The Hindu : National : Technological skills deficit must be remedied, says Hamid Ansari

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 18, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

Technological skills deficit must be remedied, says Hamid Ansari

Staff Reporter

Sesqui-centenary celebrations of Bengal Engineering and Science University

— Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

FOR QUALITY TECHNICAL EDUCATION: Vice-President Hamid Ansari (second from left) with West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi (second from right) after he unveiled a bust of eminent engineer and statesman E. M. Visvesvaraya at the Bengal Engineering and Science University at Shibpur in Howrah district on Thursday.

KOLKATA: “The skills deficit that the engineering and technology sector is facing in India needs to be remedied at the earliest,” Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari said at the Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) at Shibpur in West Bengal’s Howrah district on Thursday.

Mr. Ansari was speaking at the closing ceremony of the sesqui-centenary celebrations of the BESU, which was established in 1856 and recently granted the status of an Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology.

This is his first visit to the city of his birth after becoming the Vice-President.

Critical role

Pointing out that engineering and technical education occupied a critical role in the knowledge economy, Mr. Ansari said that the 40,000 engineers that the country produced were not enough to meet the huge demands of industry.

“Remedial measures have a long gestation period but the first steps must be taken today,” he said.

Systemic flexibility

Elaborating on issues that needed to be addressed to raise the quality of technical education in the country, Mr. Ansari said the general failure to attract the best talents as faculty could be solved by introducing systemic flexibility to attract and retain them.

Secondly, industry-academic interactions should not remain limited to elite institutions. Faculty members must be allowed to move temporarily to industry to gain knowledge and experience, he said.

Mr. Ansari also stressed the need for engineering colleges to become the foci of research and developmental activities in the country and mending the frayed inter-linkages between elite institutions and State-level institutes, polytechnics and vocational institutions.

The Vice-President unveiled a bust of M. Visvesvaraya, eminent engineer and statesman, on the occasion.

Flagship institute

West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said the BESU was a flagship institute for the route that the State was taking in advancing people’s welfare through science and technology.

BESU Vice Chancellor N. R. Banerjea said the Central government had sanctioned Rs. 530 crore to the university for developing the physical infrastructure, faculty infrastructure and for research purposes.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National