Off with chalk & duster

Updated on: Monday, November 09, 2009

The suggestions included propping up the educational institutions in the State to meet the likely challenge thrown by foreign universities that are expected to set up shop in the country soon and the need to prepare a Vision Document to improve the standard of education in the State.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) K. Balaveera Reddy made a pitch for introduction of technology in the classrooms and inculcating a sprit of research among the students. “You cannot continue to teach students with chalk and duster. A number of private primary schools are doing a wonderful job in the matter,” he said, referring to the use of digital projectors and LCD monitors that had made the process of teaching exciting.
Raise the bar

Mr. Reddy apprehended that students will begin making a beeline to foreign University outlets in the State if the local institutions are not adequately equipped to provide quality education through technologically-advanced gadgets.

Local Universities and educational institutions should raise the bar if they are to survive in the globalised era, he said.

Several experts, who participated in the meeting of the Council, strongly felt the need for preparing a Vision Document to face the myriad challenges before the higher education system in the country.

A.M. Narahari, President of the Federation of University College Teachers’ Association-Karnataka (FUCTAK), said there was a need for preparing a Vision Document that would help tackle the myriad challenges before the higher education system. Former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore, Bisalaiah, said the UAS had already prepared a Vision Document and would part with the methodology of the same to the Council.

Vice-Chancellor of VTU H.P. Khincha said the Council should also have a comprehensive portal on higher education, which would help the students link up with academicians and academic activities all over the world and keep themselves updated.

Prof. Narahari tried to draw the meeting’s attention to the setting up of “illegal” teaching shops of private Universities. A private University is established by an Act of the State Legislature and is not allowed to open its outlets outside that particular State. “We have several colleges in the State affiliated to private universities started outside the State. Students are being taken for a ride. We should take action against this on a priority basis,” he said.
Inadequate

Bangalore University Vice-Chancellor N. Prabhu Dev pointed out that there should be one college for a taluk, one University for a district, a Higher Education Council for a State and a National Higher Education Council. He felt that the number of Universities in the country is grossly inadequate. Against the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry’s recommendation to have 1,500 Universities, the country has only 400, besides about 100 deemed-to-be Universities.

Higher Education Secretary Srikant told the meeting that there was a proposal to establish 13 more general universities in the State, besides model colleges in 20 districts to increase the gross enrolment ratio in higher education from the existing 11 per cent to 20 per cent by 2020.

After giving a patient hearing to the academics, who sought to draw the Government’s attention to the problems dogging the higher education system in the State, Karnataka’s Minister for Higher Education Arvind Limbavali assured them that he would explore the possibility of giving statutory status to the Council and promote it as the apex body for higher education in the State.

Mr. Limbavali was also responding to an appeal made at the start of the meeting by the Vice-Chairman of the Council and former Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor I.M. Savadatti, who sought more teeth for the Karnataka State Council for Higher Education, which is tipped to replace the Inter-Universities’ Board (IUB). Though Mr. Limbavali said no decision has been taken to replace the IUB with the Council, he promised to work towards bringing a Bill in the State Legislature soon to confer statutory status to it.

Off with chalk & duster

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