PUDUCHERRY: Prof H Devaraj, vice-chairman, University Grants Commission, New Delhi said there was an immediate need for strategic policy interventions to strengthen engineering education in the country and the technical educational institutions should have more accountability.
Addressing the gathering after presenting degrees to the students of Sri Mankula Vinayagar Engineering College at the 10th graduation day on Saturday, he said the higher technical education system in India should be reviewed by the experts from time to time to provide the vision and directions for its future growth.
He said technical education has a crucial role in speeding up the country’s industrial development as the economic growth of a country largely depends on technological improvements.
The UGC vice-chairman said strategies should be built to make education more skill-imparting and improving employment potential. “For this, the education system should highlight the importance of entrepreneurship and prepare the students to get oriented towards setting up of enterprises which will provide them creativity, freedom and ability to generate wealth” he said
He said UGC has been extending funds for implementation of skill-based training to the students to make them employable.
The curriculum should lay emphasis on the importance of entrepreneurship so that some of the students after graduation can create their own industries which will provide large scale employment to skilled and semi-skilled technicians, he added.
For the academic year 2012, 9 students received gold medals, 52 students got top 10 places in the university rank holder list and 593 students got degree certificates. A total of 26 sovereigns gold chains and One Lakh Sixty Thousand rupees as cash prizes were given to the top 10 university rank holders.