Narsapur, March 30: A. Prasanna Kumar, Director, Centre for Policy Studies, Visakhapatnam, on Tuesday expressed anguish over several disciplines falling under the schools of social sciences and humanities getting eclipsed by the ‘market-driven’ courses in the post-globalisation era in the country. Speaking at a seminar on ‘Human resource development and good governance’ held here under the aegis of the Gandhian Study Centre, an arm of Sri. Y.N. College, Mr. Prasanna Kumar underlined the need for introduction of the discipline of good governance in the syllabi of engineering education as part of reviving social sciences, particularly political sciences. Several colleges under Andhra University were getting ready to wind up the departments of political sciences for want of students, he said, observing “This is not a good omen for society.” He sought to know how the concept of good governance could become a reality with social sciences fast turning into an endangered species in the academic world.
The universities were headed by the Vice-Chancellors with the academic background of political sciences for over two decades. But they miserably failed to offer a sound academic leadership on their respective university campuses, resulting in the very discipline of political sciences facing extinction, said Mr. Prasanna Kumar, himself a retired Professor of Political Sciences. Saying that India stood next to China in population and Pakistan in terms of people under productive age, the mere strength of population would serve no purpose unless the human capital was converted into human resource. In a bid to drive his point home, Mr. Prasanna Kumar pointed out that more than 80 per cent of engineering students remained jobless in the country.
Roadblock
The all-pervasive corruption in society proved to be a roadblock to good governance, Mr. Prasanna Kumar said while calling upon the people to translate into reality the dream of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for establishment of a just and honest society by 2020. The mission should begin with the family, the students and the academic bodies, he observed.
P. Krishna Prasad of the Public Administration Department in Andhra University said in his key-note address that the granting of functional autonomy for judiciary and executive held the key to good governance.
He regretted that the proposal for establishment of a National Police Commission to ensure functional autonomy for the police was hanging fire for several years. Gandhian Study Centre director D. Venkateswara Rao and college principal M.V.R.K. Narasimhacharyulu spoke.
–Agencies