The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the Conference on "The Future of Indian Universities: Comparative Perspectives on Higher Education Reforms for a Knowledge Society” at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) in Sonipat today (March 21, 2013).
Speaking on the occasion the President congratulated the O.P. Jindal Global University for taking the initiative and providing a platform to facilitate a greater understanding of the challenges of the higher education sector by all stakeholders.
The President said that the need to make critical reforms in our educational system is more compelling now, in many ways, than at any time before. He stated that there is an urgent need to raise the quality of teaching, faculty and research in our universities. There could be no second opinion on the critical role that education plays in the development of a nation, he added. He said that education is the most powerful tool that could spawn societal changes and transform the economic fortunes of a country.
The President called upon Universities and Research Centres to become fertile grounds for innovation. He said that we should erect innovative structures to encourage and retain intellectual resources in our academic and research centres.
The President said that he had stated in his Address to the Nation on the eve of the last Republic Day that it is high time for us, for the nation as a whole to reset its moral compass. He said that Universities and other institutes of higher learning should aid in this process. He added that a beginning may be made by introducing value education that would supplement the academic curricula, thereby preparing students to face the test of career and life with equanimity.
Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Governor of Haryana, Shri Jagannath Pahadia, Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Shashi Tharoor and Chancellor, JGU, Shri Naveen Jindal.
This release issued at 1840 hrs