Education needs a reality check: Nigavekar Dona

Updated on: Friday, July 01, 2011

With the youth forming a major chunk of the state's population, higher education reforms remain a pressing issue in need of drastic changes. "Indian education needs a reality check," said former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Arun Nigavekar, adding that he wanted to trigger a new thought process among people involved in the education sector in the country. Nigavekar was delivering Goa University's 27th Foundation Day lecture at National Institute of Oceanography's (NIO) cardium auditorium in Dona Paula "We need to better utilize the existing educational infrastructure by running colleges in three shifts throughout the day, like it's done in China."

The Raja Ramanna Fellow cited the example of disruptive reform in the field of computers which has seen computing devices shrink in size. "Large computers that once occupied whole rooms have made way for tiny smart phones which conveniently fit in the palm of one's hand," he said. Nigavekar, the founder director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), was of the view that the present legal and legislative processes in higher education institutions were stifling them. "This leads to a rigid framework, election-dominated governance and slow academic reform," he said. Since 90% of the youth are being educated in state public universities, Nigavekar maintained that state public universities should be the focus of higher education reforms.

Referring to the Tata Nano, Nigavekar said that India's cheapest car was the best example of how disruptive reform can impact society. "Public universities run on deficit budgets since they subsidize prices of education by neglecting the real cost. This translates into poor academic output," he said. "To rectify this, students should be made aware of the actual cost of a course. If they are economically backward they can apply for a fee waiver, or low-interest loans," he said. "Deemed universities should be made for profit, as they already focus on commercial viability to a large extent," he added. Another reform Nigavekar proposed was the inclusion of education trusts and societies under Section 25 of the Companies Act. These non-profit organizations need to be professionally managed by a board of directors, and plough the surplus revenue back into the institution, he said.

Lamenting the fact that only 375 out of 20,000 odd colleges in the country are autonomous, Nigavekar rooted for greater autonomy for colleges. He also advocated the creation of empowered autonomous skills development colleges. The introduction of a multi-disciplinary credit-based modular structure is the way forward, he insisted. In his speech, governor S S Sidhu voiced the view that innovation has become inevitable in recent times. "Faculty should constantly refresh their knowledge. There is still a lot of ground to be covered," he said. He called for more outreach programs in the higher education sector. Goa University vice-chancellor Dilip Deobagkar and
registrar P V Kamat were present on the occasion.

Times of India

Education needs a reality check: Nigavekar Dona

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