Obama gears American students to take on Indians
By siliconindia   |   Friday, 17 July 2009, 15:57 IST   |    64 Comments
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Obama gears American students to take on Indians
Bangalore: "We have taken some steps for building the foundation for a 21st century education system, one that will allow us to compete with China and India and everybody else all around the world," said the U.S. President Barack Obama, progressing on his initiative of upgrading the U.S. education system. He has announced the American Graduation Initiative for the American students enabling them to compete with students from India and China, as they are marching ahead. Obama announced to provide $12 billion to the two-year colleges in the country for making U.S. the most college-educated country. The American Graduation Initiative will help around five million students to earn degrees and certificates. At the time of election campaign, Obama had stated that U.S. will have highest number of college graduates again in the world by 2020. "We've got to prepare our people with the skills they need to compete in this global economy. The U.S. has to ensure that students get education and be prepared for the new jobs of the 21st century, " said Obama. The U.S. government's recovery plan has helped the state budget shortfalls, along with making significant investments in school libraries and classrooms and facilities all across the country. The government will also pump in $10 billion as loans for improving the school and college infrastructure. Obama also backed building an open source of online classes that would be beneficial in rural areas and for people who continue to work while trying to get education. "I think there's a possibility that online education provides people already in the work force a chance to upgrade their skills without having to quit their job," said Obama.

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