4 Jan :Quality education for young Indians is the commitment of NDA if voted to power in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani said.
While addressing a conference of Gujarat State Primary Teachers’ Federation (GPTF) at Gandhinagar on Sunday, he said that much more needs to be done in the education sector.
Presenting a five point plan on education, he said the commitment will be reflected in the NDA’s menifesto during the coming Lok Sabha polls.Advani’s five points include more than double the Central budget for education and healthcare and large scale recruitment of teachers in the country.
"In addition to accelerating universalisation of primary education, our new motto will be: Universal Secondary Education," he added.
"In order to achieve the goal of 100 percent enrollment, and also to improve the current teacher-student ratio, the Central government would assist the states to recruit at least ten lakh more teachers," he said.
"Not a single school in the country would remain without basic infrastructural facilities in the country if voted to power at the Centre," he said.
"We shall ensure that not a single school in India is without basic minimum infrastructure, including the infrastructure for internet-enabled education, which has revolutionary potential to enrich the quality and enhance the impact of education. Public-Private partnership will be promoted massively to achieve this end," Advani said.
"Teacher training, teacher welfare and social security for teachers will receive never seen before commitment. In particular, we shall launch a Shikshak Awas Yojna to ensure that every teacher in India has his or her own house," the Leader of Opposition said.
Recalling the days when he was a teacher, Advani said that he had spent 20 years of his life from 1927 to 1947 in Karachi as teacher.
"The expectations of our people are rapidly increasing, indeed they are galloping," he said, adding that even a poor family wants good education for their children.
Advani said that people from all walks of life have an expectation from the government regarding education but the resources, partnerships, bureaucratic commitment and political will to fulfill this expectation is woefully falling short.
Therefore, this mismatch between expectation and performance cannot be allowed to continue, he said.
Advani dismisses ‘differences’ with Rajnath
BJP prime ministerial candidate L K Advani has dismissed media reports about his differences with Rajnath Singh and called the party chief a ‘great worker striving hard for party’s victory in Lok Sabha elections.’
Advani, who is on a visit to his Parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar, said he was surprised to see reports in a section of media regarding his differences with party president Rajnath Singh.
"Let me tell you very frankly that there are no differences at all between us. Rajnath Singh is a great party worker and is working very hard to see BJP’s victory in next parliamentary elections," Advani said in Ahemdabad on Sunday.
There were some media reports that a meeting was held between top leaders of BJP and RSS to ‘sort out differences’ between the two BJP stalwarts.
Advani said the meeting was held to discuss strategy for parliamentary elections. Advani also dedicated a community hall in Ahmedabad, which was constructed under MPLAD fund.