The PM has made the announcement following recent youth protests against examination irregularities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an overture to win over India’s youth on Saturday, as he led 80th Independence Day celebrations of the world’s largest democracy.
Addressing the nation after hoisting the national flag at the historic Red Fort in Delhi, he noted that the “biggest beneficiaries” of India’s development will be the youth.
Modi announced that his government would set up free online coaching networks for various competitive examinations, leveraging India’s robust digital public infrastructure and freeing families from the heavy financial burden they incur from sending their children to private coaching institutes.
The government will also train 11 million young people in artificial intelligence skills to prepare them for the new jobs that are opening up.
India, the world’s most populous nation with 1.4 billion people, also has the world’s largest youth population, with the average age around 29.
#WATCH | Delhi: From the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, “The race for coaching classes has become a massive burden for our middle-class families. Every parent feels that if they don’t send their child to a coaching class, they aren’t considered a… pic.twitter.com/Qq74edZTl2
The country recently saw widespread youth protests over the leaks of the questions for a national medical entrance test, ultimately forcing the then federal education minister to resign. The fiasco, and the police violence against the protesting students in the national capital and other cities, stoked anger in the country, especially among the middle class.
Modi earlier announced a panel of experts to suggest reforms in the conduct of competitive exams, and pushed through a law mandating stricter punishment for those who tamper with exam integrity.
The prime minister’s online coaching initiative would be a blow to the country’s thriving private coaching networks, some of which have been blamed for the exam scams in recent years. The industry is valued at up to $15 billion.
India achieved independence from British rule on August 15, 1947 through largely non-violent means. Most of Britain’s other colonial possessions and those of other European powers would follow suit in the coming decades.
