Modi bats for English education

The 41st convocation of Saurashtra University turned out to be a perfect platform for the Gujarat chief minister to make a case for English proficiency in the state.

At the recently held Vibrant Gujarat IT Summit 2006, Nasscom president Kiran Karnik had spoken about the unavailability of trained English-speaking manpower to support the state's IT growth. A few other IT corporates too had expressed their views on the falling standard of English here.

Using the occasion as an opportunity to spell out his plans to improve the English skills of his youth, Narendra Modi said "There have always been controversies and debates regarding the adoption of English as a language in our curriculum, but the state government is very firm and adamant. We are open to suggestions in this direction. The state government would leave no stone unturned to undertake every possible effort wherein every Gujarati can speak English fluently. We don't want teachers who teach grammar but want teachers who can train our students to speak English fluently," he said.

"We haven't chalked out any blue-print in this direction, but would avail help of retired teachers, go for extra classes, etc to create a better tomorrow for the students of the state," he added.

Harping on the MoUs valued at Rs 11,067 crore (Rs 110.67 billion), which Gujarat signed with 29 IT companies at the summit in Ahmedabad, he said this was definitely a sign of the state's progress.

He highlighted the 300,000-plus employment potential envisaged in this direction, explaining the students how this could help them in shaping their future.

Modi also stressed on the emerging importance of the Asian economy, terming the skilled youth force of the nation as Advantage India for investors planning to enter the sub-continent.

Gujarat governor Naval Kishore Sharma along with Modi conferred degrees to the students. SU vice-chancellor Kamlesh Joshipura was also awarded his Doctor of Philosophy on the occasion.