New education policy aims at making India a global knowledge superpower: VP Venkaiah Naidu

 The New Education Policy (NEP) aims at making India a global knowledge superpower and underlined the need for the country to once again become a Vishwa Guru (global teacher) in the field of education, Vice PresidentM Venkaiah Naidu said on Tuesday.

The ancient education system in the country used to focus on developing holistic and well-rounded personalities and taught people to live in harmony with nature and respect all, he said.

"Our education was practical, wholesome, and complementary to life. In fact, education was seen as a continuous process of learning," Naidu said, addressing virtually the 13th convocation of National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Agartala from here.

"The New Education Policy is underpinned by the same vision. It aims at making India a global knowledge super-power and seeks to bring a paradigm shift in the entire education system," he said.

Urging the higher education institutions and universities to make India a thriving hub of knowledge and innovation, Naidu advised them to take up cutting edge research in various fields, establish synergy with industries and other similar institutions and turn our campuses into exciting centres of creativity and research.

Recalling the advice of former president late A P J Abdul Kalam to the youth to dream big, the Vice-President asked the students to set a goal and strive hard to achieve it.

He opined that it was time for the universities, IITs, NITs and other higher education institutions to fully reorient their teaching methods and equip the teachers with new pedagogical skills in tune with the 21st-century requirements.

Naidu urged the corporate sector to identify key research projects in various sectors and fund them under CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives.

Noting that about 65 per cent of the countrys population comprised youth, Naidu called for fully channeling their energies and creating the right ecosystem for promoting entrepreneurship among them.

He lauded NIT Agartala for being ranked within 100 best engineering institutions under the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).