Union Minister of State for HRD Satyapal Singh says discrimination between public, private academic institutes will soon end

New Delhi: Discrimination between public and private academic institutes will gradually come to an end as the matter is under serious consideration at the level of the prime minister and the president, said Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) Satyapal Singh in Delhi on Monday. Inaugurating the Seventh National Summit on ‘Institutionalising Academia-Industry Interface’ under the aegis of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said the government was taking various “satisfying” steps to improve the curriculum of education institutes to meet the industry requirements. On the issue of discrimination between public and private academic institutions on various fronts, the minister hoped that something positive would emerge soon. [caption id=“attachment_4311859” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union minister Satyapal Singh. Twitter/@dr_satyapal[/caption] “I can tell you today that discrimination between public and private academic institutes will gradually come to an end since the matter is under serious consideration at the highest level. I have raised the issue with the president as well as the prime minister. That is the priority and significance that this government has attached to the matter,” Singh told the gathering. Laying emphasis on the need to bring in changes in the syllabus of educational institutes to generate jobs, Singh said the government was trying its best for confluence of industry-academic institutes and accordingly bringing in the public domain a fresh curriculum for engineering and polytechnic institutes. A new curriculum for polytechnic students will be released in the next few days, he said. This exercise, the minister said, is aimed at intensifying industry-academia interactions as students studying in such institutes would have to work with the industry at different levels, beginning with internships and ending their interface on productions floors, as well. The minister also called for extension of the move to allow lateral entry in various ministries at the rank of joint secretaries to even educational institutes as it would amount to acceleration of quality and speed, including transparency in quicker dispensation of public policies. He said the matter ought not to be politicised by vested interests. PHD Chamber President Anil Khaitan emphasised the focus of education — be it elementary or higher secondary — should be on quality that empowers the learner with skills so that the knowledge earned is applied for earning and even wealth creation.