Date:02/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/02/stories/2007110260970800.htm

Karnataka

‘India must become educationally strong ’

Staff Correspondent

This is necessary to compete with other countries, says Rajasekharan

DHARWAD: Union Minister of State for Planning M.V. Rajasekharan has said that it has been decided to allocate six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to education from next year.

He was inaugurating the new building of JSS Institute of Economic Research and Centre for Population Research built at a cost of Rs. 75 lakh in Dharwad on Thursday.

The department had decided to give priority to education and assist in opening more educational institutions in the country.

The country should become educationally strong first in order to compete with the other countries of the world, he said.

Mr. Rajasekharan said that presently there were 300 universities and 17,000 colleges in the country where 1,44,81,000 students were studying. Inaugurating the new building of Manjunatheshwar Kannada School, the former Primary and Secondary Education Minister Basavaraj Horatti said that the teachers had a great responsibility of providing good education to children.

He called upon educational institutions to involve themselves actively in the work of making students imbibe cultural and moral values.

Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari and working president of Janata Shikshana Samiti D. Veerendra Heggade called on the teachers to help the students imbibe the qualities of patriotism and social service.

He underscored the need for giving importance to education in Kannada and also improving the facilities provided to Kannada schools in the State.

Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math called upon everyone to take pride in speaking Kannada and also asked them to make children respect their culture and language.

In his introductory remarks, N. Vajrakumar, secretary of JSS, said that the society was running 22 educational institutions where 9,000 students were studying. Principal Ajit Prasad proposed a vote of thanks. Viranna Mattikatti, MLC, Niranjankumar, Jinendra Prasad and others were present.