The outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee while emphasising on nation-building through institution-building said, “We are now increasingly being called upon to think about the role of universities in the larger global context.”

President Pranab Mukherjee

President Pranab Mukherjee

In a bid to rank globally, the universities are required to compete globally for research-ranking to become world-class, President Pranab Mukherjee said at at a recently held book launch.

The outgoing president while emphasising on nation-building through institution-building said, “We are now increasingly being called upon to think about the role of universities in the larger global context.”

The book titled Future of Indian Universities: Comparative and International Perspectives, was released by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and edited by O P Jindal Global University (JGU) Vice-Chancellor C Raj Kumar.

Contents

Here’ what President Pranab Mukherjee said:

“The universities of today are required to compete globally for research-ranking to help build world-class universities,” Mukherjee said.

“Let us not forget the difference between world-class and world-minded. We are now increasingly being called upon to think about the role of universities in the larger global context of an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world,” the President added.

Need for freedom and autonomy of higher educational institutions:

Further, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen emphasised on the need for freedom and autonomy of higher educational institutions in India and said, “We need to think about why India does not rank among the top 200 universities in the world. The difference between Indian universities and those in other countries is that they are autonomous and free from political policies and obstacles. The mindset in this country needs to change to bring excellence and freedom in the field of education.”

Quality of education:

Furthermore, Virander S Chauhan, the acting Chairman of UGC said that the quality of higher education in India has to be viewed not just by students, but by parents and teachers as well.

“Indian universities have tremendous potential and need to accelerate their pace. This can only happen if we have good leadership. The public sector needs a huge transformation in the field of higher education, and private universities need to be a model for quality and excellence,” Chauhan said in a recent PTI report.

On the launch, Professor Kumar, who has also compiled the book said, “At a time when the state of universities and their value to the larger society is being increasingly debated, universities are compelled to rethink their roles and the role of the higher education system.”

[Source”pcworld”]

By Loknath

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