Education system should tap demographic dividend: Prez

CHANDIGARH: President Pranab Mukherjee today said that India's education system would have to take the challenge of tapping its ‘demographic dividend'. We will also have to provide a competent skilled workforce, he said.

He was inaugurating a 3-day international conference on “Universities of the Future: Knowledge, Innovations and Responsibility' at OP  Jindal Global University in Sonepat. The President said that interface between education and industry should be established. The requirement of today's educational system is to focus on innovation and research.

Another important necessity of modern Universities is to have a chain of inspired teachers who can ignite the minds of students and encourage them to think out of the box. Young boys and girls should be encouraged to have problem-solving minds to enable them to solve problems through their ingenuity.

He said that since 2014, the Festival of Innovations (FOIN) is being held in Rashtrapati Bhavan. He has seen in FOIN how a large number of persons from obscure places and remote villages have tried to solve the problems of society through innovation.

However, at the same time, it was also essential to establish linkages between innovation and the market. He emphasised that future Universities must establish strong linkages with various stakeholders in society. Unless we have strong foundations of basic research, our futuristic University plans will be seriously jeopardised. (AGENCIES)