Hitting out at the previous government's education policy, President A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday said steps would be taken to remove 'communalisation' of the school syllabus that occurred in recent years.

Academic excellence and professional competence will be the sole criteria for all appointments to bodies such as the Indian Council for Historical Research, Indian Council for Social Science Research, University Grants Commission and National Council for Education, Research and Training.

Maintaining that the government was aware of the 'systematic erosion of autonomy' of institutions of repute in recent years, Kalam said the government would ensure that all institutions of higher learning and professional education would get the autonomy that they enjoyed earlier.

"At the same time, government will ensure that nobody is denied professional education because he or she is poor. Apart from increasing the supply of loan scholarships and refinance through banks, the government will put in place institutional mechanisms to provide loans at affordable rates to those who cannot afford the costs of college and university education in science, engineering, medicine and management studies.

Kalam said steps would be taken to establish a Commission to look into issues relating to direct affiliation of minority professional institutions with central universities.

Measures would also be taken to spread modern and technical education among minority communities. A National Commission will be established to make recommendations on how best to enhance the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities through reservation in education and employment.

External Link: President Kalam's speech