India can deliver quality edu at one-fourth the price: Vineet Gupta & Pramath Raj Sinha

Ashoka University, located in Sonepat Haryana, which opened its doors to its first undergraduate batch about three years ago, introduced the concept of a ‘liberal arts’ university to Indian parents and their children.

Even after it was embroiled in a controversy over curbing free speech some time ago, the founders say that they have been successful in maintaining the idea of a liberal arts university by “allowing all kinds of voices on the campus”.

They say that a good example of this is political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who is known for his sharp criticism of government policies, joining the university asVice-Chancellor.  

DNA spoke to Pramath Raj Sinha, Founder and Trustee, and Vineet Gupta, founder and pro Vice-Chancellor on the sidelines of its first UG convocation.

How far have you been able to sustain the idea of a liberal university in an environment where everything is questioned, and cases of sedition are being slapped?  

Vineet: I think we have been able to maintain it fairly well. We should look at it from two different perspectives. We construct our curriculum, and the kind of education we provide to our students encourages all view points in the university. Second is, in the context of how the outer world looks at it. There are examples outside India also when the universities do not agree to something that is going on in the country. It is the nature of campuses across the world. We are not focused more on that part, we are more focused on how we can maintain the liberal character inside the university.

When you say you allow all kinds of voices, how do you do that?

Vineet: The faculty and administration encourages all viewpoints. The process starts from the classroom. The faculty teaches students to voice their opinions. This method of teaching gives them the confidence to speak up.

When you say you allow all kinds of voice, shouldn’t the varsity have a students’ union?

Vineet: We have a student body on campus, which is known as the student government. The students decide how they want to have the government. They also have their own written constitution.

That government engages with the university more than any other student body I have come across. Our student government is far more engaged. They have a sub-committee on how things should be managed on campus, clubs, academics, everything.

Do students engage with the outer community on issues that need attention? There has been a notion that the university muzzles voices?

Pramath: Because of one incident there has been a perception that we purport to be a liberal arts university, but somehow we silence voices. There is nothing like that, we cannot even afford to do that. Our students have been to all the protests that have taken place at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), or Delhi University (DU). In fact, the faculty members have allowed the students to leave the classroom and join a protest if they want to. If we were to silence voices, someone like Pratap Bhanu Mehta wouldn’t be joining us.

When the university started, it began as an institution beyond borders. How far has it been able to maintain that in terms of getting international students?

Vineet: We are just starting out in terms of international students. Currently, 7 or 8 per cent of our students come from outside India. We have students from Africa, a few from the US also. There is a lot of potential in that field, but it will take time. India has the advantage that we can provide quality education at probably one-fourth or one-fifth the price. If more universities like Ashoka come up there will be more international students coming to India.