President Pranab Mukherjee today stressed on imparting of quality education and promotion of skill development as he called for drawing inspiration from the ancient era when India was home to renowned higher- learning institutes that attracted foreign scholars.
He rued that despite having a vast higher education system, only a couple of Indian institutes figured in the global top 200 and that too recently.
"When we talk of quality education, skill development is an inherent part of it. Given our population structure, its diversity and vastness, a degree catering to a 'one size fits all' prescription no longer works.
"Skill development is directly related to the employment prospects of our youth and, therefore, the focus has to be on providing quality education with skill development," he said.
Addressing the 98th annual conference of Indian Economic Association here, the President said, "When one talks about education and skill development, we feel a sense of pride when we look back at India's history."
India, in the ancient past, had been the front-runner in education and universities like Takshila (now in Pakistan) and Nalanda had been centres of higher learning for students from India and neighbouring countries, Mukherjee said.
With over 700 universities, including 44 central ones, and around 36,000 colleges, India has one of the largest higher education systems anywhere in the world, he said. "It is equally a matter of concern that till very recently we did not have a single university figuring in the global top 200."
He said it is only now, after concerted efforts and policy interventions, that two of our institutions -- IISC Bangalore and IIT-Delhi -- broke into the top 200 globally.
The need of the hour, therefore, is to focus not only on education per se, but more importantly on quality, he said. The debate becomes even more pertinent when one talks of it in terms of accessibility on the one hand and privatisation and globalisation of higher education, on the other, he noted.
"While these measures aim at increasing employability, the emphasis also has to be on providing adequate employment opportunities. Growth would be meaningful and inclusive only if it results in improving the standards of the last man, as welfare economists are fond of saying."
India is a young nation and hence it becomes imperative for government and policy makers to come up with policies for achieving growth with job creation, he said.
The Indian economy has proved its resilience -- it has withstood the US financial and eurozone crises, he said. "We need to capitalise on these inherent and intrinsic strengths and create not only more jobs but also an entrepreneurial eco- system," the President added.
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The President said the youth today does not wait for
opportunities, but creates them. The number of start-ups and their annual turnover are clear indicators in this direction, he said.
"We have Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, rising from the Indian education system and heading top global companies (Google and Microsoft respectively). We need to strive to create such employability for our youth on domestic soil too and this would be the litmus test for our economists and policy planners.
"The government's 'Startup India', 'Standup India' programmes aim to do precisely this and I am hopeful that associations like the Indian Economic Association would provide the necessary prescriptive in this area."
The President said, "Growth which favours the top deciles or lower proportion of the population can never be sustainable or desirable."
"Balancing growth with equity and social justice is a fundamental requirement of our democratic polity. A careful study of not just income disparities but also of their source is required. That is the urgent task for economists to undertake," Mukherjee maintained.
On the policy side, the government has launched several programmes such as 'Make in India', 'Digital India' and 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' to promote financial inclusion and ensure the poor and disadvantaged are not left out of the benefits of economic growth, he added.
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Speaking on the occasion, Mukherjee lauded Kerala for its achievements in various fields like education, health and women empowerment over the last few decades.
"The remarkable advancements have been made possible only because of the combined efforts of the government, various social organisations and hardwork and enterprise of the people," he said.
The people of Kerala enjoy a quality of life that compares favourably with many developed countries in the world, he added.
"A multi-religious and multi-ethnic society has co-existed in harmony for centuries in Kerala fostering a culture of inclusiveness and tolerance which symbolizes the concept of 'unity in diversity'", Mukherjee added.
On the novel concept of "Gender Park", he said, though Kerala was a pioneer in gender equity measure, more gender-focussed approach was necessary where all genders have equal access to development opportunities, resources and benefits and have equal voice in decision-making areas.
The "Kanivu" scheme is yet another initiative of the state, which has a long tradition of care and compassion, the President said adding, despite Kerala having a robust social safety net a large section of the people find it difficult to cope with the problems of destitution, chronic or life threatening diseases and disabilities.
The state government which has earmarked Rs 100 crore for this project would shoulder the responsibility and bring in all its social security and social care initiatives under the umbrella of "Kanivu" of "Compassionate Kerala" scheme, he said.
On the Digital Literacy Campaign, he said it would enable ordinary people to effectively use the internet to avail the government and private services in a secure manner.
Talking about the UL CyberPark, the President said it will provide employment for about 4,500 professionals besides indirect employment for over 20,000 in the first phase.
The society, formed in 1925, has played a vital role in the socio-economic development of Malabar region and helped improving the living standards of economically weaker sections by providing them opportunities, Mukherjee added.
