Reforms and investment in education are two mantras of the government which is committed to improving access to education for all and encouraging excellence and creativity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Saturday.
“Our education system is in urgent need of both investment and reform at every level. We need a modern education system...that prepares children for the challenges of the future and not to make them prisoners of the past,” Singh said.

He was in the city to inaugurate the Van Vihar Biodiversity Park and Reserve at Mahindra United World College of India (MUWCI) Campus.

“We need a system that is both compassionate and demanding. No child should ever feel left out for no fault of his or hers. No child should nurse a grievance that his creativity has been suppressed. We need a humane, creative and forward-looking system,” he said.

Singh said the competence shown by Indian students from modest social and economic backgrounds in securing admissions in the best institutions in the world, despite not having a level-playing field, was praiseworthy.
“It is they who have shaped the image of brand India across the world,” he said. The country was committed to sustainable development and the government would take up initiatives required to address the challenge of carbon emissions and depleting forest cover, he added.

Initiated by MUWCI, the bio-diversity project aims to enhance the existing species of flora and fauna in the Western Ghats.