New Delhi, Oct 22 Students of today will be the decision-makers in 2047, and the quality of their decisions will depend on the state of the education system today, Padma awardee educationist M Jagadesh Kumar said on Thursday.
Kumar, chairperson of the Board of Governors of IIM-Calcutta and former UGC chairperson, emphasised the need for universities and colleges to move beyond being mere degree-granting institutions.
He was addressing newly qualified students of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) at a student convention here on the theme “Shaping Gen Z for Viksit Bharat”.
“The future of India will be decided by young people like you, who are nearly 40 crores. While there are so many things that are happening in the country and across the globe, the large majority, the crores and crores of our Gen Z in our country, are presently involved in their education, in establishing their start-up companies, in developing new technologies and in making our country a very strong economy,” he said.
Kumar said by the time India reaches 2047, today’s students will be around 40-45 years old and could be entrepreneurs, cost accountants managing the country’s financial system, scientists, teachers or other professionals.’
“The quality of decisions they will make when we reach 2047 depends on what we do in our educational system today,” he said.
Kumar, who chairs the review committee for the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, said his experience as a former UGC chairperson and professor at IIT had shown him that the success or failure of policies depended on the capacity of institutions.
He said the quality of leadership and the ability of faculty members to adapt to a changing system were crucial to institutional success.
“That is the reason why we say now that the educational system, our universities and colleges, should move away from being just degree-granting institutions,” Kumar said.
Universities and colleges must ensure that students graduate with a portfolio of practical work rather than just a degree, he said, adding that it could be a design, a project or even an open source contribution or a community interaction.
“When students come out and say that this is what I have conceived, this is what I have designed, built, tested, I have failed, but from the failure I have learned and then I have improved.
“It is these kinds of students who are creative and innovative that our country is looking for,” he said.
Established in 1944, the ICMAI is the largest cost and management accounting body in the world by student and member scale, with more than six lakh students and one lakh qualified professionals all over the globe.
Over 700 qualifying students were felicitated on Thursday at the student convention organised by the Northern India Regional Council (NIRC) of ICMAI.
NIRC chairperson Manish Kandpal said the vision of Viksit Bharat could be realised only when young people were skilled and employable.
“By combining knowledge, innovation, ethical leadership and financial discipline with entrepreneurial thinking, our youth can transform challenges into opportunities and contribute to inclusive, sustainable national growth,” Kandpal said.
“The mission of Viksit Bharat requires young Indians, who are not only job-ready but also nation-ready, equipped with skills, integrity and a sense of responsibility to build a stronger, self-reliant India by 2047,” he said.
SRM University Vice Chancellor V R Raghuveer advised students to use technology as a helping hand rather than competing with machines, and to come up with new ideas.
“AI solves problems you give it. Identifying which problem is worth solving and spotting invisible angles is entirely human. From weighing trade-offs, understanding consequences, and taking accountability when things go wrong, in the end, the human mind is what matters the most,” he said.
(PTI News)
