Former United Nations Under-Secretary General Shashi Tharoor officially took charge as the Minister of State for Human Resource Development on Friday and said he was delighted to be able to work towards “shaping the future” of the country.
Talking about the tremendous opportunity of educating and training the huge population of youth in the country, he added, “If we don’t get it right, the consequences will be grave.”
Tharoor said there was a need to focus on three aspects — education that is relevant to the needs of the country, free access to education for all and uncompromising quality.
He added that the Government is gravely concerned not only about training the youth and readying them to be job-ready but also about being able to absorb them.
He said the Naxalite and Maoist movements in the country are a clear indication of what the frustration of the youth can lead to if the country is unable to absorb the talent.
Tharoor, a Member of Parliament from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, added that he would look at setting up more Central schools in the State to ensure equitable access to good education along the coastal belt.
He said many fisherfolk are unable to access quality education, not just in Kerala but right along the coast line, and he would like to change this, especially given the education-consciousness in the State.
He also said that he would like to revive the proposal he had given during his earlier stint at the Centre for setting up an Indian Institute of Technology in Kerala.
Tharoor served as the Minister of State for External Affairs for about a year from May 2009 till April 2010. However, he was forced to resign following a controversy over Kochi IPL franchise and tweets that raised the hackles of many.
Keywords: Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, education, Indian education, central schools
Comments:
Thank Heavens, they got a smart man at last in Government who knows what he is talking aout. Forget about jealous Naysayers and mattering nabobs sitting in their own blessed States and making all sorts of gibberish statements about thde personal life of Mr, Tharoor. Let us India give him the sort of support he needs to take the nation forward, All the power and best wishes to a man whose precious time has been criminally wasted too long.
500 million young indians need quality education.
Indian govt should send most of our young aspiring students to overseas colleges on
scholarships.
Invite all advanced institutions - technical colleges - from every area to open up
branches in india.
India should have a balanced policy to have all these institutions in 27 states of india.
Lab to land schemes to be introduced-all practical.
Quality education with job oriented syllabus should be introduced-have on line
education- mass education -continued education-emphasize on R&D.
establish high quality R&D labs -studios-centers in every state .
Honor and pay the teachers and professors well with proper recognition.
Students should have summer jobs in nearby industries to get hands on practical
training.
Invite all top professors-industrialists - professors from foreign universities to deliver
lectures in india.
Send our students abroad on student exchange programmes.
let industries sponsor them.
Emphasize on PG/RESEARCH .
The educational think tank : should also work on harnessing the inherent talent
and skills of the generations Trade practices ex:
On the coast line of kerala there are generations of Carpenters called
ACHARIS,their computer is their brain.
The profession and practice has come to them from generation s from father to
son etc. without CAD they could mfg the best boats -boat building craft.
Harness and encourage them with modern education and computer aided design
and they can build the best of Boats -naval vessels- etc.
similarly there are other professions like Masons and craftsmen- sculptors in
Rajastahn -makrana area who can make statues- other handicrafts - architectural
products without any computers with their brain and hands -we should take these
hands and develop them in studios with modern technology.
similarly families running traditional biz in Batik paintings -making moulds for
textiles printing just to site afew examples.
From the forest the archery with bow and
A big stumbling block in the way of raising quality of education is over-democratisation, in disregard of democratic values and norms. Universities tend to be associations for wandering around / drifting along for status attainment rather than organizations for performing functions for achieving organisational goals. Vice chancellors tend to patronize their clients for helping to to displace organisational goals and achieve their own. They maximize their resources to favour their supporters. Dynamic factions of teachers, non-teaching employees and local leaders help the Vice Chancellor to do so, and make a nuisance of themselves if he is reluctant to help them to help him on their terms. Quality of education is the biggest sufferer in their games of selective admissions, overlooking use of unfair means in examinations by some students, promotions and other rewards to proteges of some patrons, and so on. The task before Shashi Tharoor and his boss is not an easy one.
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