By H. Srikanth
The news of NEHU slipping to 59th position in NIRF ranking, 2021 disheartened not only the teachers and students in the university but also the members of the civil society in Meghalaya. The continuous fall in the University’s ranking became a subject of everyday discussion in the academic and social circles in the state. Although NEHU’s performance was not that discouraging in matters relating to faculty publications and infrastructure, the NIRF report showed that NEHU lagged behind other universities in some fields. The university did not fare well in the case of extension activities and people’s perceptions. That means the university has not done enough to engage with the civil society. There has been considerable discussion in the university on how to increase faculty publications and expand infrastructure, but the university community has hardly discussed what more the university could do to the society apart from carrying teaching and research. It is a fact that, barring a few departments, the faculty and students in the university hardly engage in any extension activities outside the campus. Most academic departments do not even have any idea how they could become relevant to the communities and people outside the campus. This lacuna deserves a serious attention.
Teaching, research and awarding degrees are the primary responsibilities of the universities. In the universities, there should be vibrant academic activities such as seminars, workshops and conferences, wherein the peers meet, discuss and contribute to dissemination and further advancement of knowledge. The governments, industries and business enterprises may use subsequently the knowledge disseminated or generated by the universities. But are they enough to justify the existence of the universities? Some activities and achievements of the students and faculty are often reported in the newspapers and the educated people in the society come to know about them. But the masses who are not so educated hardly have an idea what the universities have been doing and how they are useful to the society. Very often, there is a disconnect between the university community and the communities living outside the campus. Living in self-contained ivory towers, the students and teachers believe they are contributing a lot to the nation. Most don’t have any idea how they are connected with and dependent on the communities outside the four walls of the campus.
Not many students and teachers know that their universities came into existence because of the people’s aspirations and movements. It is through people’s money that the governments fund the universities, and enable them to build infrastructure and employ teachers and supporting staff. We often forget that universities are built on the land that the communities have voluntarily donated, or forcibly taken away from them by the government. Different services are provided by the communities living around the campus to students, teachers and officers living on the campus The students secure degrees, the scholars get jobs; the teachers get promotions and awards, but how does all that benefit the civil society? This is not a matter that concerns only NEHU. The universities across the globe have debated on this issue and advocated for civic engagement of the universities. They have emphasized on the need for the academic departments and the university community to build rapport with the civil society and engage in extension activities. The educationists have advocated extension activities not just to benefit the communities. Community engagement helps the students, research scholars and teachers become aware of the problems and perspectives of the masses, and develops their communicative and leadership skills.
Some universities mechanically create some departments to take up the extension activities. But in reality, it is possible for every department or centre to take up one or the other extension activities. All need not engage in similar kinds of activities. Each department or centre can think in what ways they could be of use to the communities. Depending on one’s area of interest and expertise, one may decide whether to run adult education centre, offer free tuitions for the young, educate the communities about health care or environment, take up voters’ awareness campaign or human rights education, conduct socio-economic surveys, impart life-skills or organize sports and cultural activities for the local communities. Even at the individual level, the faculty members and scholars can contribute to the local communities by writing articles for local newspapers and by associating themselves with different local community organizations. If the faculty and students brainstorm, they can come out with creative ideas and plans for civic engagement. The universities may come forward to adopt one or two villages / localities and earmark fixed budget for undertaking these activities. The NSS units undertake cleaning drive programs on the campuses. But the same can be extended to the localities outside the campus as well. The civil society will be more than happy to collaborate and support such initiatives. Local churches, school buildings, community halls can be used for undertaking the activities. Even if each department / centre focuses on one activity and executes them effectively, the universities can make a big difference to the society.
It makes sense if the universities plan their extension activities after discussing with the civil society activists and organizations. It is heartening to see that NEHU, while celebrating the NEHU Day, honoured Smt. Patricia Mukhim. But that is not enough. There should be continuous interaction with social activists. Involving them in workshops and brainstorming sessions help in coming out with creative ideas on how the educational institutions could contribute to the community welfare. Mukhim inspired and mobilized students from different schools and colleges in cleaning of the rivers. It is unfortunate that we in NEHU remained passive bystanders. Talking or writing big things about climate change make little sense when we do not come forward to keep our environment clean. Organizing workshops with civil society activists will help the university get new ideas how we could engage with the communities.
Exploring the potentiality of the alumni is another method by which we can improve the civic engagement. Earlier Vice-chancellors also have spoken about the Alumni Association. But no one made any sincere attempt to identify and organize them. The NEHU Alumni is spread in all states of the northeast. Most of them have emotional attachment to the University. They will be more than happy to associate in some form or the other with NEHU programs and activities. All Alumni students may not contribute finances, but they can offer a helping hand by providing free services required for the university sponsored programs. They can also offer innovative ideas for strengthening the bond between the University and the civil society. It is for the University to take the initiative and create a forum for them to play a supportive role.
It is heartening to see that the new Vice-Chancellor of NEHU has expressed the desire to revive the rapport with the civil society and use the services of the alumni. We can fill the gap between intention and actual realization only through effective planning and execution. Creating a separate unit for coordinating the extension activities of the university would be a step in the right direction. The civic engagement of the university will help in creating a considerable goodwill and will go a long way in building healthy relations between the university and the civil society.
(H. Srikanth teaches Political Science in NEHU. Email: [email protected])