Digital University is an unprecedented step in India`s education policy: PM Narendra Modi

Stressing that the Union Budget will help in implementing National Education Policy, the PM said, `National Digital University is an unprecedented step. The problem of shortage of seats can be resolved. There will be unlimited seats. I urge all stakeholders to ensure digital university starts as soon as possible.`

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that Digital University is an unprecedented step in India's national education policy as it will end the problem of shortage of seats in the country.

The PM made these remarks while addressing the plenary session of a webinar by the Education Ministry on the implementation of the announcements made in the Union Budget 2022. PM Modi said that the Union Budget for 2022-23 will play a key role in implementing the New Education Policy on the ground.

The PM also reminded the audience how ''digital connectivity kept India's education system running in the time of Covid-19 pandemic.''

Further describing the young generation as the “future of India”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called for empowering the “future leaders of India.” “Our young generation is the future leader of the country. So empowering today's young generation means empowering India's future,” PM Narendra Modi said while stressing the positive impact of Union Budget 2022 on the education sector.

During his address, the PM said, “A lot of emphasis has been laid on 5 things related to the education sector in Union Budget 2022. First is the Universalization of quality education, Second is skill development, Third is urban planning and design. Fourth is internationalization - world-class foreign universities in India and fifth is AVGC- Animation Visual Effects Gaming Comic.”

Stressing that the Union Budget will help in implementing National Education Policy, the PM said, “National Digital University will resolve the problem of shortage of seats in India. There will be unlimited seats. I urge all stakeholders to ensure digital university starts as soon as possible.”

The PM said that education in the mother tongue is related to children's mental development and highlighted that several medical, tech-edu startups have started in many states in local languages. Educational infrastructure such as e-Vidya, One Class One Channel, Digital Labs, Digital University are going to help youths a lot, the PM added.

The Ministry of Education, which is organising the webinar on the education and skill sector, will have sessions on different themes of relevance and will witness participation of government officials of various ministries and state governments, industry representatives, skill development organizations, educationists, students and other experts.

Seven parallel breakout sessions will be held under the identified themes. Action points, broad strategies and timelines for implementation in line with principles of ease of education and focus on harnessing employment opportunities will be identified by the participating teams.

The themes of the webinar are 'Digital University', 'The Digital Teacher', 'Widening Reach of One Class One Channel', 'India Specific Knowledge in Urban Planning and Design', 'Towards Fostering Stronger Industry-Skill Linkage', 'Developing Educational Institutions in GIFT City' and 'Strengthening Industry-Skill Linkage in AVGC'.

“In order to facilitate efficient and speedy implementation of budget announcements, the Government of India is holding a series of webinars across various key sectors. The objective is to brainstorm with experts from the public and private sectors, academia and industry and identify strategies on how best to move forward towards implementation of various issues under different sectors,” The Education Ministry officials said.