Speech of the seminar on Effective Coordination between Engineering Organizations and Technological Institutions Bhopal dated 20-9-1985

The entire gamut of education is now undergoing a reappraisal. The whole system is being subjected to a reexamination. We have gone considerably forward in expanding education quantitatively. There was a time when we were in need of quantitative expansion. Now, however, only quantitative expansion will not suffice; qualitative change must also take place.

Any cloth is not good enough for the consumer today. He wants to wear clothes which he likes. This is so in every sphere of life in India. During the four decades affer we achieved independence we have made considerable progress in various spheres, even though we are still far behind many other countries. We have to catch up with them. How best can we do that? It is possible only with the help of modern technology.

Madhya Pradesh is rich in resources, still we lag behind. How can we transform these resources into goods and services that bring happiness to people ? It is a challenging job that is before us; before the people’s Government.

The role of technical institutes which can provide proper technical guidance to society becomes relevant here. We are rich in manpower and our technology should take into account the large masses. We need technology that can be used by the people of this State and not the one which is relevant to some other part of the world where human resources may be the main constraint.

Again, the technology must be relevant to our development programmes. What I am suggesting is that the technology being introduced should be compatible with the needs of the people of our State. The technology must be within the capacity both in terms of operational skills and purchasing power, of the pepole who use it.

Another aspect is matching our education with our job requirements. Because of gross mismatching, we have an acute shortage of technical persons, while we have a surfeit of educated unemployed. Yet another aspect is the finances involved in education. The role of various agencies in funding Our education should be reconsidered. The technical personnel that have been produced in the country have been absorbed by different industries both in the public as well as the private sector. Neither, however, contributes to the funding of such training. In fact, our industry is utilizing technically trained persons without paying for their training.

The expenses of such training are met by the people, the tax payers of the country. I am sure no industrialist will sell his product free of cost, but here is an exception: the country is producing engineers, technical personnel and other professionals, who are being utilised by both the public and the private sector without paying for the expenditure incurred in training them. Time has come when this expenditure should be passed on to the employers.

In 1950, 25 per cent of the expenditure on education in the country was borne by non-government institutions. In 1980, the contribution of

non-government agencies came down to less than three per cent. I am canvassing the idea that those who are benefitting by education must pay for it. Can we introduce a plan under which those who utilize the services of engineers, doctors, etc. must pay for their training ? I am speaking not on behalf of the Government, only academically.

A paper has been presented before the country for discussion about a new education policy and it is being aridly discussed. My posers are: how can we make our education relevant to the requirements of the people of our country? What are the possible requirements of Madhya Pradesh in 2000 A.D. ? What kind of technical personnel do we require and how many? How can we give them good training? How can the institutions be financed by the agencies who benefit from the trained manpower ? ! should like to request you to consider these issues and come up with your considered views.