PM tells youngsters to pursue Mathematics at higher level

PRIME MINISTER Dr. Manmohan Singh has called upon the younger generation to pursue Mathematics at the advanced level to continue the high standards of teaching in the discipline at the school and college levels. Inaugurating the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of noted mathematician Srinivas Ramanujan in Chennai, Dr. Singh said that India needed many more competent mathematicians considering its size. Young men and women with a natural ability in mathematics should pursue it at advanced levels so that good teachers are available in adequate numbers. Mathematics has become an attractive career option, while teaching itself has also become a lucrative career, he pointed out. Dr. Singh said that in many ways, mathematics can be regarded as the mother science. “The Natural Sciences have had a long symbiotic relationship with mathematics. Life Sciences did not seem to have much use for mathematics till about a hundred years ago, but lately mathematical interventions have had a tremendous impact on Biology. Mathematics has also influenced the study of Social Sciences in a big way. The work of many of the Nobel Laureates in Economics is highly mathematical. Students, parents and people at large need to be more aware of these facts so that the study of mathematics as an academic discipline gains popularity in our country,” he said. The government had decided to declare Ramanujan’s birthday, December 22, as National Mathematics Day, and the year 2012 as National Mathematical Year, the Prime Minister said, and expressed the hope that these steps would help in providing the additional impetus to the study of mathematics in the country, apart from making our people more aware of the work of Ramanujan.