Hyderabad: Prof. V. S. Prasad, an eminent educationist and former Director of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NACC), said on Tuesday that if the universities start sharing their best practices with one another it would result in greater social good of the country. Prof. Prasad, speaking at the valedictory session of the two-day conference of the Central Zone members of Association of Indian Universities on Sharing Best Practices in ICT, Teaching and Skill Development at Maulana Azad National University Campus, pointed that the change of attitude of the teachers towards the taught would lead toward making India a still better place in the world to live.
A number of institutes of higher learning in the country have been keeping pace with development in education systems in the economically developed nations. The objectives of some of them could be profit making but their efforts do contribute to the greater good of the nation. “Educational resources are the common wealth of the society,” he reminded the participants most of whom are either Vice-Chancellors or experts in management of education. For bringing about a change, he said, ‘Open Learning Architecture’ should be devised.
Prof. D.S. Chauhan, the President of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), said that his Association could be used as a platform to exchange views and develop new look more productive view on education. “We offer you to use AIU platform for improving upon the existing system and make it more useful for the country,” he said.
Dr Aslam Parvaiz, Vice-Chancellor MANUU, said that provision of education should be treated as service to the nation. It is only then that the disadvantaged sections of the society would benefit.
Prof. Furqan Qamar, Secretary General, AIU, in his concluding remarks pointed out that sharing of ideas is India’s cultural heritage. There was a time when knowledge was regarded as wealth which cannot be stolen. However, monetization of knowledge has become prevalent today.
Mr. Sampson David, Joint Secretary of AIU, proposed vote of thanks and appreciated the hospitality provided by MANUU. He described the Vice Chancellor’s meet as the best zonal conference held over the last few years. His ‘thank you’ speech was sprinkled with excellent Urdu couplets as he praised the arrangements made by MANUU.