Addressing India's citizens on the occasion of the nation's 67th Independence Day and delivering his 10th Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the historic 17th-century built Red Fort; the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, said that it was matter of immense pride for him that almost all children in the country have access to primary school education, and are benefitting from it.
It was also a matter of great satisfaction of young men and women going to college have more than doubled in the last nine years, he added.
He said this landmark achievement has been made possible through the enactment of the Right to Education Act, which provides every child with an opportunity for education.
"We have implemented new schemes for scholarships on a large scale to enable poor children and those belonging to the weaker sections to access opportunities for education. Today, the Central Government provides scholarships to more than two crore children. Many new institutions have been opened in the area of higher education," Dr. Singh said.
As an example of the progress made in the field of education, he said that the government has been instrumental in establishing eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), seven new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), sixteen new central universities and ten new National Institutes of Technology (NITs).
"New institutions have also been opened to boost scientific research. Steps have been taken to attract students to the study of science and encourage Indian scientists working abroad to return to India," the Prime Minister said, but added, " Much still remains to be done for reforming our education system."
"Many of our schools still lack drinking water facilities, toilets and other necessary infrastructure. There is a need to improve the quality of education. To achieve this, it is necessary to lay more emphasis on the training of teachers," he said.
He also made a reference to the recent Mid-day Meal tragedy in Bihar, and said there was a need to improve its implementation to prevent a repeat of such tragedies in any other part of the country.
"About 11 crore children are being provided afternoon meals every day in schools under the Mid-day Meal Scheme. This programme is of immense benefit for both education and nutrition of children. However, it is necessary to improve its implementation. The tragedy that happened in Bihar some days back should not be repeated anywhere in the country," Dr. Singh said.
It maybe recalled that 23 children died after consuming spurious mid-day meals at a school in Bihar's Chhapra District. According to a report prepared by the Human Resource Development Ministry (HRD), the headmistress of the school has been blamed for ignoring the cook who had brought the foul smell and different colour of oil to her notice.
The report says the food stored at the headmistress' house was issued by her daily. And even on the fateful day after the food was cooked and inconsistencies of smell and colour brought to the headmistress' notice she chided the cook by saying that the oil has been procured from her own house and there was nothing wrong with it. In fact, the oil was bought from her husband's shop.
The report blames the Bihar Government for being negligent in not ensuring that norms for distribution of mid-day meals are followed and called for plans to strengthen medical procedures to ensure proper treatment during emergencies.
