Internationally-acclaimed political scientist, Prof Varun Sahni, who is currently serving as Goa University (GU) Vice Chancellor has said the government is ensuring strengthening public universities pan-India considering that a meager 10 percent students are availing public education. Speaking at the Goa’s lone university’s 29th convocation, Sahni said that by many indicators, public universities are facing tough times.
“Forty-percent of the universities and 78 percent of the colleges in our country are in private sector. Thus, at the level of higher education in our country, only 10 percent of the students today are receiving public education. There appears to be a notable preference for establishing new institutions rather than reviving the existing public universities,” he said.
He also referred to the persistent downgrading of vice chancellors in the Warrant of Precedence, which can perhaps be deemed trivial, even unimportant. Despite all the odds, he assured that GU will continue to be essential and irreplaceable. “Access to quality and affordable education to all, independent of social, economic, geographic, physical and mental constraints, remains a core goal of public policy, public universities such as GU will surely continue to be essential and irreplaceable,” he asserted.
Coming from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that has always remained in the news for all wrong reasons, all thanks to a section of students raising controversy over varied issues; Sahni stated that GU is all set to face multiple challenges. One such challenge is to find ways to provide affordable re-skilling opportunities for the people to meet the ever changing requirements of the job market. Introducing the Central-introduced education scheme of choice based credit system at the undergraduate level. “CBCS is a vital step in the direction of creating modular education packages. A fundamental objective is to allow each student to pursue his or her interests with passion and complete dedication, whereby all preferences – such as choosing dramatics rather than biochemistry – are treated as legitimate and valid. The arbitrary distinction between curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular learning is eliminated, and sports, culture and value education become seamlessly intertwined,” he explained.
The varsity is also working towards amalgamating certain departments to create new schools of study with the GU executive council approving setting up School of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences out of the currently existing Departments of Earth Science and Marine Science.
Sahni, also Chairperson, Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD) was appointed as GU vice chancellor out of eight other reputed shortlisted candidates. He has earlier served as Reader in the Centre for Latin American Studies at GU.
TEAM TNV
