Mumbai, Aug 19 (IBNS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he is pained by the high cut off marks for admission in academic institutions of repute.
"Every year when I see how many hundreds of thousands of students apply for admission to these institutions, and when I see how high have become the minimum cut-off marks for admission, my heart is pained by the limits we are placing on the opportunities available to our youth," the PM said on Saturday at Golden Jubilee Convocation of IIT Bombay.
"Today, as we celebrate the Golden Jubilee of IIT Bombay, we feel a sense of pride. But that pride must be tempered by the concern that we still do not have the required number of such institutions to offer adequate developmental opportunities to all our bright young women and men," he said.
He said precisely for these reasons, the government took the initiative to expand the opportunities for higher and technical education in India.
"During the last eight years Indian higher education, as well as secondary and technical education, have experienced a quantum jump in terms of the investment being made and the number of seats being created for students. I compliment my colleague Shri Kapil Sibal for leading this effort," he said.
"Our government has opened new IITs, new IIMs and new institutions for teaching and research in the sciences. We have increased investment in school education. We have increased scholarships for the disadvantaged sections of our society.
"We have set up new institutions in different parts of the country so that our children can get the best education available closer home," he said.
