Reshape technical education for changing needs: Odisha CM Naveen

BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday emphasised reshaping technical education for the changing needs of the 21st century. Speaking at an academic session themed ‘Transformation of technical and professional education in line with new education policy’ organised by Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) here, Naveen said the future of civilisation banks solely on the quality and direction of education.  

“Our future depends on how successfully we prepare our children for the future. Higher education is critical for societal aspirations, developmental priorities and social values, all of which must be assessed, nurtured and refined regularly,” he stressed.

As technology is dominating every bit of life and every part of society, the CM assured that the state government will provide all necessary support in the endeavour for the transformation of technological education in Odisha.

Appreciating the BPUT for the meet, he said the National Education Policy 2020 drafted by eminent scientist K Kasturirangan is a meaningful attempt to bring about relevance and set the tone and the direction at all levels of education.

“Since the new policy aims at transforming our education system, the ways for its integration with the present education system holds the key,” he said and hoped that the academic meeting will help create awareness among the education community on the policy and deliberate on the challenges and opportunities with some recommendations for its effective implementation.

Minister for Skill Development and Technical Education Priti Ranjan Ghadai highlighted the state government’s vision for the promotion of technical education. He spoke about the state’s transformation in various fields guided by the unique 5T governance model.

As the university has planned for implementation of the new education policy, discussion on various aspects, including the introduction of multi-disciplinary courses, improvement in research, innovation, capacity building, creation of a broad framework for technical institutions, promotion of local language in engineering education and faculty development were discussed.

BPUT vice-chancellor Prof Banshdhar Majhi and registrar Girish Chandra Singh also spoke. Among others, principal secretary of Skill Development and Technical Education department Usha Padhee, 5T secretary VK Pandian and director of IIT-Bhubaneswar Prof Shreepad Karmalkar attended.