abuse and insult” Gujarat, without naming any political party.
The Prime Minister, who addressed multiple events in his home state on Wednesday when he started his two-day visit, also said aeroplanes will be manufactured in Gujarat.
Launching a ‘Mission School of Excellence’ to upgrade 20,000 government schools at Adalaj in Gandhinagar district, Modi said knowledge of English was considered mark of intellectualism even though it was a medium of communication.
“The English language barrier was a hindrance. Many young talents from villages could not become doctors and engineers because they were not well-versed in English,” he said, while emphasising on teaching in local languages. “I believe that NEP will pull the nation out of slave mentality.”
Modi also said the recently introduced 5G telecom service will take the education system to the next level in the country.
“Some people say we have seen 2G, 3G, 4G and now 5G, so what’s the big difference? If I were to explain from a layman’s point of view the benefits of 5G technology, I will say if 4G is a bicycle, then 5G is an airplane,” he said, adding that young students can now experience the power of virtual reality and the internet in schools.
As many as 20,000 government schools — including 5,000 government and grant-in-aid secondary and higher secondary schools — have been selected for holistic development under the project.
The Gujarat government’s ambitious project has received funding approvals to the tune of $1 billion —$750 million from the World Bank and $250 million from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
“Under the Mission Schools of Excellence, 50,000 new classrooms and more than one lakh smart classrooms are going to be built in 20,000 schools,” Modi said. “These schools will not only have modern infrastructure, they will make a big difference in the lives of children and their education. Here work will be done in every aspect to enhance the capability of the children.”
Speaking at Junagarh in Saurashtra region in the afternoon, where he launched development projects worth ₹4,155 crore, Modi urged people to stay away from “pessimists” and those who “dish out lies”.
“For the last two decades, we have seen that people with distorted mentality do not like it whenever something good happens for Gujarat or a Gujarati achieves something,” he said. “They insult Gujarat and abuse Gujarati people.”
Modi said some political parties believe that “their ideology is incomplete” if they did not abuse Gujarat and Gujarati people. “Don’t you think time has come to teach a lesson to those who abuse and insult Gujarat and its people day and night? Should we tolerate those who defame Gujarat?” he said.
His comments came days after a video of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Gujarat president Gopal Italia purportedly mocking Modi’s mother was released by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the past, the PM had also lashed out at Congress leaders for targeting him.
On Wednesday, Modi started his two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat where he will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of projects worth around ₹15,670 crore.
In a separate event in Rajkot, Modi said: “Aeroplanes will be manufactured in Gujarat soon and their spare parts will be made in Rajkot.”
While handing over 1,100 houses built under the Light House project for the poor, Modi said some leaders built bungalows for themselves after coming into politics, but did not do anything for the poor.
“They came into politics and built their bungalows, but never thought of improving the conditions of those living in slums. I have taken up the work of building houses for the poor,” he said.
