Indian leader outlines proposals to improve education system

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj recommended measures to improve the education system of the country. Speaking at a seminar here, Swaraj discussed a number of issues like curriculum, rural girls' education and the growing pressure on students among others to highlight the drawbacks of the education system. Swaraj said the country lacked infrastructure, as the number of colleges in the country was not enough to cater to the needs of a huge population. "Twenty colleges have been opened in the year 1967 and it is 2013 now where not even a single college has been opened. The population at that time used to easily get admission in those 20 colleges. But today after scoring 97.5 percent a student cries for not getting admission in the college," she said. Swaraj and other BJP members also stressed on the need for promoting the teaching of Hindi, the national language. They suggested that Hindi must be taught for at least for five years in schools, rather than stressing on the English language. Swaraj also criticised the system for not being able to admit brilliant students with high scores. "The biggest problem in our education system is that a student scoring 97.5 percent is unable to take admission in her desired college," she said. Swaraj said that Indian society first needs to change their perception in terms of education system, only then, can the necessary modifications be carried out. India continues to face stern challenges despite growing investment in education from public as well as private sector 25 percent of its population is still illiterate. As per studies, only 15 percent Indian students reach high school while just 7 percent graduate. With a massive population falling under the age of 35, India is striving to improve the quality of education whether at primary or higher education that is significantly poor as compared with major developing nations. From: News Track India