By Rajiv Shukla
AMRITSAR : In an oblique and a subtle way the
University Grants Commission chief Sukhdeo Thorat
indicated here on November 12 that the basic structure
of the higher education system in the country would stay
intact and that “the changes, if any, would just be
add-ons.”
Addressing vice-chancellors at the inaugural session of
the 84th annual meeting of the Association of Indian
Universities (AIU) at Guru Nanak Dev University on
November 12 Thorat quoted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
having said in Chandigarh on November 3 that the changes
in the higher
education would be mere “add-ons” and
therefore “planners and vice-chancellors can continue to
dream of the prospective plans”.
Thorat explained in detail how the country was passing
though a massive higher education expansion phase, never
witnessed before. “The country has never made such huge
allocations” or drawn up such massive wish-list as it
has been done in the current 11th plan, he
said.
Over
160 Vice-Chancellors from various parts of the country
are participating in the three day AIU annual conference
which is being hosted by GNDU.
Thorat was all praise for the sports activities of the
university and informed the house that the university
has been adjudged “centre of excellence” in sports.
Earlier Dr MD Tiwari, Director, Indian Institute of
Information Technology, Allahabad, in his presidential
address stressed to evaluate educational institutions
which, he said, was of paramount importance in the
current context of the globalised world.
The
Vice-Chancellor of the host university, Prof A S Brar,
in his welcome address said that despite various
initiatives and policy decisions by the government and
apex academic bodies like the UGC and the National
Knowledge Commission, higher education remained in a
state of crisis. He also enumerated the activities and
projects of the university.
Private universities :
Addressing a press conference on the eve of AIU meet, Dr
M D Tewari, the President of AIU said that “steps will
be initiated to bring private universities and
educational institutes under the purview of
accreditation in order to impart uniform quality
education to students.”
He
said private universities and institutes were allowed by
government with a view to provide higher education to
students because there were inadequate government-run
institutions.
“It
was observed that these private institutes, after
obtaining recognition from the government, had started
business tactics there by defeating the basic cause of
providing education to students, that is why the
accreditation policy was conceptualised”, opined Dr
Tiwari.
He
added that important resolutions emanating from the
zonal meetings of vice-chancellors already held earlier
on the themes of Expansion of Higher Education:
Challenges of Maintaining Quality (East Zone),
Environmental Education: Issues and Challenges before
Higher Education (North Zone), Globalisation and Impact
on Higher Education (South Zone) and Quality Assessment
and Accreditation in Higher Education (West Zone) would
be presented for consideration for further action in the
annual general body meeting of the AIU.
The
AIU background
Historically, an Inter-University Board (IUB) was born
in 1924 following the deliberations of a conference of
the Vice-Chancellors of Universities convened at Shimla
by Lord Reading, the then Viceroy of India. The idea was
to provide a common forum to Vice-Chancellors and top
academic and administrative heads of Universities and
other centers of higher learning to regularly deliberate
on key issues facing the higher education in the
country.
The
Inter-University Board (IUB) acquired a legal status
with its registration in 1967 as a Society under the
Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 1973, it assumed
its present name -- the Association of Indian
Universities (AIU).
Traditional Universities open universities, professional
universities, institutes of national importance and
deemed-to-be Universities are members of AIU. In
addition, there is a provision of granting of Associate
Membership to Universities of neighboring countries.
Currently, the AIU has about 300 members and 40
associate members.
