PM's address at Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of UGC (Part 2)

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Published on December 28, 2013 7:43:39 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk4svXAjr_M

Duration: 9:42

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Following is the text of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's address at Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of UGC, in New Delhi today:

"I am delighted to participate in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the University Grants Commission (UGC), an organization with which I have an old association. Today brings back very fond memories of the year 1991 when I had the opportunity to serve as the Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

It has been a very meaningful journey for the UGC ever since it was established in 1953. Its contribution to the cause of Higher Education has been widely acknowledged. I congratulate all those who have helped build the organization in the past 60 years.

These 60 years have also seen a complete transformation of the Higher Education system in our country. The process of change has accelerated particularly in the past 10 years, which have been marked by an unprecedented expansion of the Higher Education facilities in our country.

The rapid changes of the recent years have also implied greater challenges for the UGC. As the principal regulator of Higher Education, the UGC has done very well so far. However, the tasks that lie ahead require fresh thinking and innovative ways of doing things. I am sure the Commission will utilize the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee to reflect on how it should evolve in the future to be able to do full justice to its onerous responsibilities. I would suggest that it should also now play the role of a national 'think-tank' and organize a professional and purposeful discourse about issues that have a close bearing on the sound management of Higher Education system in our country.

In the last 10 years, our Government has put unprecedented emphasis on education at all levels- Primary, Secondary and Higher. I think it is in this period that the criticality of educational opportunities for the growth and development of our country and for the empowerment of our citizens has been fully recognized.

This period has also seen a very rapid expansion of the Higher Education system. Several new institutes have been set up, including 23 new Central Universities, 7 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), 9 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 10 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), 5 Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs), 4 Indian Institutes of Information Technology ( IIIT), and 2 Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs).