Bhubaneswar : Union minister of state for MSME Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial statement on different issues, on Friday here said only 2.5 percent of the total population of the country is skilled due to faulty education policy of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Singh said the percentage is much lesser than the countries like South Korea (96 percent), Japan (80), Germany (75), Britain (68) and the USA (52). He told this to media persons on the sidelines of a two-day national conference on ‘Youth and Employment: The role of Skill India Initiative’ organized here by Centre for the Study of Contemporary Societies (CSCS), a trust.
The minister said Nehru promoted English man Lord Macaulay’s education policy in India. “Nehru’s education policy like Macaulay’s made us educated but not skilled. Now our Modi government is trying to make youths skilled and employable,” he added.
Singh said his government is working for development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the country to give employment to youths. “We have taken two years to streamline the process of development in this sector. Keep faith on us. We will take the country and Odisha forward,” he added.
He said his ministry has decided to set up skill development hubs in SC and ST dominated areas to make them employable. India has a bright future in the sector of agro-based industries. He called on the youths to make enterprise in this field to create jobs, he added.
He also took a jibe at Uttar Pradesh’s former chief ministers, Mulayam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party and Mayawati of Bahujan Samaj Party, and dubbed them cancer of the state. “If Mulayam fails to manage his own family, how can he manage the big state like Uttar Pradesh? Both Netaji and Behenji have made the state poor during their tenure. The voters will give them good answer in the upcoming election,” he added.
Congress veteran and leader of opposition Narasingha Mishra criticized the BJP for their low-grade politics. He said the BJP leaders are showing their inferiority while passing comment of the Congress leader. They should refrain from indulging in dubious politics. “BJP has no moral rights to criticize Nehru, who is a great visionary and leader of the country,” he added.
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