“Emphasis should be on ruralization, not urbanization. We need to keep our village concept intact to pass-on our culture, traditions and economic system to the future generations. Higher educational institutions can also play an important role in this direction and can give direction to the society by bringing appropriate changes in their curriculum”, said Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. He was present as a Chief Guest in a conclave on “Higher Education Leaders”-Future of Learning and Jobs organized by Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HP-PERC) here, today.Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar said that after getting degree we talked about employment opportunities. He said that this feeling was inculcated in the mind of the students that they now have to find employment opportunities. But, does our curriculum and spirit lead in making the students employable? he questioned and added that we talked about preparing curriculum according to the industrial requirement but was it right. "What the society wants is more important than the industry", said the Governor.
Appreciating the efforts of private educational institutions to implement the National Education Policy, the Governor said that more work was needed in this direction, for which conferences and workshops should be organized. He said that the 21st century was the century of knowledge and establishment of human values with a comprehensive vision of humanity; he added and said that the inclusion of excellence, quality, technology etc. in this education policy was certainly commendable. “I would like our teachers to cooperate in implementing this after studying it thoroughly”, said the Governor.He said that the countries of the West explained to us the importance of environmental protection. Whereas, the aspect of environment has been a part of our culture and lifestyle, he added. He said that if we turned towards our culture, then all questions would be answered and the NEP focused on all these subjects. He stressed on the integration of new and old courses of education and also the integration of health education, which includes Allopathy, Ayurveda and Homoeopathy.The Governor also handed over the Employment Certificate to students on the occasion.
Former IAS and Chairman, Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority Karan Avtar Singh in his keynote address said that presently about 65 percent of production was carbon intensive and carbon intensive production would be reduced to 25 percent by 2050 in most countries. He said that consumer choice was shifting towards sustainable and inclusive products and also the corporate strategies must focus on sustainability and inclusion. Therefore, strategy for higher education was shifted from skill to attributes, he added and said that green economy jobs required attributes including values, attitudes and abilities. He also focused on new goals of education for the green economy. He said that out of 10 million jobs, 95 per cent of jobs would be available in the green economy in the next 10 years and our universities should focus on the green economy section.Earlier, Major General Atul Kaushik, Chairman, HP-Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission welcomed and honoured the Governor and detailed about the conference.Vice Chancellors of various Universities and other prominent people were also present on the occasion.