New Delhi: Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal today addressed the Council on Foreign Relations, an important think-tank of USA and gave his vision of education reforms as also the strategic partnership between India and USA.

Stating that both USA and India are multi-cultural diverse societies, he mentioned the demographic changes occurring around the world, in which developed countries will need skilled manpower from developing countries having human resources, like India. He said that we aim to increase our GER in higher education from the present 12.4% to 30% by the year 2020 but even after achieving a GER of 30%, there will be 150 million youth who will need to be skilled.

Thus, programmes for development of higher education and skill development will have to move parallel and would require private participation at large scale. He mentioned the RTE Act 2009 making education a fundamental right and said that our next aim is to universalise secondary education so that there is a critical mass of students for higher education as also qualified students for vocational education.

Shri Sibal also referred to the series of educational reforms initiated in India, particularly the legislations relating to mandatory accreditation; prevention and punishment of malpractices; education tribunals and regulation of foreign education providers. .

Replying to questions Sibal mentioned that just like outsourcing of manufacturing, time has come in a globalised economy for education to be delivered at the door step of the student( in India) rather than students having to travel abroad to get the same. It is thus mutually beneficial to both India and USA to work together to set up educational institutions in India to train skilled manpower of the 21st century.