Higher education alone cannot ensure quality manpower

Updated on: Monday, March 19, 2012

Professor A M Pathan, vice-chancellor, Central University of Karnataka, Gulbarga, while addressing the gathering at the 18th convocation ceremony of the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) at the university premises on Saturday, said that merely expanding higher education alone cannot ensure a continuous and growing supply of quality manpower, it has to be combined with fundamental reforms of the curriculum and service conditions by fully exploiting the possibility of private sector initiatives to attract high quality faculty.He was expressing his views on emerging trends and changes in the Indian higher education system especially in the context of inclusion, expansion, access and quality concerns.

Mr. Pathan said, "The emphasis that the country has put on quality higher education decades ago, by setting up IITs and other premier educational institutions, has paid us rich dividends. However, the educational infrastructure has to be enhanced in the contest of rising challenges and this is being done, as seen in the focused initiatives of the government in the establishment of new IITs, IISERs, Central Universities and IIMs in various parts of the country and the upgrading of NITs as national-level research institutions."

Mr. Pathan further said that the scope for expanding capacity through private sector initiatives in higher learning must also be fully exploited, while also ensuring that quality standards are not diluted. Unless this is done on an urgent basis, we will fail to attain global standards, he said.

Through proper utilization of the advanced technological resources available to the open distant education (ODE) system quality education for all can be achieved. The need of the hour is to create a broadband-enabled network, linking all teachers, learners and other stakeholders, particularly partners from industry and civil society to enable the system to best utilize the technology at its disposal.

Mr. Pathan also said that, "Distance education is becoming more abundant, especially online, and location independent, increasing the need for effective course-management systems and teaching strategies that utilize technology. Various studies have shown that well-designed and well-managed distance education programmes produce learning outcome equal to those of conventional face to face instruction. The main function of open and distance education is to extend higher education to non-traditional learners by adopting an open, flexible and relatively inexpensive approach. Increasing access to higher education, which is relevant and need-based, has been and remains the mantra of the ODE system. This inclusiveness is aimed especially at those who are at a disadvantage in the conventional system with respect to age, gender, geography, social and economic background."

The 18th convocation ceremony of the YCMOU was also attended by YCMOU vice-chancellor R Krishnakumar. Around 73,436 students were conferred with degrees and diplomas, including 48,464 graduates, 3,491 post-graduates and 21,438 diploma course students. Gold medals were presented to 23 students for their outstanding performance in the 2010-11 exams.

Higher education alone cannot ensure quality manpower

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