Jobs should be created for educated youth: Kalam

Coimbatore, Feb 24 (UNI) President A P J Abdul Kalam today said the percentage of students persuing in higher education would increase to 20 per cent by 2015 from the present 11 per cent and to 30 per cent by 2020.

Speaking to the students at Bharathiyar University here, he said hard work alone would help in overcoming failures. ''In 1979, the SLV-3 launch was unsuccessful, however, Rohini was launched successsfully in 1980. After 25 years now, the country has become one of the leaders in Space Technology'', he added.

Dr Kalam said the country with a population of 54 crore youth dedicated leaders, good administrators, educational institutions and social workers, would achieve the 'developed nation status' before 2020.

Stating the integrated technolgy would be the future, he said IT, Communication and Bio-Technology, integrated with today's Nano-technology would create revolution in the field. These integrated technologies would solve many challenges in various fields, he added.

The President said the country had allocated Rs 500 crore for research and development of human resource in nano-bio-informatic technology in a period of five years. ''Once this research succeeds, it can develop various sectors, including water sources, land sources and electricity to help the people directly'', he added.

He said the Universities in the country were now producing ten-lakh graduates and post-graduates. By 2010, the world would require 90-lakh candidates in IT, ITEs and BPO fields. Hence, the percentage of students in higher education should be increased, he added.

During the interaction session with students, Dr Kalam said the educational instituions must build capacities among the students for research and enquiry, creativity and innovation, use of high technology, moral leadership and enterpreneurship, to enable them to undertake nation-building-tasks after the completion of their education.

Information Technology alone would not generate jobs in the country. ''Today, nearly one million people are in the ICT sector.

It will grow into two million shortly. We have to increase the enterprises in the manufacturing sector to provde job to millions of people'', he added.

''Our emphasis is in preparing our youth to become entrepreneurs and create manufacturing enterprises particularly in rural areas. I have suggested to the universities and schools to include entrepreneurship programmes in their curriculum,'' Dr Kalam said.

UNI