SHILLONG, Sept 20 - Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadkar doesn�t believe student politics in Indian colleges and universities in anyway affect academics.
�No, politics in universities don�t affect academics,� Javadkar, a former student leader in his university days, said.
When asked about the dismal ranking of Indian universities in different world rankings over the years, Javadekar said that a lot has to do with �perception.�
�In these world rankings a lot of weightage, about 40 percent, is given on perception. So the real quality of the Indian universities does not get reflected,� the Union Minister observed.
In one of the most well-known world rankings � Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) � Indian universities and institutions ranked poorly, dropping several notches from the last academic year. None featured even in the top 100 list.
Over the years, one of the perceptions about Indian universities has been: these have become the favourite hunting grounds for wannabe politicians.
Several politicians of the present generations were also student leaders. Major political parties are therefore actively involved and heavily investing in the student body elections of the universities, which on many occasions turn ugly.
