Academic Advisor to Governor, E Balagurusamy, today reached Nilamber Pitamber university in Daltonganj and took stock of the academic scenario here.
He held a joint press briefing with the acting VC NPU Dr Tapan Kumar Shandilya. From the university side sat the proctor Dr K C Jha in the joint press briefing.
It was Dr Shandilya who helped the vernacular dailies with the Hindi version as Balagurusamy just went on in English but the vernacular dailies lobbed relevant questions about lack of teachers in colleges, late admission, late examination, late result, teachers skipping classes to the academic advisor which the advisor conceded in totality saying "The higher education scenario in Jharkhand is very bad. It's very low."
The academic advisor said "The state universities here have an appalling crisis of teachers. Around 80 percent posts are vacant. The quality of teachers is also wanting. There is no penchant for research and innovation. It's all a hackneyed and stereo typed work going on. There is no stress for skills. Universities are churning out graduates in large numbers but industrial houses find 70 percent of the graduates unemployable just for having no skill. Their survival is at stake."
He said "The Jharkhand state has a poor gross enrolment ratio. It is 17 percent. It is much below the national average which is 27 percent. So the state government must spend money on the colleges, faculties and other infrastructure facilities as these are not expenditures but investment here in Jharkhand."
On being asked about the purpose of his visit to the NPU here today before the academic advisor could explain it in English the acting VC Dr Shandilya said "The academic advisor has been working on a vision document for higher education here in Jharkhand. He has already visited other state universities and now Kokhan university is in his tour diary."
The acting VC further said the academic advisor would be filing his report to the Chancellor C P Radhakrishnan. Balagurusamy on the other hand said he would like to meet the state chief minister in regard to the status of higher education in Jharkhand.
The academic advisor said there is a great need to bring skill and technology to the students as rote learning or obtaining higher marks is not going to help any more.
Alluding to smaller countries like Taiwan where skill and technology have set in the fourth industrial revolution, India having an enormous human resource lags behind just for its youths not having the right kind of mettle for research and innovation.
The academic advisor spoke about degradation of morality and ethicality in India where corruption rules the roost. He said smaller children come to classes taking ganja in Tamil Nadu. Is this the way to learn? he quipped.
Much what the academic advisor said about the quantity and quality of teachers and their teaching, he at no point of time, meant any malice towards them as he said if the teachers are demotivated then it is because their promotional avenues are shut for years and years and that is enough to make any teacher de -spirited.
He made it very clear that it is the state government after all to take measures to improve the standard of higher education here in Jharkhand.