HRD minister for inclusive higher education

Union Human Resources Development minister M Pallam Raju today said education without a meaningful purpose will always be meaningless for the society.
Calling for "inclusive" higher education, Raju said higher education should establish a strong bond with business and industry so that it could establish a link with the society.
The Union HRD minister while addressing the 6th Convocation of Ravenshaw University informed in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), it has been proposed to create an additional enrolment capacity of 10 million students of which a majority would be in higher education.
In order to achieve this, the HRD minister said at least 200 community colleges are being proposed to be established in the country where the curricula will include a mix of academic and vocational skills. He said the local community will be given priority in the academic and administrative boards of these colleges which will work in close coordination with industry and business houses.

Speaking on the occasion, the varsity chancellor and Odisha Governor S C Jamir emphasised on Public-Private Partnership for higher learning and cautioned that universities should have a regulation mechanism in place so that quality of higher education is maintained and students found themselves competent and suitable in the employment market.
"Courses should be designed to encourage innovation, spirit of enquiry and meeting of the market demands," Jamir said.