The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has said that education should lay the foundation for a strong character. He was speaking at the Silver Jubilee Convocation of Siva Sivani Institute of Management, in Hyderabad today.The Vice President said that educational institutions must include activities like gardening, outdoor sports, craft and art in their curriculum for the overall development of students. He further said that education is a life-long learning process in which every experience teaches something new. The present-day formal education should make the students acquire new life skills, enable them to innovate and think out-of-the-box to face a globalized and competitive world, he added.The Vice President called for a complete overhaul of the education to ensure that institutions churn out ideal citizens. He further said that the syllabus at the school level has to be drastically cut to reduce the load on students. The time spent by students in school should be divided equally between the classroom and play field. Participation in sports and other extra-curricular activities, including gardening and crafts will help to develop students into good socially-conscious citizens, he said.
The Vice President said that students coming out of institutes of higher learning must be equipped to deal with new and emerging situations in an innovative and practical manner. For this to happen, the curricula and teaching methods should be re-oriented and made relevant to the requirements of the digital age, he added.The Vice President said that Rote method of learning should not be the basis to test students’ skills and knowledge. The policy-makers, educationists, Vice-chancellors and other stakeholders in the educational field should consider revamping the system, he said.The Vice President said that academic atmosphere on campuses should not be allowed to be vitiated or disrupted by activities which are detrimental to students’ interests. The Vice President said that young population should be provided with the required skill-sets to tap self-employment opportunities as jobs for all cannot be provided in the government sector, he added.The Vice President asked students to take advantage of the mobile revolution in our country and encourage people to access information on their mobiles. He further said that internet platforms and several apps are already being used to impart education. This must be accelerated to reach out sizable youth population live in rural and remote areas of our nation, he added.