JORABAT, Aug 26 - The newly-admitted students of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) were today addressed and encouraged by the Pro Vice Chancellor of the Tezpur Central University and Gauhati University, Prof Amarjyoti Choudhury, during an orientation programme of the USTM.
Dr Choudhury said that it was a matter of concern that Indian universities had not been able to make it to the top 200 universities of the world, and also referred to the sayings of former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
Dr Choudhury, who was delivering a lecture on �Ancient India vs Contemporary India,� said that Indians staying in India have not been able to get a Nobel Prize in core subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, etc. He added that the universities of ancient India like the Nalanda University were better than the modern varsities of the West like the Harvard University and the Cambridge University as the teacher-student ratio in the Nalanda University was around 1:5 compared to the 1:7 ratio of the Harvard and Cambridge universities.
Dr Choudhury said that the modern Indian universities had a lot to learn from the ancient university model of Nalanda and they did not need to copy the western university models. He added that the Nalanda University allowed the �best of the best� scholars to excel in the university and allowed the free flow of thoughts in the institutions.
When asked what he thought about private universities and their relevance in the North East, Dr Choudhury said that such institutions were required as government institutes were not enough to meet the demand for seats. On ragging, he said that those involved in ragging must get strict and deterrent punishment.
The Chancellor of the USTM, M Hoque said that any bright student getting over 60 per cent marks and who is from an economically weak background could come to the institute by August�30 for free admission into the varsity.
