State-run universities, deemed universities and other educational institutions should be pushed to provide quality education that can transform youngsters who can solve problems that the country is facing, Secretary to the Union Ministry of Biotechnology, K. Vijay Raghavan has said.

Skilled labourers

Addressing the sixth convocation programme of Yenepoya University here on Saturday, he said that there were a lot of youngsters from India in the skilled and semi-skilled sectors around the world.

Indians should be in the higher echelons in the fields of science, aerospace, and agriculture.

Transformation

This transformation could happen if the universities and educational institutions transformed the young demographic dividend. These youngsters should be the bedrock of change in the country and the world, he said.

“Climate change has brought in a host of challenges. Changes in the climate has led to alteration in cropping pattern. New diseases and re-occurrance of old diseases because of changes in temperature were being seen now. Though there was capacity to understand it with our research, unfortunately the fruits of this research has not reached people on the ground.

Reaching fruits of research to people was a major challenge,” Mr. Vijaya Raghavan said.

Yenepoya University Chancellor Y. Abdulla Kunhi, the former Vice-Chancellor of Kannada Universtiy B.A. Vivek Rai and Yenepoya University Vice-Chancellor M. Vijay Kumar were present.

[Source:-The Hindu]