While welcoming the Private University Bill of the Andhra Pradesh government, Governor of A.P. and Telangana, ESL Narasimhan said that it should be ensured public or government universities in the State do not become redundant on account of the proliferation of the private ones.
Mr. Narasimhan was delivering the Chancellor’s address at the 85 and 86 convocation of Andhra University, here on Wednesday.
“It is good that more private universities will come in and compete with the public universities, but we must see that the education sector does suffer the fate of the health sector,” Mr. Narasimhan said.
‘Reforms need of the hour’
The Governor also pointed out that the time has come to reinvent the curriculum, admission process and the education system.
“The rat race for obtaining marks have reduced the young minds to machines and we need to think on this issue. Quantifying education is the biggest crime, we need to think of quality,” he said.
Mr. Narasimhan was also critical of Ph.D degrees.
“All universities should think how many Ph.D awardees have become relevant to society. We should reduce the Ph. D to a mere degree or money spinning activity,” he added.
On artificial intelligence and robotics, Mr Narasimhan said, “Technology cannot be substitute for the human brain. In the quest for AI, we should not lose sight of human touch and values.”
Earlier, delivering the convocation address, Director of IIT-Delhi V. Ram Gopal Rao said that institutions should not focus on churning out job seekers, but shift the focus towards nurturing job providers.
Quoting the newly launched ‘immersion’ programme of IIT-Delhi, he said, “We send our students to rural areas and hospitals to understand the problems of farmers and doctors and ask them to design innovative things which can make a difference.”
Prof. Ram Gopal also spoke about the missing of ‘relevance’ in research and development.
Advice to faculty
Universities should encourage faculty members to become entrepreneurs. “Only then R and D will flourish as there will be a delivery system in place, which is lacking right now,” said Prof. Ram Gopal.
Earlier, Prof. Ram Gopal was awarded the honorary degree of Doctorate of Science by the Governor in the presence of Vice-Chancellor of AU Prof. G. Nageswara Rao and HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao.
In total, 546 Ph.Ds and six M.Phil degrees were awarded at the convocation.