Govt committed to raise education expenditure to 6 % of GDP : PM

Mohali, Punjab, Sep 27 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government was committed to increase the allocation of funds for education to six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.

''We hope to effect a substantial increase in the allocation for the higher education in the next five year Plan,'' he said while laying the foundation stone of Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) here this evening.

He said there was an urgent need in the country to revitalize and expand opportunities at every level of the education pyramid. ''While primary education is our major concern, ignoring tertiary and higher education is fraught with great perils,'' he added.

''Our aim is to widen access to education for all, and at the same time, promote excellence. I do not see any contradiction between these twin aims of education policy,'' Dr Singh said.

The Prime Minister said even though India was not a rich nation but its higher education system had a rich and proud tradition. This was especially true in natural sciences.

''With institutions like IISERs, we hope to provide high quality scientific manpower to research organisations in the Government as well as in the private sector,'' he said.

He said India has had a long and deeply rooted tradition of research within the University system and frontline scientific research was carried out within the university premises.

''However, for a variety of reasons, we seem to have lost this tradition in recent decades.'' Dr Singh said universities had become overcrowded with a lot of teaching but with very little research. ''We expect IISERs to help us bridge this gap,'' he added.

Dr Singh said, ''At the moment, our universities have to deal with very large numbers, with little time, space and energy left for doing research. Consequently, this has led to a system wherein research is confined to national institutions.'' There was virtually no organic link between colleges, universities and research institutions and this was a unhealthy trend, he said.

The Prime Minister expressed hope that the IISER would stimulate the intellectual curiosity of young minds in Punjab and across the country.

He said since independence, several scientific research institutes had been established, R&D expanded and first-rate work produced, comparable to the best in the world. However, there was a decline in the new recruits entering these organisations. These recruits have to come out of the university system.

He said the government will strengthen the University system and set up new national institutes such as IISER. ''We will ensure greater investment from all sources to ensure an expansion of the university system and attract more private capital into the universities while we step up public investment.'' ''In a few years, our government wants India to become not only a generator of knowledge but also a source of knowledgeable workers,'' he said.

Dr Singh pointed out that for a variety of reasons, ''our creative minds are not opting for careers in basic sciences.'' Science is losing out to other more 'lucrative' disciplines even at the school level.

He said it was important to offer students the best of research environment in colleges and universities. ''Our endeavour to create new institutes of Science Education and Research is a step in this direction.''

Dr Singh said he was sure that the IISER will revitalize science education and research in Punjab and neighbouring states. The Prime Minister said that Punjab has been at the forefront of the Green Revolution and added there was need to usher in the second Green Revolution. He said the Green Revolution was made possible not only because of the efforts of the farmers of Punjab but also because of the excellent research work done by the Punjab Agriculture University.

''We need much more of that today,'' he stressed.

Dr Singh said Punjab needed to be in the vanguard of the knowledge revolution that was sweeping across the country and the world.

''I do believe that the application of modern science and technology to agriculture will have a significant impact on the income of farmers and on rural development. Our agriculture economy must become more knowledge-based so that we can increase the productivity of farms and the incomes of our farmers'', he added.

He said Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had ambitious plans for promoting new technologies, including nanotechnology, in the state. A Centre for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology was being set up in Mohali and Punjab needed many more such centres in all spheres in both public and private sectors. The Central government will support the state in all such efforts, he added.

The Prime Minister said he was delighted that the first of the five National Institutes of Public Health was being set up in Mohali by the Public Health Foundation of India in collaboration with the government of Punjab. The institute would train over 1000 healthcare professionals annually.

He expressed the hope that this would be an important milestone in our efforts towards improving healthcare delivery systems for the poor Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mr Ashwani Kumar, both Union Ministers of State, and State Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal also spoke on the occasion. Punjab Governor S F Rodrigues was also present.

UNI