Free education till Class X under 12th Plan: Sibal

HRD Ministry to connect 31,000 colleges via National Knowledge Centre in next 2 years

Advocating the need for holistic approach to improve education and thus employability status in India, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal today said here the 12th Five-Year Plan will look at providing free education from Class I to Class X. Currently, free education is available only till Class VIII.

He also announced the roll out of National Knowledge Centre that will connect 31,000 colleges over the next two years. “The knowledge centre will also provide 1,100 courses that have already been developed, to students free of charge. On the school education front, a National Mission of ICT has been set up and will use technology to the fullest,” he said while addressing the CII Edu Summit 2011 here.

Also, there are efforts to provide a 3D geospatial access of any college, university or school to a parent sitting at home. “The pilot project has already been carried in Karnataka, which would soon be a reality. As the future lies in geospatial technology, a parent or a student would be able to have a look at the classrooms, get information on the kind of education provided, infrastructure as well as other data pertaining to the institute sitting at his place,” Sibal said.