GUWAHATI, Jan 4 � �When the entire country is concerned about the absence of any Indian institutions in the global list of top 200 higher educational institutions, we need to ponder over some critical issues afflicting this segment of education.
�Problems like poor infrastructure-clad higher education system, dominated by political and bureaucratic hassles and lack of connectivity call for a different design of upgrading the system, where maximum number of youth could be benefitted within a limited, but state-of-the-art infrastructure.�
Professor Bolin Kr Konwar, Vice Chancellor of the Nagaland University, who made these remarks at a national seminar on �Changing Scenario in Academic Performance and Audit,� made a pitch for strong inter-university collaborations and developing advanced and common infrastructure with the help of the government, for the benefit of all students.
The seminar, organised by the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) Ninth Mile on the outskirts of Guwahati, was a part of North East Teachers� Congress, under way at the USTM.
Addressing faculty members of higher education institutions, Professor GD Sharma, Vice Chancellor of Bilaspur University, Chhattisgarh expressed concern at nearly 30 per cent posts of faculty lying vacant in such institutions.
Stressing the need to update the curriculum on a regular basis, he said it was appalling that in some universities, curriculum contents were not updated even in ten years. �Freedom to carry out projects and accountability to prove its worth, are the parameters followed by the world renowned Harvard University. We must also try to provide our students with the freedom to excel as well as make them accountable for their work,� he added. He also released the newsletter of the USTM in presence of its Vice Chancellor PG Rao.
Professor BC Goswami, Director of Academic Staff College, Gauhati University stressed channelising the growing population of India�s youth by proper education and training. He threw light on some of the key points of assessment of higher education through the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. �Some of the renowned institutions go for multilevel assessments by different authorities. We can also introduce some pre-accreditation assessments,� he said.
Earlier, Dr Dinesh Baishya, Dean, Media and Cultural Studies gave a brief outline of the Teachers� Congress and the national seminar. He also spoke about various initiatives undertaken by the USTM, which included signing of MoUs with the Tezpur University and NIT Silchar recently.
The speakers also stressed the need for teachers adapting themselves according to the changing technologies and educational environment to make the learning process more effective and interesting.
