Pranab attends 21st NEHU convocation
SHILLONG: Underscoring the need to reform the education system in India, President Pranab Mukherjee has said that higher education can no longer be continued in a routine fashion.
“The curriculum should motivate students to take up research and innovation,” he said while delivering his key-note address at the 21st convocation of the North Eastern Hills University (NEHU) here on Tuesday.
“Universities need to develop in their students a scientific temper and a curriculum that will encourage the growth of research and innovation,” the President said adding “There has to be an urgency amongst the administrators and academicians to introduce innovative changes in the institutions.”
“Core problems have to be addressed expeditiously. A culture of excellence has to be promoted by allowing adequate flexibility in different aspects of academic management,” Mukherjee said.
The President said although the country’s efforts at expanding the higher education infrastructure had yielded positive results but very few academic institutions in India can claim global rankings due to lack of quality.
Lamenting that not a single Indian university is amongst the top universities in the world, Mukherjee said, “These rankings are based on certain specific criteria. The standards of our universities are much higher than what the rankings suggest but the universities have not been able to adequately present our cases for a higher ranking.”
Pointing out that it is over 80 years since an Indian University produced a Nobel Prize winner, CV Raman, the President observed that Amartya Sen, S. Chandrashekar and Hargobind Khorana were all graduates of Indian Universities but got their Nobel Prizes while working in foreign universities.
Pointing out that all these great scholars did complete their higher education in India, he said that they all moved abroad after completing their higher education.
“This only suggests that facilities available for critical research in Indian universities are not adequate and this needs immediate improvement,” the President said.
Stating that a culture of excellence has to be promoted by allowing adequate flexibility in different aspects of academic management, Mukherjee praised the Centre for Cultural and Creative Studies of NEHU for working towards realising the artistic and cultural aspirations of the people.
Citing the example of IIM Kolkata, the President said he was able to provide assistance to its Finance Lab as Finance Minister and he was informed just a few days back by IIM authorities that a recent Financial Times survey has ranked IIM-Kolkata as No. 1 in Finance and No. 2 in economics among the top 70 global business schools that offers Masters in Management programme.
The President said the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) has acted as a centre of empowerment of the people in North-Eastern region.
He expressed his happiness over gender parity in the student population, with a 1:1 male-female ratio and the fact that women outperform men beyond the ratio. He said NEHU has fulfilled an important objective of India’s higher education system.
He urged the authorities to give their support to turn this department into a centre of excellence in a time bound manner.
The President inaugurated an Innovation Club and witnessed an exhibition of Traditional Herbal Practitioners at NEHU. He also witnessed the NEHU Professors’ Patents Exhibition on the occasion.
Also present at the convocation were Governor Dr. KK Paul, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, Chancellor of NEHU Prof. Andre Beteille and Vice Chancellor of NEHU Prof. P. Shukla.
Students defy bandh: Despite the 36-hour bandh called by HNLC, the convocation hall of NEHU was jam packed with students during the 21st convocation of the university.
Majority of the students have come to the convocation in the buses arranged by the district administration.
“I have come to the convocation in the STPS buses,” a post-graduate student residing at Jingkieng, Nongthymmai said.
The students, however, expressed their disappointment over the bandh called by the banned outfit.