PM stresses on critical importance of investing in education

Underscoring the critical importance of investing in education, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government has widened educational opportunities with the launch of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and scholarships for the underprivileged and girl child.
"I take great pride in the fact that we have transformed the education landscape of our country," he said, referring to the number of educational institutes set up during his tenure as the PM.
Noting that he himself as been a beneficiary of liberal scholarships and public investment in education, Singh said, "Education has been a key element of our strategy to increase the productive capacity of our economy and improve access to better jobs.

"I have myself been a beneficiary of liberal scholarships and public investment in education. I can, therefore, well understand the critical importance of investing in education," he said.
Addressing a press conference, he said through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the new scholarships for SCs and STs, OBCs and with a focus on the girl child and young women, "we have widened educational opportunities".
The government has also set up new universities, new institutes of science and technology, new industrial training centres and enabled the flowering of individual enterprise in skill-building and education, he said.