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http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=54004
PM's address at the Inauguration of 'National Education Day' Celebrations
14:12 IST
The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh addressed the National
Education Day celebrations to commemorate the birth anniversary of
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Union Education Minister, in New
Delhi today. Following is the text of Prime Minister's address on the
occasion:
It is a great pleasure for me to participate in these National
Education Day celebrations. Today we commemorate the memory of Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, a great visionary, a great freedom fighter, a great
scholar, an eminent educationist and the first Education Minister of
Independent India.
Throughout his life, Maulana Azad served the twin causes of freedom
and justice. He was a champion of liberal and secular values. He
worked for the unity and integrity of India both during the freedom
movement and after independence. It was he who laid the foundation of
India's educational policy and planning.
Maulana Azad was also a great institution builder. He created the
University Grants Commission (UGC), the National Academies-the Sangeet
Natak Akademy, Sahitya Akademy, Lalit Kala Akademy, and the Indian
Council for Cultural Relations. He strengthened the All India Council
for Technical Education (AICTE) and oversaw the establishment of a
chain of top class technical institutions that now represent the best
in the Indian Education System. Under his distinguished leadership,
the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur was established in 1951,
which was followed by a chain of IITs at Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur and
Delhi.
The celebration of Maulana Azad's birth anniversary as the National
Education Day is a befitting homage to one of our greatest leaders.
Today is also an occasion when all of us should re-dedicate ourselves
to the cause of education, and through it to building India as a
modern, knowledge society.
As you all know, education has received the highest priority from the
Central Govt. in the last 5 years or so. Our commitment to this
important area of national endeavour has seen the strengthening and
expansion of the education system at all levels – primary, secondary,
higher, professional and technical education. We had earlier taken
important steps in providing quality education to all children through
our flagship programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Now we have extended
our initiatives to the secondary level. The objective of the Rashtriya
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is to achieve an enrolment ratio of
75% for classes IX-X within five years and to provide universal
secondary education by the year 2017. The Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Act 2009 creates a legal entitlement for
compulsory and free education for all our children between the ages of
6 and 14 years. We have recently launched a new literacy initiative,
SAAKSHAR BHARAT, on the International Literacy Day on 8th September,
2009.
In higher education, the outlay has been increased by 10 times in the
Eleventh Five Year Plan as compared to the Tenth Five Year Plan. A
number of new institutions - Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian
Institutes of Management, Indian Institutes for Science Education &
Research, Indian Institutes of Information Technology and others - are
being established.
I am also very happy to note that a National Mission on Education
through ICT has been launched in February 2009 with an outlay of about
Rs. 5000 crore. This will provide internet connectivity to about
20,000 colleges and educational institutions and will be a major
harbinger of use of modern technology in the field of education. As
UNESCO plays a very important role as a global clearing house of ideas
and knowledge and creation of knowledge based societies, I would like
to offer our willingness to share with them the e-learning material
prepared under this technical mission by the Indian Institutes of
Technologies (IITs).
Improving access to education is not enough. It should be accompanied
by efforts to ensure equity and improve quality. Our Government stands
committed to provide good and quality education to each and every
child in our country, especially those who belong to the
underprivileged sections of our society. It is with this end in view
that we have started a number of scholarship schemes for those who
cannot afford to study on their own - the SCs/STs/Minorities and other
such disadvantaged groups. We especially recognize the importance of
educating women and they are being given special attention in the
SAAKSHAR BHARAT mission.
Improvement in quality at all levels is also receiving increasing
emphasis. In higher education this will be achieved through structural
reforms on the basis of the recommendations of the National Knowledge
Commission and the Yashpal Committee.
The realization of the Right to Education does not depend merely on
expansion of educational infrastructure but, equally importantly on
availability of trained and qualified teachers with commitment to
their profession. UNESCO in its Oslo Declaration 2008 relating to
Education for All, has projected a requirement of 18 million new
primary teachers throughout the world in the next seven years to
achieve universal primary education at the global level. In India too,
we would need an extra 1 million teachers to implement the Right to
Education Act. For this purpose, apart from the need of augmenting
teacher's training institutes and use of ICT for mass learning, it is
necessary to restore the prestige and status of the teaching
profession in our society.
The importance of good teachers cannot be over-emphasized. Good
teachers not only educate- they also inspire. Good teachers make good
students. Good teachers make good citizens. We must therefore find
ways and means of improving the quality of our teachers. We must find
ways of attracting the best talent as faculty in our premier
institutions. We today face difficulty in finding top level professors
and lecturers in the newly created IITs, IISERs and other such
institutions. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to persist and I
urge all of you to work to address these problems of deficiency in the
quality of teaching in our schools, in our colleges, and in our
universities.
A system of education which is built on the premises of quality and
equity is central as it must be to India's rapid progress as a modern,
dynamic society. Let me reaffirm today our government's commitment to
the cause of education. But in the mammoth task that lies ahead, we
will need the contribution of all our citizens and all actors in the
civil society. I urge all of you to work for this noble cause with
renewed energy and vigour that will be a befitting tribute to the
memory of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
With these words, I wish your celebrations all success. I also wish
all of you the very best in your efforts to make our educational
system stronger, better and more equitable.
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AKT/SH/VK
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