Not Having Enough High Quality Researchers A Concern: Vice President

The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu said that not having enough high quality researchers and the declining number of students doing PhDs and entering research posts is a concern. While launching Krea University he said that a country as populous as India and facing innumerable challenges from poverty to environmental degradation simply cannot do without innovation. While adding that universities should become hubs for innovation, the Vice President said that they must not become breeding grounds for resentment, frustration or discrimination. A university should be a place of enlightenment, a sanctuary of positive thoughts and safe haven of wisdom and knowledge, he added.

A university should be a place of enlightenment, a sanctuary of positive thoughts and safe haven of wisdom and knowledge. @kreauniversity #KreaUniversity

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) November 18, 2018

The Vice President said that institutions like the Krea University with sights set firmly on the achievement of brilliance and distinction at the global platform must serve us in good stead in our quest for fast track progress and all round development.

Universities should be hubs for innovation, a safe space for future visionaries and entrepreneurs to sharpen their skills. They should not be breeding grounds for resentment, frustration or discrimination. @kreauniversity #KreaUniversity pic.twitter.com/I9WXmJAJ1j

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) November 18, 2018

He called for an impactful coordination of Public-Private Sector in providing such education system. Government should play the role of a strong facilitator and others supplement government’s efforts, he added.

Under such circumstances, India has to empower its institutions of higher education to live up to its aims of delivering world-class scholarship and education. @kreauniversity #KreaUniversity

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) November 18, 2018

The Vice President said that Indian Universities face a number of problems starting from shortage of funds to inadequate number of teachers to falling enrollment numbers. The profusion of more rewarding career choices, lack of adequate facilities for post graduate education and the retirement of the current generation of professors and teachers has created a staff crunch in our centers of higher education, he added. Mr Naidu said that the demand for skilled manpower in India predicted to be 700 million by 2022 and India must equip the young and students with employable skills. Such steps would not only allow us to realize the demographic dividend but also help India become the ‘skill capital’ of the world, he added.