Prof. J.D. Agarwal, Professor of Finance and Chairman, Indian Institute of Finance has welcomed the revival of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) by the Union Minister of Human Resource Development. He has also welcomed the setting up of seven committees on different aspects of education, which are critical areas to suggest improvements in each one of these areas by involving politicians and experts outside the Ministry of HRD. Setting up of the committees reflect the vision of the HRD Minister to bring about suitable improvements through the process of decentralisation involving people from all over the country - a process of well established management practice used internationally.

According to Dr. Agarwal, education is the key for faster economic growth as well as economic development. Human resource is most important resource of all other resources in the world as it is this resource which facilitates the effective allocation and efficient use of all other resources in an economy.

Eversince economic reforms, privatisation and globalisation started in 1991, education as a field remained untouched. Dr. Agarwal feels that serious reforms are required in the education to develop India’s competitiveness internationally. According to Dr. Agarwal, education in the past despite the crumbling structure and lack of financing has done tremendously well by making India second largest technical manpower country in the world and the largest exporter of technical manpower worldwide. This structure which has grown and developed over the years requires to be strengthened and reforms need to be initiated immediately. We are proud of our teachers at all levels, students and institutions who brought pride to India in the International area but they deserve utmost attention.

HRD Minister’s recent announcement of setting up CABE committees on free and compulsory education bill, girls education and common school system; universalisation of secondary education; autonomy of higher education institutions; integration of culture education in the school curriculum, regulatory mechanism for the text books in schools and lastly and most importantly Financing of higher and technical education will go a long way in initiating the necessary reforms. Dr. Agarwal has also welcomed the Minister’s announcement of setting up of deadline of six months for these committees to submit their reports.

Dr. Agarwal feels that HRD minister must ensure that the reports submitted by these committees are effectively implemented at different levels in the country so that India can boost of higher quality human resource in the next few years. If we boast of numbers today, we must boast of best in all walks of life and not only in certain areas like IT, reiterates Prof. Agarwal.