Pics: Naveen Menezes
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NM)
Mangalore, Sep 10: "We are in an 'over-democratic' country; In India, democracy can enable anything and at the same time disable everything," said S Ramananda Shetty, vice-chancellor, Nitte University and former vice-chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health.
He was addressing students of Mangalore University on the occasion of the '33rd Foundation Day Lecture - 2012', held at Mangala Auditorium of Mangalore University here on Monday September 10.
Referring to the system, commissions and bills on higher education, he said, "There is no definite education policy. Many useful bills are still pending parliament's approval."
"What did we do over the last 65 years? Only established committees but little has been implemented."
Speaking on the growth of higher education, he said, "Autonomy, academic freedom and accountability are necessary for the university to excel. However, presently the higher education institutions are over-regulated and under-governed," he lamented.
"British wanted to educate us, because they wanted us to serve them in India. We have been following the same system for 255 years. There is a need for change and deviation from the existing system," he said.
In his presentation, he pointed out that there are 31,324 institutions in India, while China has 4,297 and the US 6,742. Whereas, the student enrollment was comparatively lower in India (14.6 million), while China at 26.7 million and the US at 18.3 million stood ahead.
In his 80-minute talk, he also presented glimpses of miracles in the field of medicine and dental, which surprised the audience.
In the presidential address, T C Shivashankara Murthy, vice-chancellor, Mangalore University said, "There is need for expansion and excellence in higher education with the inclusion of information and technology in teaching methods."
On the Varsity's immediate plans, he said, "A centre for research in science will be set up in the campus at a budget of Rs 9 crore, provided by the union department of science and technology and from our own funds."
On the University's decision to distribute laptops to teachers, he said, "I have seen senior teachers working hard even late night for the development of the university and for the well being of students. If the varsity is considered the fourth best university for research, the credit goes to the senior faculty."
On the occasion, as many as 145 high-end laptops, each costing Rs 46,000, were distributed to about 145 post graduate teachers.
Inauguration of IP phone access in the campus
In addition, the formal inauguration of IP phone at Mangalore University campus was also held during the stage programme. Henceforth, all the departments/offices in the university will have CENTREX facility. It will enable to communicate among each department, providing intercom facilities to all the faculties. The faculty will also have access point (LAN I/O) of internet service for desktop/laptop computers.
P S Yadapadithaya, registrar presented the welcome and introductory speech and A Raghurama, dean of commerce block thanked the guests and audience. Dr Ravishankar Rao, associate professor, dept of English compered the programme.