Dharmendra Pradhan Addresses Western Zone Vice Chancellors’ Conference as Chief Guest, Discusses Implementation of NEP-2020
Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the Western Zone Vice Chancellors’ Conference on implementation of National Education Policy-2020, as a chief guest. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel; Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, and Higher and Technical Education, Law, Justice, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Gujarat, Shri Rushikesh Patel; Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs, Primary, Secondary and Adult Education, Higher Education, Government of Gujarat, Shri Praful Pansheriya; Chairman graced the occasion.
Addressing the event Shri Pradhan commended the Government of Gujarat and the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda for organising this 1st zonal-level conference to accelerate the ground implementation of NEP 2020. He said that the journey of articulating the approaches, roadmap and strategies for implementation of NEP 2020 that began in 2022 at the Shiksha Samagam in Kashi on the banks of Ganga to today’s zonal conference being organised at the plateau of Narmada will play a defining role in carving a brighter future for India.
Bharatiya Bhasha, Bharatiya Gyan Parampara, Skilling, Employment and entrepreneurship education are priority areas of NEP. He expressed his confidence this zonal conference will pave the way for development of a new culture and best practices of multidisciplinary education, multiple entry-exit and equitable opportunities for all through effective NEP implementation.
He expressed his happiness that the zonal conference is deliberating on several priority areas of NEP, particularly on Quality of education, Skilling ecosystem in education, Research, innovation & entrepreneurship in education, Bharatiya Gyan Parampara & Internationalisation. He hoped that the approaches, thoughts and roadmap germinated from here will be converted into a compendium of best practices & case study and passed on at the college-level for paving the way for a uniform approach to NEP implementation.
Several Technical sessions were held during the Conference including Panel Discussions on Access to Quality Education and Governance– Higher Education; Equitable and Inclusive Education Issues of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs); Creating Synergy between Education and Skilling Future Workforce; Holistic Education through integration of Skilling, Industry Connect and Employability; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Research and Development; Internationalization of Education; and Indian Knowledge System.
UGC, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar; Chairman, AICTE, Prof. T.G. Sitharam; Vice-chancellor of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Prof. Vijay Kumar Srivastava; Dr. Hasmukh Adhia; other dignitaries, Vice Chancellors, and eminent educationists were present at the event.
Later in the day, Shri Pradhan visited the iconic Statue of Unity in Kevadia and called it as a symbol of pride, unity, peace and gratitude. A tribute to the ‘Iron Man of India’ and his statesmanship, the Statue of Unity—the world’s tallest monument is a must-visit for all travel enthusiasts, he added.