President concerned over India’s GRE

Chennai:

India’s gross enrolment ratio (GRE) may have increased from .6 per cent to seven per cent but it has failed to enthuse the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee who feels the country is way behind Germany and United States.

Delivering the First Convocation Adress of Indian Maritime University, the Presient said the the country has to cover many miles in higher education sector to compete with countries like US and Germany.

“India is still behind Germany and the US, whose enrolment ratios stood at 27 per cent and 37 per cent respectively,” the President said.

Urging the students to serve the society and the country, Mukherjee said that the students should remember that the education and teaching was received with huge investment from public resources. “You are indebted to the society, alma mater and the country,” the President said.

The President also said that he is aware of Indian Maritime University’s teething problems including many unfilled faculty positions. He said that IMU should try to become Centre of Excellence in medium term.

Stressing on the need to improve the quality of maritime personnel, he said that India should try to increase the share of seafarers in the global arena.

Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan said that his ministry has plans to open maritime institutes in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha. The target is to improve the share of Indian seafarers in the global arena from six per cent to nine per cent, he said.

Indian Maritime University vice chancellor K Ashok Vardhan Shetty expressed regret in holding IMU’s first convocation. He said a total of 1,339 candidates from 2009-10 batches onwards, who have passed all their exams before October 31, 2013 were awarded undergraduate and post graduate  degrees and post graduate diplomas