Coaching centre culture affecting students' growth, says Vice-President in Kota
Mr. Dhankhar made the remarks while addressing the 4th convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Kota.
Students from across the country arrive every year in Kota, considered the hub of coaching centres, to prepare for competitive exams for admissions to medical and engineering colleges.
'Coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres… They have become black holes for talent in regimented silos. These centres are mushrooming and it is menacing for our youth. We cannot allow our education to be so smeared and tarnished,' Mr. Dhankhar said in the presence of IIIT teachers and students.
Mr. Dhankhar criticised the coaching institutions for their aggressive publicity campaigns and highly paid advertisements in newspapers. 'The money poured in billboards and advertisements comes from those who either take loans or who painstakingly paid to make their future brighter. This is not optimal utilisation of money, and these advertisements are alluring but they are eyesores for our civilisational ethos.'
The Vice-President criticised the coaching centres for 'robotising' the brains of students with obsession for perfect grades and standardised scores. 'This obsession has compromised with curiosity, which is an inalienable facet of human intelligence. When the thinking is stymied, a lot of psychological problems arise out of it,' he said.
Mr. Dhankhar encouraged the students to look beyond grades, while affirming that their knowledge and thinking, rather than the marksheets and grades, would define them when they take a leap into the competitive world.
'Focus on skilling'
Laying emphasis on the significance of enhancing skills, Mr. Dhankhar said the coaching centres should use their infrastructure to transform into skill centres. He also called upon the civil society and public representatives to converge to 'restore sanity in education'. 'We need coaching for skill,' he added.
Mr. Dhankhar expressed concern over the excessive dependence on foreign technology in critical sectors such as defence. 'Nations will no longer be compromised or colonised by armies, as armies have now been replaced by algorithms. Sovereignty will not be lost through invasions, but through dependence on foreign digital infrastructure,' he said.
Digital threats
The Vice-President called for a new vision of patriotism rooted in technological leadership, while pointing to the changes in global power dynamics in the digital age. He said the battleground of the 21st century was no longer land or sea. 'Gone are the days of conventional warfare. Our power has to be determined by code, cloud and cyber.'
Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade; Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A.K. Bhatt, chairperson, board of governors, IIIT; and IIIT Director N.P. Padhy were among those present at the convocation ceremony.
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