The educational reforms are meant for young India and to empower them to make this decade 'India's decade', said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the Centenary convocation of the University of Mysore. He added that the National Education Policy will give a new direction and strength to all educational reforms.
"You must have seen that in the past six to seven months the speed and scope of the reforms is increasing. Necessary changes are being made for growth in every sector — be it agriculture, space, defence, aviation or labour. Now the question is, why is this being done? This is being done only for the crores of youth like you. This decade will be India's. But it will so only when we keep our foundation strong today. This decade has brought a huge opportunity in the life of young India," said Modi.
The new National Education Policy is giving a new direction and strength to all the reforms that have taken place in the education sector in the past few years. The NEP is a huge campaign to bring fundamental changes to the entire education setup of the country — from pre-nursery to PhD. In order to make the capable youth of our country more competitive, the focus is on a multi-dimensional approach. Our effort is that our youth should be flexible, adaptable for the fast-changing nature of the job. Skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling are the biggest needs today. It has also received a lot of attention in the NEP," said the Prime Minister. "I am happy that the University of Mysore has shown a commitment to implement this policy. I think you are starting multi-discipline programs based on NEP. Now, as far as your dreams and potentials are expanded, you can choose subjects accordingly. In this, you can read global technology and local culture simultaneously. You can use that technology to increase local things," he added.
The PM said that there were only 16 IITs in the country till 2014 while in the last 6 years, on average, a new IIT has been opened every year. "One IIT was also open in Dharwad, Karnataka. As of 2014, there were nine IIITs in India. In the subsequent five years, 16 IIITs have been created. In the last five to six years seven new IIMs have been started. Whereas before that there were only 13 IIMs in the country. Similarly, for about six decades only seven AIIMS were serving in the country. After the year 2014, more than double ie 15 AIIMS have been established in the country or are in the process of starting," he added.
The efforts being made in higher education for the last six years are not limited to opening new institutions alone, said the Prime Minister. "In these institutions, work has also been done to ensure reforms in government to gender and social participation. Such institutions are being given more autonomy so that they can take decisions according to their needs. The first IIM Act gave more rights to IIMs across the country. There was also a lack of transparency in medical education. Emphasis was also laid on removing it. Today, the National Medical Commission has been formed to bring transparency in medical education in the country. Two new laws are also being enacted for reforms in the study of Homeopathy and other Indian systems of medicine. Due to the reforms happening in medical education, the youth of the country are getting more seats for medical education," said Modi.
