Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur   

Need to improve higher education enrolment

THANJAVUR: Central government has proposed to increase the higher education enrolment in the country from 11 per cent to 15 per cent in the 11th Five Year Plan period, said Tilak R. Kem, former Secretary, University Grants Commission, here on Wednesday.

Inaugurating an international conference on photonics, Nanotechnology and computer applications (ICOPNAC) at Ponniah Ramajayam Institute of Science and Technology University (PRIST), Dr. Kem said that this could be possible only when the necessary education infrastructure was created in the country. Government alone could not do this.

Private parties should come forward to invest in higher education not as a business venture but to provide quality education.

In developed countries higher education enrolment ratio stood at 55 per cent while in the whole world it stood at 23 per cent.

He said India’s population has become one billion plus but only 11 million students qualify to higher education. In 1950, there were only 25 universities in the country. In 2009 there are 435 universities. But these do not commensurate with the need of the population in India.

He also called for changing the priority for courses offered by universities to suite the world demand.

Lot of man power is needed for service sectors like communication.

Government has the priority like sanitation and health.

In the field of higher education private parties have a major role to play.

The Central government has plans to open 375 colleges in educationally backward areas in the country and many central universities.

P. Murugesan, Chancellor of the University, presided over the inauguration. James R. Durig from University of Missouri-Kansas city, USA, released the proceedings of the conference. Mohan Kameswaran, Director, Madras ENT Research Foundation Limited, received the first copy.

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