Uttarakhand Governor Dr KK Paul has categorically urged the vice-chancellors of the State to raise the standard of higher education in the State. Uttarakhand has had an excellent reputation as an educational hub for the whole of North India, but this was showing signs of erosion as far as higher education was concerned.
He stressed that it was the responsibility of Vice Chancellors to think in terms of mentoring the youth so that the state and the country can get the benefit of the youth power, and the demographic dividend. “Youth energy needs to be channelised in a positive direction so that they do not go astray and help in the development of the State and the nation. VCs can play an important role in this direction”.
The Governor emphasised that the VCs should exercise greater supervision over the affiliated colleges and also the quality of teaching and research at their Campuses. “Without any original research either by the faculty or the students, the Universities tend to loose their character of higher learning, and are merely reduced to the level of a small college,” he said.
The Governor said that the VCs had been asked to inspect the affiliated colleges by surprise but this had not happened. The defaulting colleges needed to be pulled up.
The points raised during the earlier Conferences of being innovative and turning the Campuses into smart capmpuses one, were reiterated by the Governor. He said that a beginning towards a smart Campus could be made, in very simple terms, by reducing electricity consumption, planting trees which capture maximum carbon, efficient and effective garbage disposal, water conservation and harvesting. Such measures do not require heavy capital expenditure.
Dr Paul said that only three Universities Kumaon, Sanskrit and GB Pant Universities had so far held their convocations. “Holding a convocation should have been an annual and a prestigious feature for each University,” he said.
The most important thing that the Governor re-emphasised was the interface between the academia and industry, introducing job oriented changes in the curriculum and also laying emphasis on skill development. He said that even the Sanskrit University which teaches astrology should take up research and find out the basis for this ancient Indian science and its scientific principles. VCs of all the state universities made several suggestions at the meeting. They also presented reports regarding the progress made by their respective universities as far as implementing the decisions taken at earlier meetings were concerned.
Other dignitaries including OSD and secretary to the Governor Arun Dhaundiyal, Principal Secretaries (higher education) Om Prakash and Dr Ranvir Singh, Secretary (Higher education) MC Joshi, additional secretary VP Raturi and VCs of all state universities were present.