KARAIKAL: Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal stuck to his recommendation to the State governments to fix the minimum age for nursery school admission should be four years, but said that the final decision on this issue rests with the chief ministers of respective states.
During a brief interaction with media persons after inaugurating the newly formed National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Karaikal in Puducherry UT on Monday, the Minister clarified that it was his wish to raise the nursery admission age to four years.
When reporters sought to know the current status of that recommendation, Sibal said that it was for the chief ministers of respective states to decide.
It may be noted that during February this year, Kapil Sibal came up with this recommendation in an attempt to reduce the unnecessary stress and psychological pressure the little children were undergoing at the age of three during the nursery admission.
Earlier, inaugurating the newly formed NIT at Karaikal, Sibal gave an assurance to the 22 crore children in the country that he will bring about a revolution in education scenario aiming at overall human resources development.
The minister said that in the 1960s, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru laid the foundation for high quality higher education in the country. Indira Gandhi continued the mission and Rajiv Gandhi went a step further and took higher education to most backward parts of the country.
The NIT at Karaikal was a step forward in fulfilling Rajiv’s dream, he said and added that Karaikal NIT was one among the 10 NITs proposed by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Sibal pointed out that to start with the Karaikal NIT will offer three B.Tech courses with 90 seats and the number of seats and courses will be increased. Within five years, the institution will start offering M.Tech courses, he said.
Earlier, Sibal laid the foundation stone for setting up the campus of Karaikal NIT in 300 acres of land. He inaugurated the NIT in its makeshift location, the Aringnar Anna Government Arts College Campus.
Union Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V Narayanaswamy said that formation of NIT at Karaikal was a major milestone in the development of Karaikal.
Chief Minister V Vaithilingam, Speaker Radhakrishnan, Higher Education Minister MOHF Shahjahan, Social Welfare Minister Kandaswamy, Opposition Leader AMH Nazeem were among those who participated in the inaugural function.