Mr. Shri K. M. Acharya

Madam Chairperson, Excellencies, Initiators of the Forum, Distinguished Delegates and Friends,

I bring to you greetings and good wishes from the children, youth, education community, people and the Government of India.  We are thankful to the hosts of this Conference for having invited us, and for having given us an opportunity to interact with representatives of other countries of Asia, and other distinguished participants from around the world.

Asia has been a cradle of several ancient civilizations, which have fostered and enriched each other over the centuries.  It is also the birthplace of nearly all principal religions of the world.  Though we, Asians, belong to different cultures, religions and ethnic groups, there have always been strong bonds of trade and commerce on the one hand, and cultural and spiritual exchanges on the other.  It is a matter of satisfaction that Asian countries are coming together in more and more fields in modern times, and I would like to compliment the Boao Forum for Asia, the UNESCO, and the China Scholarship Council, for having promoted the Education Forum for Asia as a platform for fruitful exchanges in the field of education, and for organizing this Conference on an annual basis. 

Friends, before proceeding further, I would like to briefly introduce some aspects of the country I represent - India.  We are a democratic republic, with constitutionally guaranteed democratic freedoms for the individual as well as groups, regular free and fair elections, rule of law, and an independent judiciary.  India is a federal union of 28 States and seven Union Territories with a current population of approximately 1.1 billion.  We have followers of at least six principal religions.  There are 22 constitutionally recognized languages, and altogether, about 1700 dialects.  In the Indian Constitution, Education is a “concurrent” subject, which means that it is the joint responsibility of Central and State Governments.  In practice, much of education is managed by States.  Central Government’s role mainly consists of (i) laying down national-level policies, priorities and systems, (ii) standard-setting for the sectors of higher and technical education, and promoting certain premier institutions in these sectors, and (iii) giving financial and technical support to State Governments under various schemes for elementary, secondary and tertiary sectors of education.

India has quite some distance to travel before we achieve Education For All (EFA).  But, I am happy to report that our pace is accelerating.  Central Government is now assisting States in EFA-related programmes to the extent of about $ 4 billion a year.  Facilities of early childhood care and education are being progressively universalized, and large investments are being made in buildings, teachers, and other facilities for elementary schools.  Besides, a hot, cooked mid-day meal is being provided to about 120 million primary school-going children in about 8,00,000 Primary Schools across the country, throughout the academic year.  All this is being done through efforts which are substantially funded and guided by the Central Government, but are implemented entirely by State Governments, Local Authorities, and local communities, thereby making for better quality and impact of the programmes.

As we progress towards universal elementary education, we are also taking steps to universalize access to secondary education, and to improve its quality.

In the fields of technical and higher education, some of the premier Indian institutions have already built up formidable brand value at the international level.  About a year ago, India launched a satellite dedicated exclusively to Education, and is in the process of harnessing this facility, alongwith IT and other modern technology for providing good quality education to its vast numbers of children and youth.  

Our aim is to progressively increase public expenditure on education, from the current level of about 4% of GDP, to 6%.  Being a developing country, there are naturally huge competing demands on our resources.  But, with sustained economic growth, we hope to move rapidly towards our target.

Having said this, there are many areas where we need to learn and benefit from other Asian countries.  Besides EFA, expansion of vocational education is another area where we have a long way to go.  There is also a lot of scope for improving the quality of early childhood care and education, school education, and training of teachers.  In all these areas, we would eagerly look forward to increased cooperation with many of the countries represented here.  At the same time, we would be glad to be of assistance in areas like IT education, teaching of English, open and distance learning, etc., where we are well-placed.  Our premier institutions of technical and higher education are already collaborating with their counterparts in several countries. 

One of the principal aims of education is to sow in the minds of children and youth the seeds of equality, mutual respect, tolerance, compassion and peace.  We believe it is time to reinforce this core purpose of education in all our countries.

It is also important that as our continent embraces the 21^st Century with all its technological, economic and material advances, we do not forget the eternal values bequeathed to us by our ancient civilizations.  The kind of education we impart to our students, can play a major role in preserving and fostering these values.  One of our important challenges is to develop our education in such a manner that Asia truly comes to be known as a continent of Friendship, Cooperation and Peace.

A meeting like this of the Asian educational community, gives a lot of hope for the future of Education in Asia.  The common challenge before most Asian countries is to reduce inequalities in access and opportunity, and to improve quality and relevance of education for everyone, upto an acceptable standard, which meets the demands of the 21^st century.  In all collaborative ventures to meet this challenge, India would be happy to participate. 

At yesterday’s inaugural function, the first batch of students were awarded scholarships.  It would be helpful, if starting next year, fellowships could similarly be conferred on teachers, teacher educators and researchers.  Widening and deepening such exchanges would be an effective way of enhancing cooperation in education amongst us. 

It is also our hope that this Forum would be able to disseminate best practices in Asian Education, as suggested by the hon’ble Education Minister of Bangladesh.

It is also our hope that, besides the Education Forum for Asia, bodies like UNESCO’s Regional Bureau and the Asian Development Bank will also play a more proactive role in bringing together Asian countries in the field of Education, and in developing Education in Asia.

I once again thank you all for having given me this opportunity to be here and to share some of our views, concerns and ideas with you.