Vellore: Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) Chancellor G Viswanathan urged students to make use of online education in addition to the offline mode as we need to prepare our students for the global market.
Delivering his presidential address during the inauguration of the studio facility at VIT’s Online Learning Institute (VITOL) Friday, he said if one wants India to become an advanced nation it would be possible only by providing good quality education.
“Our Prime Minister is ambitious to make our country a 5 trillion dollar economy one and later we want to become 10 trillion dollar economy. It will be possible only if we provide good quality education to our students. According to the 2011 census, 14 crore people in India are eligible for higher education and all of them should get higher education. Of these 14 crore, only about 3.5 crore have access to higher education, that’s why our country’s Gross Enrolment Ration (GER) is 25 per cent,” he said.
He further said Tamilnadu’s GER is higher compared to other States. “We always want to be in the forefront in whatever we do,” he added.
Thanking Government of India for recognising Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) as one among the 10 private institutions in the country for the Institute of Eminence status, Viswanathan said that private institutions did not get funds from Government of India and hoped that the new education policy would change it as the policy says there should be no differentiation between Government and Private Institutions. I hope this will be accepted by Central and State Governments.
UGC’s Consortium for Educational Communication, Director Jagat Bhushan Nadda inaugurated the studio facility at VIT’s Online Learning Institute (VITOL) in the presence of IIT Madras, SWAYAM Prabha, chief coordinator, Mangala Sunder K, VIT vice-president Sekar Viswanathan and executive director Sandhya Pentareddy.