A noted thinker once observed, “One child, one teacher; one pen and one book can change the world.” Indeed, the thoughts only rule the world. Einstein also spoke in the same vein that education is not the learning of facts but the training of the mind to think. In the changing dynamics of higher education, a thrust area has been identified as a new world order in terms of the knowledge-based economy, path-breaking original research, transforming the higher education scenario with wide-ranging reforms on teaching-learning strategies. Currently, Bishnupada Sethi is at the helm of affairs as the Commissioner-cum-Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Odisha. A widely-travelled administrative officer, who acts locally and thinks globally, Sethi is bent upon initiating cutting edge research in our universities by establishing centres of excellence under World Bank assistance to usher in an era of research innovation culture at pace with global collaboration. After having his MTech in Industrial Engineering from a reputed national institute at Mumbai, he was called to join the IAS Odisha cadre in 1988. He has headed various organisations like Odisha Cashew Development Corporation, Odisha Pisciculture Development Corporation, Odisha Beverage Corporation, Kalinga Aquatics, Odisha Knowledge Corporation, Odisha Milk Marketing Federation, State Cooperative Bank bringing about catalytic changes by focusing on quality, effectiveness, sound financial discipline and leadership. Innumerable awards and accolades including prestigious International Star for Leadership in Quality (ISLQ) in Paris , Udyog Ratan with a gold citation by Institute of Economic Studies, President’s silver award made him decorated have added feathers to his cap. He is also presently the Special Relief Commissioner and MD, OSDMA. Odisha has earned worldwide recognition and emerged as a leading State with an enviable record in handling disaster management under his effective leadership. In an interview to The Pioneer, Sethi spoke to Sugyan Choudhury on the emerging scenario and the compelling current reforms in the higher education sector of Odisha.
What are your plans to galvanise higher education in Odisha?
India's higher education system is the world's third largest in term of students, next to China and the United States. In future, India will be one of the largest education hubs. The situation of higher education in Odisha has not only been witnessing new challenges but greater opportunities with regard to expanding the system in a sustainable way. The higher education system in Odisha in the present century is moving towards being more responsive to changes in knowledge creation and application, translating these to meet emerging and changing labour market requirements in the contemporary neoliberal socioeconomic context. The Department of Higher Education has many thrust areas, which are identified to cater to the need of neoliberal economy and industry. Such needs are taken care of through the introduction of various reforms in different thrust areas. These areas include employment, infrastructure, curriculum, research, investment and pace with global collaboration. The State is marching towards its ultimate objective of achieving excellence in imparting knowledge, creating new knowledge and developing global competencies/skills in its youths.
What plans are on the anvil to project at least one university of Odisha in the top 100 rank of the world when the Union HRD Ministry is also working on similar lines?
You will be glad to know that the Utkal University is one among the best 60 higher educational institutions of the country granted autonomy by the UGC (7th position) this year, and the NAAC has awarded it A+ Grade with CGPA 3.53. The Utkal University has also been selected by the MHRD to receive Rs 100-crore assistance under the Rashtriya Uchchattar Shksha Abhiyan 2.0 and is one among the top ten universities to receive this grant. Both the Central and State Governments aim to project the Utkal University in the top 100 rank of the world.
The Utkal University will take the following steps for moving towards a world-class university:
What are the current reforms you have introduced at the university and undergraduate levels?
In the aforesaid background, the Government of Odisha, in consultation with the Vice-Chancellors of the State Universities, has initiated a process to bring in uniformity and high quality standards in five identified areas: (1) Common admission into PG courses by the universities; (2) Uniformity in syllabi at UG level; (3) Examination reforms in UG and PG/Autonomous Colleges; (4) Monitoring of On-Time-Graduation; (5) Timely conduct of examinations and timely publication of results. Detailed modalities for each of these action areas are being worked out so that clear steps can be taken with strict timelines.
What are the remedial measures you are contemplating to see that more students from Odisha are selected for IAS, IPS and other UPSC wxaminations?
For a long time, it has been felt that there is an urgent need for a State-sponsored centre for administrative and academic career development for youths from Odisha. Lately, it is seen that the success rate of university graduates from Odisha who appear in various national-level competitive examinations without any preparatory training has been dismal. The State Government hatched up Civil Services Examination study centres at all the eight State-run universities -- Utkal, Berhampur, Sambalpur; RD Women’s; GM; FM ; Ravenshaw; and North Orissa University for providing coaching and guidance to students aspiring to appear for civil services examinations and excel in them. Though such centres will take some time to stabilise, it is felt that the universities are not in a position to run a focused administrative studies centre by themselves. The entire project needs to run at a separate centre dedicated to building employment capacity of graduate and postgraduate students in various administrative jobs. To facilitate needy and eligible students with good coaching facility, the State Government has resolved to partner with professional coaching organisation to manage the Civil Service Coaching Centre. The centre will be located at Bhubaneswar for convenience of access and resource mobilisation. The selection of a coaching centre is in the process and in the final stage.
What are the measures your department is taking to shed off the obsolescence of the college teachers’ teaching at the undergraduate level?
It has now been proposed to train the college teachers on pedagogy and subject matter. Around 14,000 teachers will be trained a phase-wise manner by the universities with financial support from the World Bank.
What steps are on the pipeline to streamline higher research and developmental studies at the university level?
As a nation with a large contingent of researchers both in mission departments and universities, a large number of publications do come out, but very few of them are path-breaking research. At the State level, universities have developed a good basic teaching learning protocol. Steps are being taken by many universities to develop, coordinate and strengthen international linkages with funding agencies such as Fulbright, Commonwealth, British Council and several international consortiums like ERASMUS MUNDUS, DAAD and other scholarship groups. The Odisha State Higher Education Council has envisaged a new scheme called the “Odisha University Research and Innovation Incentivisation Plan (OURIIP) to bridge the gap in research activities and promote research in emerging areas. The thrust area would be original research instead of incremental research. The aim of the scheme is to facilitate a research-innovation culture at the higher education institutes. This will be effective from 2018-19. The objective of the project is to provide scholarships to talented youngsters to devote themselves to fulltime research and facilitate young faculty to start research programmes.