Expressing concern over decline in employability of graduates, VP Naidu calls for imparting value based education

New Delhi, December 10: Advocating for including gender studies in the educational institutions for children to learn respect and become sensitive towards people of all genders from an early age, Vice President M Venkhaiah Naidu on Tuesday called for value based education and said that education is not just for employment but also for empowerment and enlightenment of individuals and the society.

 

 

Inaugurating the FICCI ARISE Conference on School Education in the national capital, he stressed upon inculcating values such as patience, honesty, respect, tolerance and empathy in the students. He also appreciated the increase in the capacity of India’s higher education sector in the last two decades, but expressed concerns over the reports pointing out a decline in employability of our graduates.

He called for reforming teaching and training systems to improve learning outcomes. “Globally, there is a dramatic change in the way teachers are teaching and learners are assimilating knowledge”, Naidu said highlighting the need to move away from rote learning and to focus on analytical and critical thinking abilities among students.

“The new wave of technologies has transformed our industry and society in an unprecedented manner”, the Vice President said and stressed that the skills needed for future workforce will be totally different. He called upon the schools and universities to prepare and educate young Indians for these future challenges posed by technologies.

Indian corporate and educational space is witnessing huge investment of time and money in skill training, talent acquisition and retention to address the dearth of skilled workforce. Aligning to this, the Vice President further called the entrepreneurship education and training as very important so that we may empower young people to be the job creators of the future and not just job seekers.

 

He appreciated several government initiatives in this regard, such as Atal Innovation Mission under which Atal Tinkering Labs have been set up in schools.“It should be our top priority to bring such ‘out-of-school’ children back to schools. We must raise a generation of young people who will not only make India a powerful economy but will also secure a position for it among the most inclusive, innovative and harmonious societies of the world", VP signed off.