Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdulha, renowned writer-lyricist and nominated member of the Rajya Sabha Javed Akhtar and South Asian University CEO G K Chadha, were conferred Doctor of Letters on the occasion of the 20th Convocation of the Pondicherry University at Puducherry today. <br/><br/>Dr Abdullah was conferred with the degree considering his rich contribution as a strong nationalist and great statesman, Mr Akhtar for his immense contributions in the field of literature, art and culture and the Indian film industry, while Prof Chadha for his outstanding contribution in the field of economics and higher education.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, The Centre proposes to establish educational tribunals to adjudicate litigations between students and institution managements. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said, in some cases, disputes between students and teachers of private sector institutions could be addressed. Speaking at the 20th convocation of Puducherry University, he said, the gross enrolment ratio has to be raised as the nation's assets are constituted by intellectuals. Mr Sibal said allocation for education in the 11th plan has been increased to 19 per cent, up from 7.7 per cent in the previous plan. He also advocated a shift from the earlier paradigm of education system that was linear, passive, hierarchical and non-participatory, to dynamic, inclusive and integrated system.<br/><br/>The Minister said, the focus now will be on cultivating creativity and intellectual skills and gearing to provide vocational or professional or technical education required in the global workplace. He said education has become a national priority and stressed the need to provide increased access to all, coupled with improved educational standards. Mr Sibal said, Education is now considered a national priority and that is why the Right to Education Act had been enforced.<br/><br/>Earlier, in an exclusive interview to All India Radio special correspondent Esthar Kar, he appealed to the private sector to come forward in a big way to help establish teacher training institutes as Government plans to recruit five lakh teachers in the next six months. Mr Sibal also expressed hope that basic infrastructure facilities will be made available within three years for providing free and compulsory quality elementary education to every child. The minister said that, State Governments are obliged to ensure that a child in the 6-14 age bracket is admitted to a school as it is a mandatory act. Mr. Sibal said, the significance of the Right to Education Act is that it is both statutory and enforceable in a court of law.