India Education Summit: Students need to study to become employers and not employees, says Dharmendra Pradhan

Speaking at the India Education Summit 2022 in the national capital, Pradhan added that it is important to address these challenges and find the right ways to help them close this gap.

He also said that bridging the educational gap between formal and informal education is of great importance. “About 35 crore Indians attend formal or informal education. To make India a superpower, it is important to educate this population involved in the education sector. Technology plays an important role in bridging the education gap,” he said.

Referring to the crisis in Ukraine and the return of Indian students from abroad, Pradhan said nearly a million students are going abroad to pursue higher education. students still living in India.

Speaking of the highly talented youth in the tier-II and III cities, as well as in rural areas, he emphasized the need for skill development to help these students fly high. “We want to encourage these students to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship, scientists and engineers by guiding and providing global solutions through NEP 2020,” he said.

“Our potential is the 53 crore youth. If they study to become an employee, it doesn’t help, they have to study to become an employer,” said the minister.

Pradhan spoke about the existing language barrier in the country’s education system and said he strongly believes in the idea that a student’s knowledge and skills should not be limited by language. He gave examples from several other countries such as Japan and Germany and claimed that although people there use their local/mother tongue as their first language, it is only in India where English is promoted more than regional languages.

He also added that NEP 2020 has focused on promoting local languages.