HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today refused to subscribe to Infosys chief Narayanamurthy's view about slump in the quality of education in IITs and pitched for creating more such institutes in the country.
"We are capable of producing world class institutions like IITs and IIMs and we need to have more of these institutions to reach almost every student capable and aspiring to get into these institutes," Sibal told a gathering at NIIT University here.
"I don't believe or adhere to what Narayanamurthy has said," he told an event to mark the 10 million milestone for School Learning Division (SLD) of NIIT.
Murthy had recently voiced his displeasure over the quality of engineers that pass out of the IITs and said there is a need to overhaul the selection criteria for students seeking admission to the prestigious technology institutes.
Sibal said the ministry is in the process of setting up 'National Vocational Educational Qualificational framework' possibly by next year, so that students can take up courses according to their interests.
He also said that 26 new institutions are being set up across Mumbai where graphics related courses will be taught. To a query on the quota issue, he said, "Quotas are not for creating barriers in the society, but to bridge the same. We have to rationalise our society."
Sibal delivered a keynote address and facilitated outstanding students under different programme of School Learning Division.
"This project has been closest to our heart, since its inception in 1999. We have just touched the 10 million mark out of 200 million students across the country. We have reached this far, but more is to be done," NIIT chairman Rajendra S Pawar said.
"We realise the previous educational models have become obsolete today. Thus, the need for 'knowledge society universities' is imperative now. We are committed to make Information and Communication Technology more affordable and accessible by innovating new methodologies for learning and technology deployment," he said.
The institute provides integrated IT programmes for government and private educational institutions to strengthen both the computer education and computer-aided education. Several state governments have collaborated with NIIT to take computer literacy to government schools. The partnership across 18 states such as in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra is a bid to overcome the digital divide among students across the country.