By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi Friday became the first state to compile and release a blueprint on implementation of the National Knowledge Commission’s recommendations for educational reforms.
“The Delhi government has taken the lead in compiling a blueprint on implementation of NKC recommendations and is the first state to release the blueprint,” said commission chairman Sam Pitroda, while releasing the document at the Delhi legislative assembly. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was also present on the occasion.
The blueprint provides for an action plan for reforms in higher education, school education and vocational education with a focus on expansion, excellence and access.
Pitroda hoped that other states will also learn from Delhi and will come forward in implementing the recommendations.
NKC, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005, is an advisory body to help restructure knowledge-related institutions and infrastructure in the country.
“Some of the recommendations can be immediately followed by the Delhi government,” said Pitroda while adding that a detailed roadmap for the blueprint will be prepared soon.
Dikshit said her government would soon implement these recommendations. “I hope it will not take much time,” she said.
An NKC official told IANS: “Delhi has become the first state to release the blueprint. Four more states – Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan – are also nearly ready with their blueprints.”
“The Delhi government is taking steps to expand the higher education system by setting up new systems and institutions such as a university system for Delhi, a university of undergraduate education, a university of science and technology, a national law school and an Indian Institute of Information Technology,” according to an official statement.
“To take steps forward creating state-of-the-art knowledge hubs, the state government is also setting up a knowledge city which will allow self-financing institutions to come up,” the statement added.