Arguing for popularising mathematics as an academic discipline, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday said the general perception that the pursuit of the subject did not lead to attractive career possibilities was no more valid as new opportunities were now available to mathematicians.

Kicking off the year-long celebrations of the 125th birth anniversary of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan here by declaring December 22, Ramanujan's birthday, as ‘National Mathematics Day' and 2012 as the ‘National Mathematical Year', Dr Singh reminded parents and students that mathematics was “the mother science” that was also influencing the study of social sciences in a big way.

However, he struck a note of regret that the country did not have enough competent mathematicians.

“It is a matter of concern that for a country of our size, the number of competent mathematicians we have is badly inadequate. Over more than the last there decades, many of our young men and women with a natural ability in mathematics have not pursued the discipline at advanced levels.” This, he said, had resulted in a decline in the quality of maths teachers at the school and college levels.

Career options

Dr Singh said the perception that mathematics did not provide attractive career options might have been valid until some years ago, “but, today, there are many new career opportunities… and the teaching profession itself has become much more attractive in recent years.”

The mathematical community had a duty to address the shortage of top quality mathematicians in the country and must reach out to the public, especially in the modern context where mathematics had tremendous influence on every kind of human endeavour.

“Mathematics has also influenced the study of social sciences in a big way. Students, parents and people at large need to be aware of these facts so that the study of mathematics as an academic discipline gains popularity,” the Prime Minister said.

In his address, the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, who is also chair of the National Committee organising the year-long celebrations, quoted from the correspondence between Ramanujan and Cambridge mathematician G.H. Hardy, in which Ramanujan admits to not having a conventional university education and describes himself as a “half-starving man”.

Striking a new path

The correspondence demonstrated the fact that it was not necessary to follow a regular university course to realise one's genius and that there were discoveries to be made beyond formal education. It also showed that students should be encouraged to strike a new path for themselves and also that “the genius in many of our young minds may never be recognised because of extreme poverty,” Mr Sibal said.

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