Bengaluru
Chairman of the University Grants Commission, M. Jagadesh Kumar, said all higher educational institutions (HEIs) must impart appropriate skills to students, empowering them to participate in multiple activities to ensure their contribution to the economy. He delivered a lecture, “Building New Age Universities”, at a visionary dialogue organised by the Centre for Educational Excellence and Development in the city on Wednesday (August 21).
“Only 11% of the students studying in undergraduate courses join postgraduate studies and only 1% of them for Ph.D. Around 60% of people in India still live in rural areas, and half of our population is below 25 years. Those living in rural areas are also talented. These students cannot depend on farming alone. Why are we not bringing reforms in higher education to transform the lives of these students who are the backbone of our country,” he asked. “When we empower these students to participate in multiple activities by providing appropriate skills, their per capita income will increase, and the overall economy will be strong. Therefore, we need to focus on these issues,” he added.
He stressed the importance of the quality of the teaching at HEIs to bring in reforms. “If we want to build new-age universities, we need teachers who are good mentors. Make your teachers the best learners. Unless we do build capacity among our teachers, it is going to be a humongous task to bring any reforms,” he said.
