Prez for instilling social values in young minds

Latur (M'rashtra) (PTI): Noting that recent cases of crimes against women have shaken the nation's conscience, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday advocated inculcation of ancient values in young minds so that these social evils can be checked. Recent happenings especially crimes against women have shaken our conscience, he said. "Now again people are talking about it. This thing should have not happened if we had not forgotten our civilizational wealth -- respect for women, care for children, respect for elderly and tolerance for pluralism.

"The values inherent in our ancient civilisation. These are basics which need to be inculcated in the minds of the young students since the very beginning. If we have that (values) then we do not need to bother thinking about a strong, stronger or strongest legislation to deal with this monstrous social evil," the President said in his speech at the valedictory function of Golden Jubilee of Dayanand Education Society here. Education can play a key role in women emancipation, he said. The President stressed on the need for making critical reforms in country's educational system to ensure quality education. "Not only quantity, we require quality in education also. I have shared my disappointment earlier...Out of top 200 universities in the world, there is not a single Indian university," he said and asked educationists to work towards providing quality education. India had seen many universities like Nalanda and Takshila in ancient times which were centres of excellence, he said. "I do believe that if we make efforts, we may get back to those glorious days." Mukherjee asked the private sector to invest in innovation and for betterment of the education sector. He said the government is making huge investments in the education sector. "The government has earmarked six per cent of GDP for expansion of education in the 12th Five Year plan (2012-17)," Mukherjee said. The country's higher education sector has expanded significantly, he said. The total number of students enrolled in the sector was 2.6 crore at the end of the 11th Plan period which is projected to increase during the 12th Plan.

Prez prays at Shirdi Shirdi (PTI): President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday offered prayers at the famous Sai Baba Temple here. Mukherjee, who is on a two-day visit of Maharashtra, spent about 15 minutes at the temple. "It was a privilege to have the opportunity of having darshan and paying obeisance to his holiness first," the President wrote in a visitors book after the darshan. Elaborate security arrangements were made for the President's visit to the temple which sees an average footfall of 25,000 devotees daily.