Education without aim no better than mere certificate: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed on innovation in education and character-building as its goal, saying that education without aim is nothing more than a certificate hanging on one's wall.

The Prime Minister, while inaugurating the 'Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence', recalled Swami Vivekananda's emphasis on self-reliance, character-building, and human values, as elements of education.

"When there is no innovation in life, it ceases to move. There cannot ever be any time, any era, or any system, which can sustain without innovation. One is forced to carry life like a burden if one fails to innovate," Modi said while addressing Vice Chancellors and Directors of over 350 higher education institutions.

Speaking on 'resurgence' of education he said the nature of education should be such that it accommodates one's own needs and also becomes useful to the society.

"If education is acquired without any goal then it is nothing more that a certificate hanging on one's wall," he said.

Referring to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Act, which entitled IIMs to decide their course fees, syllabi, and hiring of faculty, Modi said he was surprised by the academic fraternity's silence on the reform.

"I am surprised that no academic is talking about this. The reforms that we did with IIMs are unprecedented in the history of higher education in India," he said.

The University Grants Commission's (UGC) decision of graded autonomy will not only improve the standard of education but will also help institutions to become the best, he said.

The Prime Minister also promised, as was announced earlier in the budget, that the government will invest Rs 1 lakh crore in higher education under Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022.

--IANS

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