The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Kalam for focus on job-oriented education

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 30, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Kalam for focus on job-oriented education

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, DEC. 29. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has stressed the need for an all-new orientation to higher education system in the country, giving greater focus to entrepreneurial skills that could generate immense employment potential.

While the 300 universities in the country were churning out a staggering three million professionals every year, the employment generation system, was not in a position to absorb them resulting in a rapid increase of the educated unemployed.

"There is a great mismatch between skills required for modern economy and education imparted to students. Besides, economic growth and investments have not kept pace with availability of human resources," Dr. Kalam observed in his address from New Delhi through videoconference mode to students at the ninth convocation of the University of Hyderabad held here on Tuesday.

Preparing students

Mr. Kalam said universities -- Government and private enterprises -- should become facilitators for fuelling the great Indian entrepreneurial juggernaut. Replying to questions from students, he said the education system should invariably prepare students right from college days for a career in entrepreneurship, which would give them the necessary creativity, freedom and the ability to generate wealth.

"Entrepreneurial skills should be taught to all students. The college syllabi should include entrepreneurship as a subject even for arts, science and commerce courses. When graduates leave college, they should carry the subject degree and entrepreneurship diploma together," he suggested. Asked whether impetus on entrepreneurial skills would affect research in universities, he struck an optimistic note saying job-oriented education would come as a bonus to students and prepare them for the challenges in the highly competitive job market.

Empowering villagers

Citing the example of the Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas Programme (PURA) successfully being implemented by the Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, he said the movement could become the harbinger of employment generation in Andhra Pradesh as well if universities empower people living in adjoining villages and create a platform for learning for them.

To another question, he said creativity of young minds in schools should be nurtured and not destroyed by increasing the load on them.

"They will anyhow opt for specialisations from Intermediate stage. Let them be their creative selves at least till then," he said.

The Vice-Chancellor, Kota Harinarayana, said the university had adopted a credit system for all courses from the present academic year to encourage students pursue inter-disciplinary integrated courses.

"Students will be free to study courses offered in other schools and centres other than their own," he said.

Five new disciplines were also being introduced in High Energy Materials, Earth and Space Sciences, Nano Sciences and Technology, Cognitive Sciences and Complex Systems Engineering and Design, this year.

The Governor, Susheel Kumar Shinde, the university Chancellor, and the former Chief Justice of India, P.N. Bhagawati, also spoke.

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