LK Advani: The Visionary:Five-Point Promise on Education

At the conference of the Gujarat State Primary Teachers' Federation on 4 January 2009, Advaniji, a visionary as he is, threw light upon his vision on Education and his concerns thereto.

Here is the concerned excerpt of his address;

However, the sad reality is that what we have achieved so far is not enough. The expectations of our people are rapidly increasing, indeed, they are galloping. Even a poor family wants a good education for their children. This is because people belonging to all castes and communities, and people in rural as well as in urban areas, have realized the importance of education much more than in the past. And theirs is a perfectly legitimate expectation. But the resources, programmes, partnerships, bureaucratic commitment and the political will to fulfill these expectations are woefully falling short.
This mismatch between expectations and performance cannot be allowed to continue.
The India of the 21st century cannot and will not accept this mismatch.
Speaking for myself, I cannot and will not accept this mismatch because I have always said that we have to make the 21st Century India’s Century. India has shown a glimpse of its potential to fulfill this dream through the achievements of a small section of our population that has had the privilege of getting good education. But imagine what India can achieve when all our children and youth receive high-quality education.
My Party’s commitment, the commitment of the National Democratic Alliance, and my own personal commitment, is: QUALITY EDUCATION FOR EVERY YOUNG INDIAN.
Our manifesto for the coming Lok Sabha elections will fully reflect this commitment. Nevertheless, I would like to use the opportunity of today’s function to make a Five-Point Assurance on Education.

Advaniji's Five-Point Promise on Education

1. 
   
   A future NDA Government shall more than double the Central budget for education and healthcare.
2. In addition to accelerating universalisation of primary education, our new motto will be: Universal Secondary Education.
3. In order to achieve the goal of 100% school enrolment, and also to improve the current teacher-student ratio, the Central Government would assist the States to recruit at least ten lakh more teachers.
4. We shall ensure that not a single school in India is without basic minimum infrastructure, including the infrastructure for IT-enabled education, which has revolutionary potential to enrich the quality and enhance the impact of education. Public-Private Partnerships will be promoted massively to achieve this end.
5. Teacher training, teacher welfare and social security for teachers will receive never-seen-before commitment. All-out efforts would be made to attract the best talent for teaching profession. In particular, we shall launch a Shikshak Aawas Yojana to ensure that every teacher in India has his or her own house.

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