NEW DELHI / AGARTALA, July 16 (TIWN / IANS): Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Saturday said that the education policy should be job oriented focusing skill development and emphasising on quality.

"The education policy of the country should be job oriented focusing skill development and emphasising on quality so that after completion of required education youths are able to get jobs," Sarkar said while addressing the Inter-State Council meeting here.

He said: "Union and the states have the responsibility to provide quality, affordable and accessible education to all the children and adults in India."

"The education policies adopted so far could not provide adequate skills as wel as lead to employment to the youth of the country. The result is prevalence of in large scale unemployment and poor learning outcomes in the states."

On the use of Aadhaar card as an identifier and use of the Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT) for providing subsidies, benefits and public services to the people, Sarkar, a Communist leader, said that Tripura government supports enabling direct payments to the people, but it (Aadhaar) should not be made mandatory to receive benefits and alternative forms of establishing identity also should be equaliy be honoured.

On the Punchhi Commission recommendations on centre-state relations, the Tripura Chief Minister said that the central government should abandon its pursuit of acquiring states' powers on any pretext.

"To improve internal security situations and to tackle emerging technology and cyber based threats, the central government should provide more funds to the states for modernisation of police and its infrastructure in real terms," said Sarkar, who also holds the home portfolio.

Demanding to compensate states' losses for delinking schemes and revenue shortfall caused due to the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, Tripura Chief Minister emphatically urged the centre to distribute share of taxes between the central government and states at least in the ratio of 50:50.