Indian varsities lack emphasis on holistic research and it is important they enhance their focus in research to be on par with foreign universities, said HA Ranganath, director, national assessment and accreditation council.
Indian varsities lack emphasis on holistic research and it is important they enhance their focus in research to be on par with foreign universities, said HA Ranganath, director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), south zone, at a one-day workshop for academics on Sunday.
“The universities were set up with the motto of attaining active academic self-sufficiency and growth in research work. In fact, students studying in a university should have advanced research skills. Diversity in the composition of the faculty is necessary for holistic research and development. Ironically, medical and engineering streams were snatched away from regular universities, and formed exclusive centres. This has annulled the philosophy of self-sufficiency,” said Ranganath.
Cross-pollination of knowledge is necessary when research is undertaken, and universities should be entrusted with training for advanced research. To make a university a complete place for study, all disciplines of academic study should be undertaken within it, said Ranganath, underlining the very root of the word university, which derives from ‘universal’, from the Latin ‘uni’ meaning ‘one,’ and ‘veritas,’ meaning truth.
Ranganath rued that holistic research and development have been neglected, as universities in India function like places that conduct examinations and evaluate answer sheets. The state universities have thus become stunted, as students are way behind others in more advanced countries. Apart from the Indian Institute of Science, no university in India could compare with some of the finest such institutions in the developed world, Ranganath said.
“Many foreign universities have lined up to set up campuses in India. If the right quality of education is not provided in the state universities, the very future of students passing out from such universities could be at stake. Our universities should start scholarly programmes in the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, and bring them on a par with some of the finest universities in the world,” he said.
NR Shetty, former vice-chancellor, Bangalore University, said, “The state universities have not been able to maintain quality and excellence. Our universities do not have ample scope for research. A university without research is like a temple without idols.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}