Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu called for a re-look into the way students are trained in colleges and schools and said that there is a need to move away from textbook knowledge.

Addressing the 55th Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony of Shyam Lal College in New Delhi on Friday (April 29, 2019), the Vice President further said that rigid ideas and examination marks should also be done away with and focus should be on well informed, open debates.

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He asked centres of higher education to replace long hours of lecturing with newer teaching methods using case studies, problem-solving and role-playing, to improve employability.

"Employable skills and knowledge are the tools to succeed in modern-day careers. Hence, the institutions of higher educations must encourage students to take up live projects, internships and should enable them constantly to interact with industry and corporate bodies," Naidu said.

"Our quest for excellence in education would remain unfulfilled if we fail to achieve international standards in higher education," the Vice President further said while expressing concern over the poor global ranking of Indian institutions.

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Talking about India’s incredible demographic dividend, Venkaiah Naidu stressed upon the need to educate the burgeoning youth population and equip them with employable skills to harness the immense youth power to make India a global leader.

The Vice President also suggested increasing investment in education from the current 3% of GDP to at least 6% by 2022, as recommended by NITI Aayog.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu giving away prizes