UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION
Bahadur shah Zafar Marg
 
New Delhi -110 002
OFF:              (011) 23234019 :
                     (011) 23236350
Fax :             (011) 23239659
 
Prof. Ved Prakash
Secretary
 

Message


The world has undergone an enormous amount of transformation in the last couple of years. It is steadily heading towards a real dichotomy between “knowledge creators” and “Service Providers”. Those of us who would work beyond their comfort zones and attain excellence in their chosen field will join the block of “knowledge creators” and the rest will have to compromise with the various tiers of ‘Service Providers’. Knowledge creators, whose birth place will be the institutions of higher learning, are going to be the real wealth creators. This is precisely the reason why nations after nations are according topmost priority to higher education. There are countries where the net entry rate for first degree vis-a-vis the relevant age group is quite high. It is as high as 71% in Finland, 70% in New Zealand, 67% in Sweden, 59% both in Australia & Norway, 48% in Spain, 46% in UK, 43% in USA and 39% in Japan. There are also countries like Indonesia and India where it is only 11% and 7% respectively. Currently, we are passing through the phase when we are faced with extraordinary pressure to make our higher education more accessible, more relevant and also more affordable. I am of the opinion that our discussions and decisions pertaining to higher education should not be limited unto tenth five year plan. Instead, it should be made in the light of tenth, eleventh and twelfth five year plans, for the impact of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Secondary Education would be visible in greater strength during XI & XII plans. We need to ensure that the opportunity that higher education brings is available to those who have the potential to benefit from them regardless of their background. This could be facilitated by ensuring greater convergence between conventional and distance mode. At the same time we have to make it relevant to keep pace with the changing time. This might call for revisiting existing curricula with a view to ensuring that every student of ours has access to a rich world class curriculum that also takes care of country’s cultural and ethnic diversity. Though the social and economic consideration for expanding the provision of higher education are extremely strong, we should not compromise on quality as we expand. We need to specify a well balanced academic menu


 

that suits to every student’s individuality and creativity including that of the disadvantaged ones. And, when we do that we should focus on the development of both cognitive as well non-cognitive capacities of the learners rather than focusing only on the former.

We must make it amply clear that there is more to education than learning simple things like acquiring information & skills. I do believe that education can not proceed without the teaching of values even if indirectly. But there is a difference between a conscious and an unconscious effort.
     In the entire process of teaching and learning we also have to work out methods for authentic assessment of students’ potential. This could be achieved by employing multiple criteria, multiple techniques and multiple sources of assessment. All this, undoubtedly, require committed teaching work force. In this endeavour we should encourage and support individual faculty member to produce, present, publish and perpetuate new knowledge in their own areas of specialization. We also have to strengthen our existing procedures that will ensure access to all teachers to high quality professional development using various modes available in the present era.
Having regard to the above, we need to launch a number of initiatives to augment higher education in the country. One such initiative is to reviving the UGC newsletter which I am certain would keep all the stakeholders posted about the news and latest developments in higher education. I take this opportunity to congratulate the editorial team for their relentless efforts in bringing out the newsletter in its present form.

 

(VED PRAKASH)
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