Describing the teaching establishments for younger college students as “poaching centres”, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday (July 12, 2025) mentioned the teaching tradition was creating “unnecessary impediments” within the implementation of the Nationwide Schooling Coverage (NEP), and adversely affecting the expansion and progress of scholars.
Mr. Dhankhar made the remarks whereas addressing the 4th convocation ceremony on the Indian Institute of Info Know-how (IIIT) in Kota.
College students from throughout the nation arrive yearly in Kota, thought-about the hub of teaching centres, to organize for aggressive exams for admissions to medical and engineering schools.
“Coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres… They have become black holes for talent in regimented silos. These centres are mushrooming and it is menacing for our youth. We cannot allow our education to be so smeared and tarnished,” Mr. Dhankhar mentioned within the presence of IIIT lecturers and college students.
The Vice-President criticised the teaching centres for “robotising” the brains of scholars with obsession for good grades and standardised scores. “This obsession has compromised with curiosity, which is an inalienable facet of human intelligence. When the thinking is stymied, a lot of psychological problems arise out of it,” he mentioned.
Mr. Dhankhar inspired the scholars to look past grades, whereas affirming that their data and considering, slightly than the marksheets and grades, would outline them after they take a leap into the aggressive world.
‘Focus on skilling’
Laying emphasis on the importance of enhancing expertise, Mr. Dhankhar mentioned the teaching centres ought to use their infrastructure to rework into ability centres. He additionally referred to as upon the civil society and public representatives to converge to “restore sanity in education”. “We need coaching for skill,” he added.
Mr. Dhankhar expressed concern over the extreme dependence on overseas expertise in crucial sectors similar to defence. “Nations will no longer be compromised or colonised by armies, as armies have now been replaced by algorithms. Sovereignty will not be lost through invasions, but through dependence on foreign digital infrastructure,” he mentioned.
Digital threats
The Vice-President referred to as for a brand new imaginative and prescient of patriotism rooted in technological management, whereas pointing to the adjustments in international energy dynamics within the digital age. He mentioned the battleground of the twenty first century was not land or sea. “Gone are the days of conventional warfare. Our power has to be determined by code, cloud and cyber.”
Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade; Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A.Ok. Bhatt, chairperson, board of governors, IIIT; and IIIT Director N.P. Padhy had been amongst these current on the convocation ceremony.
Revealed – July 12, 2025 10:02 pm IST
