Prez to Univ: Bring reforms, innovations

Shillong, October 22: President Pranab Mukherjee underscored the need to be innovative and bring about reformation in the higher education system of the country even as he emphasized that the administrators and academicians must take steps toward this direction.

Mukherje said, “I would like to suggest that delivery system in higher education in India cannot be allowed to continue in the routine fashion any longer” while addressing the 21^st convocation of the North Eastern Hill University on Tuesday.

Despite the HNLC bandh, over 2000 students attended the convocation at NEHU  and received their degrees in Ph.D downwards to the  bachelor’s degrees.

Saying that there is an urgent need for the administrators and academicians to bring innovative changes in the institutions, Mukherjee said, “Core problems have to be addressed expeditiously. A culture of excellence has to be promoted by allowing adequate sustainability in the different aspect of academic management.”

Mukherjee was of the opinion that every university must identify one or two departments where there is potential to upscale it to centre of excellence.   He said these departments must have core competency and outstanding faculty which can be supported and developed into a centre of excellence.

Mukherjee observed that NEHU has set up a Centre of Culture and Creative studies and said, “This venture is to protect, promote the rich diversity and showcase the rich diversity of the region.”  He felt the centre must be supported in a time-bound manner.

Mukherjee suggested that emphasis must be made on research, development and innovation as he pointed that lack of focus in research is one of important factor as to why bright students after graduation and post graduation leave academics and pursue their higher studies abroad. He alsi felt that Indian universities must interact and have close working ties with top universities of the world for sharing academic activities on a regular basis.

Informing that eleven MoUs have been signed with other universities from Belgium recently, Mukherjee said, “Our universities must be able to retain meritorious students for higher studies. The academic must be supportive to research and innovation, must be promoted and make meaningful to a common man.” He said Indian universities must play a role to develop the ideas to produce viable products.”

Mukherjee rued that not a single Indian university find a place in the recorded publication of great university in the world. He said in the 200 first rated recognized universities of world standards not a single Indian institute find its place. He felt this is because the academic performance, the syllabus of the Indian universities does not compare with the highest standards established by some of the world renowned universities.

Mukherjee said that because the Indian universities lack world standard many bright students goes abroad to pursue their higher studies. He said, “We shall have to try to change this process in the reverse direction.”

Mukherjee was confident that people will like to come to India, a great country, thriving democracy, cradle of 5000 years old civilization and people will be naturally be interested to come provided opportunities are created for such studies. He informed during the last 11 plan, there has been tremendous physical expansion of India’s higher education.

Mukherjee also lamented that though India has talented teachers but it takes almost 80 years when an Indian scholar studying in an Indian institution receives the Nobel Prize. He said the last last one to receive the noble prize was CV Raman.

Mukherjee also said that he does not subscribe to the notion that there is lack of talents in India and informed that three Indians who graduated from Indian universities received the Nobel Prize.  He said Dr R Sen from Kolkata university, Dr Chandrashekhar from Madras Unviersity and Dr H Khurana fromPunjab University graduated from Indian Universities but received Noble Prizes for working in a foreign university because the facilities for research and higher studies complemented their talents. – By Our Reporter