Chitlangia defends presence at meet

CALCUTTA, OCT 31: P D Chitlangia, whose presence in the Education Ministers' Conference had recently created high drama and controversy, has...

CALCUTTA, OCT 31: P D Chitlangia, whose presence in the Education Ministers8217; Conference had recently created high drama and controversy, has termed his invitation to the meeting as well-justified at a press conference here on Friday.

Saying that 8220;one need not always hold a formal degree to be an expert on any particular field8221;, Chitlangia said, 8220;For the last eight years my association with the Friends of Tribals Society, which has taken non-formal education to 1,300 Indian villages, has given me enough experience and training to speak on education.8221;

Chitlangia, who reiterated that he has 8220;no active link with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS8221; nor 8220;is he associated with the Vidya Bharati8221;, claimed that 8220;he has wrongly been described as a RSS leader8221;.

He said, 8220;Murli Manohar Joshi invited me to make a presentation at the conference on our experience of extending non-formal primary education and its cost effective methods.8221;

However, when asked to name any village in any of the states,where the Friends of Tribals Society is working, he said, 8220;I can8217;t.8221;

Chitlangia, who wanted the 8220;people to know his ideas on education8221;, said, 8220;The Friends of Tribal Society, which will reach over 2,000 villages by 2000 AD, has been promoting non-formal education in remote tribal areas on the basis of Sanatan Indian values.8221;

He said 8220;We advocate for a need-based education system following which anyone can be equipped for the jobs available in the particular area.8221;

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Elaborating his point on the value system, he feels Sanatan values should be included in the national education agenda, he said, 8220;The values taught in Gita, Ramayan, Granth Sahib, Koran and Bible should be incorporated in the education system.8221;