Rule of dev strategy changed from asset to knowledge: Raju

In his address at the 27th Annual Convocation of the Ranchi University, he said the young minds that join universities get myriad opportunities to train themselves and become assets for the country.

"The values imprinted in the minds of students are the base on which the society excels," he said.

He recalled how investments made in higher education sector in the 1950s and 1960s had returned a strong knowledge base in many fields and contributed significantly in economic development, social progress and democracy in modern India.

Stating that the Right to Education has galvanised the society and the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the primary and secondary levels showed healthy increase, Raju said the same, however, was not true as yet in higher education.

The GER is the ratio of the number of students enrolled in school at a particular level, and the school-age population (of a country) corresponding to the same level of education.

"The GER in higher education is still about half of the world's average GER, which is 24 per cent. We also lag behind the developing countries where the GER is 18 per cent," he said.

He, however, added that several initiatives have been suggested which would be game changers.

"There is an express need to upgrade the curricula, to equip classrooms, laboratories and libraries. The universities are required to be forward looking and creative in approach to meet the challenges of the 21st century knowledge society," Raju said.