The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee expressed disappointment over the fact that not a single modern Indian educational institution is amongst the top 200 educational institutes in the world, whereas from 3rdcentury BC to 12th century AD, for a period of 1500 years, India was the leader in higher education in the world.

He, however, underlined the fact that it is not impossible to return to the days of our past glory "If we can make the necessary effort by creating teams of inspired teachers; by establishing linkages with the global educational fraternity; through the maximum use of Information Technology; by placing emphasis on research etc, results will follow. He said some institutes have already started making efforts and progress is evident.

The President was addressing a function organized to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Acharya Satis Chandra Mukherjee organized by the National Council of Education, Bengal in Kolkata today (June 5, 2014).

Paying rich tribute to the Acharya, the President highlighted that by taking a few lessons from the life of this great educationist, we must improve our educational system by imparting quality education. The President said Satis Chandra made education his mission and channelized all his energies in establishing educational institutions to produce ideal students for the country. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who was a student of Satis Chandra, had recorded his indebtedness to his teacher and mentor in his autobiography. The President expressed hope that the celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Acharya Satis Chandra Mukherjee would be a suitable occasion to explore ways and means to propagate his thoughts and ideas. He called upon people to rededicate themselves to the causes for which this educationist, social thinker and crusader devoted his life.

Back ground

Acharya Satis Chandra Mukherjee was a contemporary of Swami Vivekananda and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay. He was one amongst the galaxy of luminaries Bengal produced in the nineteenth century. He was a great teacher and a remarkable educationist. In 1906, Satis Chandra was the main force behind the establishment of the first college of the National Council-the Bengal National College. Earlier, in 1897 he started editing and publishing the famous Dawn magazine.