Varsities in the country, which have figured in international performance ranking charts, need to focus on the use of technology to complement teaching practices, opined Vice-Chancellors of 50 universities from across five States who had come to the city for the central zone meet of the Association of Indian Universities.
The meet, which commenced on Monday, had representation from Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra. Central zone has 139 member universities — 71 State universities, eight deemed universities, 10 central universities, and 32 private universities.
AIU is an apex body of higher education representing 650 Indian universities.
The Vice-Chancellors opined that there should be a common knowledge pool for institutes and universities across the country.
This would help in the optimal use of resources. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) connected education would provide better opportunities for students to express themselves. The teacher-student interface could also be strengthened by an ICT-based education.
H.P. Dixit, former president of AIU, said the ICT network could produce good teachers. “Unless the content is created and made available for free, it will not reach most people and support students.”
There is a need to introduce short-term ICT courses. The gap between rural and urban universities should also be bridged, Prof. Dixit said.
When it comes to science and technology education, Indian standards are way up, academic experts opined.
Furqan Qamar, secretary general of AIU, pointed out during the meet that despite many challenges, higher education in India is as good as that in the economically developed world. There are several departments of various top-class institutes which have world rankings.
On the other hand, D.S. Chauhan, president of AIU, spoke of the brain drain that is plaguing India’s human resources.
Though the Indian government spends heavily on students, most graduates who are equipped with ICT education leave the country to make big bucks, he said.