Prime Minister Narendra Modi bats for flexible education models

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 8

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today interacted with directors of centrally funded technical institutions and stressed on the need to adapt higher and technical education to the changing environment and emerging challenges.

Interacting with over 100 heads of institutions via video-conferencing, he advocated a robust and upgraded research and development culture, which will boost the country’s campaign for self-reliance.

“Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan will form the basis of dreams and aspirations of India in the coming 25 years when it celebrates 100 years of Independence,” he said.

“Our technological and R&D institutions will play a major role in the upcoming decade — ‘India’s Techade’”, the PM said. He said the desired paradigm change in the country’s education matrix would need institutions to reinvent and reevaluate themselves and develop alternative and innovative models.

The PM lauded the R&D work done by these institutions towards meeting the challenges posed by Covid. He appreciated the efforts of young innovators towards providing quick technological solutions.

“Our higher educational and technical institutions need to prepare our youth for continuous disruptions and changes, keeping in mind the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.

He underlined the need to develop an ecosystem of technological education in Indian languages and translate global journals into regional languages.

The Prime Minister noted the improvement in the gross enrolment ratio (GER) in higher education in the past few years and observed that digitisation of higher education could play a big role in increasing GER.

Modi batted for focus on developing futuristic solutions in fields of education, healthcare, agriculture, defence and cyber technologies.

He stressed on the imperative of good quality infrastructure in higher educational institutions to ensure that products associated with artificial intelligence, smart wearables, augmented reality systems and digital assistants reach the common man.