GUWAHATI, Sept 13 - The 23rd Triennial Conference of the Xavier Board of Higher Education was inaugurated at Don Bosco Institute, Kharghuli here today. The Xavier Board, founded in 1951, today represents 352 institutes of higher education in India including deemed and private universities.
Rev Dr Thomas D�Souza, archbishop of Kolkata and chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India�s Commission for Education and Culture inaugurated the event. Quoting the education policy of the Catholic church, he stressed that the most important indicator of a country�s progress is the state of its higher education.
Fr Leslie Moras, president of Xavier Board; Fr Dr Sebastian Ousepparampil, regional president, Eastern & North Eastern Region; Sr Dr Annamma Philip, secretary general; Fr Dr Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University; Fr PD John, director of DBI and Fr Dr Emmanuel Kallarackal, vice president, Xavier Board spoke at the inaugural function.
The keynote address �Re-visioning Higher Education in India � Challenges and Strategies� was delivered by Prof NV Varghese, Vice Chancellor, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. In his speech he said, �Universities as we know them today will not exist in the near future.� He said universities should produce not necessarily �trained� graduates but �trainable� graduates who can be employable today and in the future. Any re-visioning of higher education should look at what universities are �good for� rather than at what universities are �good at�, he added.
The three-day event will discuss the draft National Education Policy 2019 and other relevant topics concerning higher education in India. The conference will end with election of office-bearers for the Xavier Board of Higher Education in India.
