New Delhi, December 28
The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, today laid out the road map for reforms in the educational sector, by emphasising the need for strengthening public-private sector cooperation, innovative financing model and restructuring of the state funding in higher education.
Prime
Minister A. B. Vajpayee with Union HRD Minister Murli Manohar
Joshi and Minister of State Rita Verma at the UGC golden jubilee
celebrations in New Delhi on Saturday.
— PTI photo
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Introduction of economic reform-driven education was “an urgent imperative” and the government had considerably hiked spending on higher education, Mr Vajpayee said, adding that “it is obvious that the need far outstrips the provisions.”
“The Government is prepared to introduce necessary changes in its rules and regulations to achieve this purpose,” Mr Vajpayee said after inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) here.
On the Central and state subsidy to higher education, he said: “If we cannot make the rich pay fair value for education, how can we make it widely available to the poor.”
He said the future path of the UGC should be radically different from the present status of funding universities and setting standards.
“If the UGC’s future path is going to be radically different from the one (it has) traversed so far, why not give yourself a new name that better conveys your mandate and your mission — university education development commission, rather than UGC”, he asked.
“Similarly, to offset the big gap in competent and qualified teachers, can we not enable managers and professionals outside the formal academic system to work as part-time teachers,” the Prime Minister
asked.
