HRD Minister Involves IITs in School Education System

 

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Initiating a slew of measures to beef up education in India, HRD minster Smriti Irani addressed a retreat of directors and chairmen of sixteen IITs at Goa, and stressed the need to work in new directions.

The retreat focussed on using the education system to build up India's future. Irani stressed on the need for the IITs to involve themselves in a range of initiatives, ranging from development of curriculum for schools in India to broadening the reach and quantity of Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC). 

Pledging the support of the HRD Ministry for such initiatives, the Minster stressed the need to leverage the alumni body of each institution to enable greater technological and fiscal contribution.  There is also a need to develop the faculty community, not just at the level of IITs and IIMs, but also in institutions across India, in order to meet the burgeoning quality manpower needs of the country.

Irani also called for a special program for students from the North-East, who need to be exposed to quality education at the IIT level. The minister asked the Director of IIT Guwahati to submit his suggestions in this regard by mid-August.  Additionally, Irani also asked the IITs to suggest ten goals that the nation needs to achieve by sticking to a time-bound agenda, on a national and international level. She stressed on a need to foster a culture of research, innovation and excellence among the students at the school and university level across the country.  The need to leverage and enhance technological capability and infrastructure on a  nation-wide basis was also stressed.