The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Big challenges to maritime sector: Union Minister

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Friday, Dec 10, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Big challenges to maritime sector: Union Minister

Special Correspondent

Stress on need for technical expertise and skilled manpower

Photo: A. Muralitharan

Maritime ambience:Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D.Purandeswari inaugurates the ‘ship-in-campus' at G.K.M. College of Engineering and Technology at New Perungalathur on Thursday. College chairman G.Kathamuthu and chief executive officer Sujatha Balasubramanian are in the picture. —

TAMBARAM: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D.Purandeswari on Thursday said that India's maritime sector faced huge challenges from three regions in the world and that the country had to equip itself with technical expertise and skilled manpower to face them.

Speaking after dedicating a ‘ship-in-campus' at G.K.M. College of Engineering and Technology at New Perungalathur near Tambaram on Thursday, the Minister said the challenges came from Balkan countries, China and Philippines.

She said that after the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), there were several experienced navy men belonging to the Balkan countries who were left unemployed and they continued to hinder India's progress.

Secondly, China was growing fast in maritime education and it had three universities dedicated to this, while India had only one government university. However, lack of English-speaking skills was their weakness. Philippines had a long history of maritime, experienced manpower conversant in English but lacked technical expertise.

The maritime sector in India had to strike deep roots in technology and quality education to rise up and face these challenges, she said.

Ms. Purandeswari also stressed the importance of accessibility, stating that along with equity and quality, it was very important in ensuring that getting education in such private technical institutions could be made available in rural areas too.

“State governments must be responsible for the proliferation of quality education and research. State governments must realise that it is their responsibility to support at least their own institutions passed by their own legislatures. Unless this is done, we cannot proceed towards quality,” the Union Minister said.

Ms. Purandeswari called for a need to re-visit the education system so that the youth cater to the needs of global demand and growth and not just India's.

She said that unlike developed countries that allotted 3 to 4 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product towards research, it was only 1 per cent in India.

G. Kathamuthu and Sujatha Balasubramanian, chairman and chief executive officer respectively of the college, were among others who spoke on the occasion.

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