Human Resource Development Minister Shri Arjun Singh has said that India’s vital interest lies in providing the best education in the latest fields such as Information Technology and Bio-Technology which will help its citizens drive the rest of the world in the future. Shri Singh also requested the Indian expatriates to keep their relationship with their motherland alive. He was speaking in Jeddah at a reception organized by India Forum, Indian Educational Council and Jeddah Urdu Academy.
‘Our tradition of higher education is old-the universities of Nalanda and Takshila used to attract the best minds from China, Arabia and the rest of the world and that tradition still continues. Universities in India were first established in the year 1857 at Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. We have decided that these universities should jointly work together and chalk out a plan which they would like the rest of the country to follow in the 21st century’, he said. Shri Singh also said that the great thinkers and educationists like Dr.Radhakrishnan, Dr.Meghnad Saha and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad are household names in India and it is on the foundation laid by them that the modern education system in India has been built.
Responding to the suggestion of the Jeddah Urdu Academy to declare Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birthday as the National Education Day, Shri.Singh said that this is a thoughtful suggestion and is under the active consideration of the government. He hoped that in due course, this suggestion will be implemented. Shri Singh said that although the Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia may be living far away from India, they are very close to the heart of all Indians. Shri Singh assured that each and every one of the grievances raised by the Indian expatriates will be receiving serious consideration in the Government of India. Shri Singh added that he had flagged all the issues raised by the Indian expatriates in his talks with the Saudi Minister for Higher Education.
Referring to the request of the Jeddah Urdu academy for help in fostering the Urdu language, Shri Singh said that Urdu is a great and important language and that it should get all the help and support which, a great language such as Urdu deserves. Shri Singh said that the Director of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language and other officers will be instructed by him to interact with the office bearers of the Jeddah Urdu academy and see how the Urdu language can be nourished.
The reception was followed by a Seminar on “Educational Exchanges between India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” in which delegates from both India and Saudi Arabia participated.
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(Release ID :18193)