PM says Govt committed to providing good quality education to every child - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday said, that the Central Government is committed to providing good quality education to every child. Addressing the National Education Day function to commemorate the 120th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr. Singh said that a system of education built on the premises of quality and equity is central to India 's rapid progress as a modern and dynamic society. Emphasing the importance of good teachers, Dr. Singh said there was a difficulty in getting top level professors and lecturers in newly created institutions of higher education. "This state of affairs cannot be allowed to persist and called for addressing the problem of deficiency in the quality of teaching in schools, colleges and universities," he added He said the realization of the Right to Education does not depend merely on the expansion of educational infrastructure, but also on the availability of trained and qualified teachers with a commitment to their profession. "An additional million teachers will be required to implement the act on Right to Education," he added. Observing that efforts should be made to find ways to improve the quality of teachers, Dr. Singh asked the academics and planners to address this problem of deficiency in the quality of teaching in schools, colleges and universities. He further said that the country needed an additional ten lakh teachers to implement the Right To Education Act, which seeks to provide free and compulsory education in the 6-14 age group.