Education is means to development, equality: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

New Delhi [India], July 15 : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday unveiled a statue of Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), here on Saturday and highlighted the importance of education - means to development and equality.
During the event, Birla congratulated IGNOU on the momentous occasion of the unveiling of the statue of Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar at the campus and hailed it as a historic event.
He described the architect of the Constitution Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar as a visionary leader who has made an invaluable contribution in framing the nation’s constitution.
"The ideals of Equality and Justice which continually strengthens Indian democracy were closest to Babasaheb’s heart and serve as a guiding beacon not only for Indian Governance but also form the cornerstone of several Constitutions in the world," Birla said.
He said that the challenges before the Constitution framers at the dawn of independence were immense. "India was backwards not only economically and socially but had very low literacy levels as well," said the Speaker. 
Mentioning that Babasaheb was of the view that knowledge and education were the means for social and economic development, Birla recalled the challenges that Babasaheb had to surmount to gain quality education.
"It was only through his determination and dedication that Babasaheb achieved the status of nation builder and that we should take inspiration from his life. Education was seen as a social revolution by Babasaheb," he noted.
Emphasizing that education must reach the last person in society, Birla noted that IGNOU is doing a commendable service in ensuring that education was available and equally accessible to all sections of society.
Birla commended the University for its stupendous growth. He appreciated that Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is now the largest university in the world in terms of enrollment in higher education having provided quality education to more than 35 lakh students not only in India but across 53 countries around the world.
Birla expressed happiness that in the last 38 years, IGNOU has stood as a beacon of hope for such students who are unable to go to regular college to continue their education.
In this context, he stated that IGNOU has contributed significantly to the democratization of higher education in the country. IGNOU has been uniquely instrumental in reaching the most remote of areas thereby ensuring that anyone desirous of getting a quality education is not deprived of the same due to constraints.
"This is especially true regarding the most marginalized sections of the society who often found it difficult to gain education due to societal or economic pressures," Birla said.
He also said that IGNOU has been instrumental in providing equal opportunities to women and now women are seen as an equal contributor towards nation and society building. Birla urged the academicians and administrators to adapt to changes in the educational sphere and devise a progressive curriculum according to the evolving needs of changing times.
Further appreciating the efforts of IGNOU, Birla brought into focus the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of dovetailing education with skill development. "Education coupled with skill development would bring about immense socio-economic transformation in the lives of students," Birla added. 
The Lok Sabha Speaker encouraged students to make full and best use of the immense educational material available with the University to improve productivity and quality of education and make strides in knowledge and innovation-based sectors.
Mentioning that in today's era of smart learning, there are massive avenues for new learning such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Machine Learning, and Data Analytics which were now available to all, he urged the students to make maximum use of these technologies.
On this occasion, he also named IGNOU Research Unit as Savitribai Phule Research Unit. Birla said that Savitribai Phule led the revolution of education among women. Today, women's education has gained momentum and the credit goes to social reformer Smt. Savitribai Phule.
Besides, Birla also released the Braille version of the IGNOU prospectus which, he said, would be a significant step in achieving inclusive learning.