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Rahul pitches for allowing foreign varsities in India

Sri Nagar (Uttarakhand): With the issue of caste-based reservations in educational institutions and jobs stirring the minds of the students, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said how the seats are divided was not important and pitched for allowing foreign universities to come into India.

“How you divide the seats is not important. The important thing is to create opportunities. Multiply the number of seats by 10 and you would have so many seats that no one would be talking about reservations,” the youth leader said.

Answering the question of a girl student from a university here who wanted to know the stand of Mr. Gandhi on caste-based reservation, he said, “that is a complicated question. I am open to both views”. He did not elaborate.

“That discussion (on reservation) would go on. It is unfair that the students of India do not have quality education in a large number of educational institutions,” he said.

Referring to his own education in India, US and England, he said the emphasis here in India was on rote. “You are looked down upon if you ask questions,” he said, highlighting the need to change the mindset.

The students probed Mr. Gandhi on the educational system and one of them asked why foreign universities are not being allowed in the country.

To this Rahul said, “they (foreign universities) should be allowed. There is no reason why they shouldn’t. I am myself working on it. I will work on the idea and take it forward”.

Rahul said the problem in India was that there were not enough institutions.

In the hour-long interactive session, the students asked questions on terrorism and what the government was doing to counter it.

Mr. Gandhi equated terrorism with communalism and said they are similar problems and both arise from a divisive mindset.

“If you start with the idea that you are similar, you would initiate a dialogue. If you start with the idea that you are different, you will start with conflict,” the Amethi MP said, adding “we should focus on what we share rather than what we don’t share.” -- PTI

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