The Hindu : New Delhi News : Country lagging behind in higher education: Thorat

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Friday, Sep 21, 2007
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New Delhi

Country lagging behind in higher education: Thorat

Staff Reporter

UGC Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat

NEW DELHI: Even though higher education has come a long way since the 1950s, there are still some issues like inclusive education that need to be addressed, said University Grants Commission Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat on Thursday.

Inaugurating a conference of Vice-Chancellors of the Northern Region on “Development of higher education for expansion, inclusion and excellence” at Jamia Millia Islamia here, he pointed out that though the absolute number of students getting access to higher education had considerably increased and there had been a “several-time jump” in the gross enrolment ratio, the country was still lagging behind by international standards.

“There are concerns that higher education has not received as much attention as it should have. There are issues pertaining to the level of equal access, inclusive education and the need to provide relevant education,” said Prof. Thorat.

“We have to create new institutions as well as undertake expansion of the intake-capacity of the existing institutions. The enrolment ratio for categories of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes/Other Backward Classes, girls, Muslims and poor is low. How to maintain quality is another big question. Quality cannot be imposed. With the help of good human resources and adequate physical infrastructure, excellence will emerge on its own. Education must also make our children employable,” he added.

Addressing representatives from various universities in Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Prof. Thorat said: “You have to tell us whether the reforms and policies are practical and feasible at the ground level or not. This conference would help in seeking the views on the policies and strategies being contemplated by the Government in the field of higher education.”

Jamia Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan in his address underscored the need for such interactions as they “led to important results”.

Referring to the issue of budgetary allocations for universities, Prof. Hasan asserted that the matter had to be discussed in a rational way.

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