“Even though just one-third of Indians who are of college-going age actually go to college — that share is about 80 percent in US and UK — 13 percent of Indians with advanced degrees remain unemployed, one of the highest shares in the world. In US, that share is 2.3 percent and in UK 2.7 percent.”
Chandrima Banerjee, journalist, in an essay titled ‘UGC is chasing ‘flexibility’ in a blind maze’ (Times of India, December 10)
“The country’s education system measures success only if one becomes an engineer or a doctor, or joins the IAS/IPS or gets into the forces, which is just one or two percent of our population, and 90 percent of our population is never going to do this. Our education system disregards many things, it undervalues many professions and overvalues these four or five professions. So those are the types of things that I would like to change.”
Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Opposition, addressing IIT Madras students (The Week, January 5)
“The new UGC regulations granting governors broader control over VC appointments and allowing non-academics to hold these posts are a direct assault on federalism and state rights. This authoritarian move by the Union BJP government seeks to centralise power and undermine democratically elected state governments. Education must remain in the hands of those chosen by the people, not dictated by Governors acting at the BJP government’s behest.”
M.K. Stalin, Tamil Nadu chief minister, on new guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (The Wire, January 7)
“There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States. Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”
Justin Trudeau, former Canadian PM on US President-elect Donald Trump’s statement that the US is ready to make Canada its 51st state (Business Today, January 8)”
