India can be a world leader in education, provided there is the will and leadership to reach the pinnacle, said President Pranab Mukherjee addressing a Conference of Vice Chancellors of Central Universities at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday. The President said education is no longer just the privilege of the elite, but a universal right and that during his visits to as many as 58 institutes of higher education in the past 18 months, he has noted that there is huge potential which lies untapped.
“The brilliance of our scholars and the exuberance of young students is waiting to be channelised into positive action. Deliberations in the conference should be aimed at unleashing this potential,” the President is learnt to have said.
The issue of faculty shortage was also discussed, and it was put forth that the vacancies that stood at 6,422 in 2013 are down to 4,784. The President called upon Central Universities (CUs) to be the launch pads of innovative ideas and institutionalise structures that can identify ingenuous ideas and mentor them into viable products. Mr. Mukherjee who is the Visitor to all central universities has advised the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the University Grants Commission and the CUs to improve the governance system and structures. He also asked for engaging alumni in the governance of universities.
Expressing concern over the lack of Indian universities in ranking of top Universities of the world, the President asked the CUs to take the ranking process seriously and appoint a nodal authority to present
their achievements to the ranking agencies in proper perspective. The conference was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Minister for Human Resource Development M.M. Pallam Raju, Ministers Shashi Tharoor and Jitin Prasada.
Published - February 06, 2014 06:57 pm IST
