Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM releases Dr. Amrik Singh's book: "The Challenge of Education"

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has said that it will be the sincere effort of the Government to give the education system a new sense of direction. Releasing the Book, "The Challenge of Education" by noted educationist, Dr. Amrik Singh, here today, the Prime Minister called for the active participation and cooperation of all men and women in this gigantic task. He said that the government does not have all the knowledge, wisdom and experience to tackle this task. The Government has a responsibility to provide a lead and to enlist the cooperation of all thinking elements in the civil society.

Noting that the main theme of the book is the Education Policy of 1986 and its subsequent review of 1991, Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the Policy was leading the country on the right track. There had been many failures and those failures had been due to tardy implementation. Speaking about the empowerment of Panchayats, the Prime Minister said the Government was serious about the matter. He said that the quest for greater decentralization would acquire its true significance only when Panchayats are empowered to play a rightful role in the management of the affairs of the nation.

The Prime Minister said that "The Challenge of Education" was a unique book and its author, Dr. Amrik Singh, was uniquely qualified to write about the subject. Half a century dedicated to the path of education, half of it as an active teacher, half of it as an active, prominent educational administrator, Dr. Amrik Singh has devoted his whole life to understanding the role of education in transforming the society.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the Central Government has pledged to impose a cess on all Central taxes to raise adequate resources to redeem the pledge of universalizing access to quality education. Quoting the author, he said that raising resources was important, but no less important was to ensure how these resources were spent. Therefore, the reorganization of the entire edifice of the educational system from primary school to secondary education, to college and university education, and the professional bodies, which lay down standards, he added.