Updated on: Thursday, January 27, 2011
President Pratibha Patil said that there should be level playing field so that students from all sections of society can join premier institutions of India(IITs & IIMs).
Nation's endeavor should be to create a level playing field in educational competitiveness so that students from all sections of society can enter premier institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), told President Patil in her address to the nation on the eve of Republic Day.
Patil said, we should increase our efforts to reach out to students from tribal and remote areas, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward communities.
She added that special focus has to be given to primary education.
"It is said that mother is a child's first teacher and the next is the primary school teacher. Both make lasting impressions on children in their formative years. In primary schools, teachers are doing good work. We should regularly assess issues relating to training of teachers and quality of education including checking instances of absenteeism of teachers," the president said.