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In a relentless bid to strengthen our education system, President Obama recently called for a press conference with journalists associated with universities to analyze the future of young Americans. In fact, he opened the conference talking about how essential college education is for the American youth.

Stressing on importance of offering students the best possible education, President Obama said future of our country is going to be essentially driven by our students, our administrators, professors and classrooms. He warned that it will not take long for countries that are offering better education today to out-compete America tomorrow.

His aim is to produce the maximum number of college graduates by the year 2020 and he elaborated on this aspect in the recent State of the Union address. Talking about the ongoing efforts in this direction, President Obama said that colleges are being made more affordable. Elaborating on this he said that this is evident with improved administration of Federal student loan disbursement.  

Previously, though the Federal government guaranteed the Federal loans, big banks benefited from the unwarranted subsidies amounting to at least $60 billion. Now, the money has been redirected to directly benefit students. Affordable Care Act is another way by which college is made more affordable by the President.

For the young who do not have access to health insurance, especially in their first jobs, there is a plan where they can stay on the health plan of their parents till the age of 26. President also lauded the efforts of students themselves in enhancing the graduation rate in our country.

He motivated students to persevere and continue till they complete their graduation. Students need not feel insecure about finding a suitable job after they graduate assured Obama. He went on to say that since the Great Depression, this is the worst economic crisis we are facing and things are really tough especially for the young.

He said that it is all the more reason for students to be proficient in science and math and develop good communication skills. Equipped with a college degree, it is not really tough to get a good job. President assured that at least nine out of ten trying for a job will be successful.

It is the need of the hour to improve our economy and strive to move forward over the next few years. For this, he said, public institutions must offer tuition at affordable prices no withstanding the inflation.

President Obama said that due to severe budget cuts and constraints, states are hard pressed for funds and are thereby forced to provide reduced support for public education. He said that he would focus on economic growth to ensure that states get more revenue from taxes. Increased tax revenue means lesser burden on students as states will be in a better position to support educational institutions.

Our President is definitely going all out to give voice to higher education as a means to enhance our economic growth and place our country on the path to recovery and growth.