Governor Anandiben Patel has said that the National Education Policy is an opportunity to prepare according to the nature and tendency of the student. Teachers will have to accept the challenge of making students self-sufficient during teaching by incorporating the qualities of enthusiasm, discipline and experience in them.
The Governor said this while addressing a webinar organized by I.E.S. University. The main speaker at the webinar organized on the theme “National Education Policy :Opportunities and Challenges was Chairman, National Board of Accreditation Prof. K.K. Agarwal.
Patel said that the National Education Policy is a major step towards realizing the dreams of a bright future of the country. The policy is an attempt to work with out-of-the-box thinking for major changes in the education system to achieve innovative and far-reaching objectives, which also have a strong will power to preserve culture, life values ??and stay connected to the roots. Special emphasis has been laid on excellence and quality of education system. There is need for extensive discussion on its concept, provisions and expected results for its implementation.
Efforts have been made in the policy to meet the requirements of the future as well as overcome long-term issues. The policy has multi dimensional initiatives like full autonomy, Independent National Research Fund to give financial assistance to grant proposals with competitive and contemporary review to 200 top institutes of the country, granting permission to foreign universities for setting up a permanent centre in India and allowing Ucchha Shiksha Nigam to raise long-term loans from the market.
Patel said that the expectations, requirements of the students and accessibility of modern technology to poor, deprived, backward classes and tribal areas of the country and the situation of information and knowledge in the implementation of education policy will have to be understood. The need of the hour is that the universities should become transformation centres of knowledge from information centres. Teachers should become transformers of knowledge. Dignity of labour, patriotism, social service, moral-family values, environmental conservation, hygiene and health culture must be instilled in students. She said that only when the students study according to scientific methods, fast changing needs and time will they be able to play a constructive role in nation building. She said that only 5 percent of our workforce is proficient in vocational education.
To raise this percentage to 50 percent, new meaning will have to be given to vocational and technical education in the next 5 years. The ‘folk-education developed in the Indian tradition has to be linked to vocational education through higher educational institutions.
Public education should be made a part of mainstream education. It should get equal respect, so that along with skill enhancement in children and youth, a sense of respect for the dignity of labour is created. The atmosphere of educational institutions should be such that students get what they want.
Students should go out of the centre of education equipped with knowledge of the world, our culture, traditions, life values ??of life and culture.