VOTE OF THANKS :
SHRI GANGADHAR MAHAPATRA
MINISTER OF EDUCATION & YOUTH
 SERVICES GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA
 

Minister of Education & Youth Services, Government of Orissa

Madam Chairman, Chairman, UGC, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Hon'ble Ministers of Education from various States, Education Experts and Advisers and Friends,

It is a unique opportunity for me to express our deep sense of gratitude and thanks to the Chairman, the Deputy Minister and the Chairman of the UGC for the efforts they have made for (convening this august body after a long lapse of time.

Madam Chairman, you deserve a special mention for providing a dynamic leadership in the educational expansion and planning, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We are specially grateful to you Madam, for your special emphasis on the value content of education, special attention to women's education, progressive vocationalisation at the secondary level and improvement of the standards of teaching at the university level. The concept of national planning in educational technology has also taken a concrete shape under your dynamic leadership. Your inspiring address has given us a sense of direction and has enabled us to meet the challenge of the complexities

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of education in the States and to fulfil the Constitutional commitment with a sense of devotion and urgency.

I am also grateful to the Chairman, UGC, for her contribution to improving standards in the University and the valuable contribution she has made during the last two days, in giving us a scientific analysis to the problems of University and cautioning us against proliferation of sub-standard universities. I hope we will come up to her expectations.

I am deeply grateful to the Secretary, Ministry of Education and her colleagues in supplying to us voluminous literature on various topics which has helped us immensely to contribute to the discussions. It has also helped us to agree unanimously to various problems. The drafting of the Resolutions has been well done. In these drafts many of our extreme views have been taken into consideration, and have also been given due weight.

I hope that this august body should meet at least twice in a Plan period so that we can have mid-term review of the targets and the achievements. It would also help us to take stock of the position so that a greater sense of urgency and concern would be evolved for all of us. With these words, I again reiterate that your inspiring leadership will always encourage us to go ahead with the sole purpose of fulfilling the commitment that we have given to the people at large.

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