Sonipat: University Grants Commission Vice-Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan on Friday called for one-semester community fieldwork for students, creation of a national academic credit bank and monitoring of research to maintain quality in higher education.
Students cannot be given a set pattern of learning and be expected to match up to expectations as this process prohibits questioning without allowing for creativity, Patwardhan said in his keynote address at the 10th Anniversary Commemorative Conference on Higher Education organized by the O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) at Sonipat, Haryana.
Patwardhan stressed the need for acknowledging, recognizing and encouraging the efforts of the private sector in the field of higher education.
One must not see whether an institution is a public or a private one but whether it is being run on a not for profit basis, he said, while stressing on the importance of more innovation, research, and quality of education.
JGU was recently recognized as an ‘Institution of Eminence’ (IoE) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
“Countries that are leading in the world today do so due to their learning and the knowledge and how they influence other countries,” said Professor Pritam Singh, Member, Empowered Expert Committee of the Ministry of Human Resource Development for Institution of Eminence.
“How they further disseminate their information to the rest of the world is important. Knowledge and learning create prosperity and wealth,” he added.
Organized by JGU’s International Institute for Higher Education Research & Capacity Building (IIHEd), the conference is being held on September 27-28.
“The vision of JGU is to create an institution that transcends boundaries and to prepare students to face challenges in the future. JGU aims to be a role model for excellence in higher education,” said Professor C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor, JGU.