Children must stick to textbooks, not shift to high-tech gadgets, says educationist
The Statesman | 13 January 2026
New-age tech support like e-books and iPads are not good for children. They need to stick to conventional copybooks, textbooks and blackboards, leaving aside gadgets, advised educationist Dr Punam Suri, chairman of Dayanand Anglo-Vedic University and president of DAV College Managing Committee.
“Even tech giant Bill Gates has prohibited use of cellphones, computers, and iPads in his own school he has started. Some Australian institutions too have insisted on going back to the old school methods of imparting education,” he added.
Dr Suri, who is a Padmashree awardee, was attending the golden jubilee celebrations of DAV Model School, Durgapur, yesterday. He laid the foundation stone for the Mahatma Anand Swami block of the school, named after his grandfather, who was a Gandhian and Arya Samaj stalwart.
Reading is unfortunately becoming a lost art nowadays and the very word ‘reader’ seems to be fading. The 2024 survey data of the National Literacy Trust – a UK-based independent charity forum – suggested that barely 34.6 per cent children aged between 8 and 18 years enjoy reading in their free time, with daily reading falling by 20.5 per cent.
Dr Suri addressed 1,500 teachers assembled from different DAV institutions on Saturday evening. Over-emphasis on theoretical knowledge and slow adaptation to industry needs has consistently been causing lack of employability. He told The Statesman: “What we are doing in our universities in higher education now is following an entire curriculum developed through the interface between industry and academia. They sit together and make the syllabi. Some day, it has to happen in school too. We suggest that the colleges and the universities should tailor-make the product, based on industry needs.”
In DAV schools, the curriculum has been fixed half way already to meet industry needs. Dr Suri said: “In our university, the curriculum is prepared jointly by the academia and the industry. We, however, are yet to achieve the stage when the students can get admission through industry. The IITs and engineering institutions send their students to the industrial units for internships. Once we send a student for internship, we seek a note on that student from the respective industry officer on what type of skills he’s fit to deal with and our university gets focused on that for him.”
Dr Suri sent some suggestions to Centre about rationalising the process of selection of candidates through interviews. He said: “Once I had proposed to the Prime Minister for the practical alterations in the process and thankfully, the University Grants Commission has adapted a dedicated 400 marks for eligibility test.”
Papia Mukherjee, Regional Director, DAV institutions, said: “Right from childhood, the kids need to be monitored constantly to help them get on the right tracks for their future. And that is what we insist at each DAV institution here.”