Amity Institute of Education, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, organized a one-day National Conference themed, “Reviving the Roots of the Indian Education for Sustainable Development. As the need of sustainable development has risen rapidly, this sector is becoming more visible and significant in a global world affected by serious environmental issues and by growing social, economic, and political inequality. Hence, sustainable development is a real challenge to our society.
Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability to meet those of the future. Several paths towards achieving SDGs exist. One of these paths is education, a fundamental tool for achieving a more sustainable world and the essence of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SGD4). India’s commitment to the SDGs is reflected in its convergence with the national development agenda as reflected in the motto of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas”. Based on the evidence from the SDG India Index, which measures progress at the subnational level, the country has developed a robust SDG localization model centred on adoption, implementation and monitoring at the State and district levels. Revival of the roots of Indian Education System, therefore, is important for sustainable development.
Chief Guest, Dr. Satya P. Gupta, Vice Chancellor, University of Engineering and Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, spoke about 1043 universities, 24122 colleges and where 38 million students are enrolling higher education. Over talking about private sector 68% institution are private as we have 23 IIT, 31 NIT, 7 IISER And 20 IIM. He said 1.8 million of Indian students are expected to go to abroad by 2024, whereass only 50000 a students come to India for education.
He also said that, teaching and research are the twin pillars of higher education. He also discussed about National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning(NPTEL) and how it can help everyone with enrolment in different courses, and how research can play a vital role in enhancement of faculty members. Finally, he concluded by saying that faculties should focus on lifelong learning, and we should do what we can. Education system can be a vital tool for holistic development of students.
The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Sushim Dubey, Head, Department of Philosophy, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (NNM) University, talked about how our roots are concerned with our religious books and Vedas. He highlighted the philosophical teachings in our Indian Knowledge System such as, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Satyamave Jayate, Upanishads, Rishi Munis and how education is making our identity in society and family, saying that education teaches us simple living.
Dr. Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, welcomed all dignities and talked about importance of natural resources, various Vedas, Smritis etc. She also talked about ethical conduct for teachers, values, holistic and overall development, experiential learning. She emphasized upon the strong value system of Amity University, the importance of joint families, increase rate of divorce and depression due to lack of adjustments and socialization and said that everyone is responsible for developing our nation economically.