Political apppointing of VCs need to stop: Kapil Sibal

Updated on: Saturday, March 26, 2011

Kapil Sibal, the Minister of Human Resource Development stressed to end political interference in appointing vice chancellors.

"This must end," Sibal told a conference of Central and State university vice chancellors after noting how such appointments are made "at the instance of the political establishment.

Sibal stressed that the academic world must be free if "our system is to thrive." For instance, he urged participants to tap into the communication revolution "taking place" and foster cross-disciplinary studies and research.

Asserting how everything in nature is cross-disciplinary, the HRD Minister wondered why in academics there was still debate on the issue.

Sibal said the University system must allow students mobility-- between disciplines and between campuses.

Allowing a technician to be a mathematician took a flexibility the Indian system must acquire, Sibal suggested, adding that multi-disciplinary study and research will result in creativity.

Among other things, the two-day conference is expected to identify higher education reform agenda for the 12th Five Year Plan period.

This is not the first time the issue of political interference has figured, or triggered concern. It has for years drawn the attention of regulators as well as faculty and other stake-holders.

Norms have been set, but enforcement is another matter.

The Indian constitution had been framed making education exclusively a responsibility of the States and, experts say, amendments in the 1970s making it a concurrent subject have not altered matters substantially.

Planning commission chairman, Sam Pitroda stressed acting without delay is very imperative to transform the education sector.

Spending more time on conducting surveys will only further delay reforms, Pitroda told journalists.

Earlier, Sibal wanted the academic system to show confidence in itself.

He said foreign campuses were keen to set up in India drawn by the large student numbers and undertake research.

The participants will take stock of headway made in achieving higher education expansion, inclusion and excellence and identify issues, challenges and reform agenda for the 12th Five-Year Plan period.

Political apppointing of VCs need to stop: Kapil Sibal

More Education news