Chennai, Sep 27: Former President Ramnath Kovind on Friday said India is poised to play an important role in filling the global demand-supply gap of skilled talent.
Participating in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Agarwal Relief and Educational Trust (ARET) here, he said “Today, we are fortunate to be living at a time when our country is the fastest-growing large economy in the world.”
“We, as a nation, have collectively resolved to become a developed country, Viksit Bharat, by 2047. And we are steadily marching towards that goal”, he said.
Observing that the cluntry’s youth will play a central role in this developmental journey, he said aA huge variety of opportunities and career paths await the skilled youth.
Even the world today has high expectations from India. Populations of developed countries are ageing and India is poised to play an important role in filling the global demand-supply gap of skilled talent.
Mr Kovind said India is fast emerging as the favoured destination for hiring skilled professionals.
He said “in the past few decades, we have made great strides in spreading literacy; now we must expand the frontiers of education and knowledge. Our aspiration must be to upgrade our education system and make it relevant to 21st-century realities of the digital economy, genomics, robotics and automation.”
“Today, 24% of our population is below the age of 14. Around half of our fellow citizens are still below the age of 25. It is in them that our hopes for the future lie”, he added.
Stating that a confident and forward-looking nation is built by confident and forward-looking youth, the former President said an innovative nation is built by innovative youth.
“This must be our obsessive goal. Our schooling system has to encourage our children to think and to tinker, not just to mug up, memorise and reproduce”, he said, adding, “We need to have a system where young talent looks up and asks questions, rather than looks down and nods.”
This will not be possible without adopting new learning approaches. We will need to include interactive, hands-on and experiential learning approaches for better learning outcomes.
Noting that Digital technology could be immensely helpful in enhancing learning outcomes by providing interactive simulations, multimedia resources, and educational apps that engage students, Mr Kovind said online platforms facilitate personalized, self-paced learning experiences tailored to individual needs and preferences. Collaborative tools enable students to work together, encouraging teamwork and communication skills. Data analytics help educators track student progress and adapt teaching strategies suited to the inherent strengths of each student.
Lauding the role of teachers in moulding the students, Mr Kovind said teachers are the true architects of a nations future. They establish the solid ground of character building in our sons and daughters and make them cognizant citizens.
In the last few years, the government has launched many programmes and initiatives to equip our youth with the education and skills to compete in a globalised world. Sizeable resources have been set aside for these programmes.
“It is the responsibility of our teachers to adequately guide our talented young people to make the most of these opportunities”, he said. (UNI)
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