The Hindu Business Line : New strategies for higher education mooted

GLOBALISATION of higher education must be considered as an opportunity for the higher education system in the country to grow stronger and meet the aspirations and demands of the younger generation, according to Prof Arun Nigavekar, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

Delivering the 23rd convocation address at Mangalore University here on Monday, Prof Nigavekar said education had always played a pivotal role in a nation's growth.

Higher education in the country must adopt new strategies in the dynamic global education scene.

Stating that the growth of the Indian economy in the last two decades had made the country a good `education market', he said many foreign universities were trying to attract Indian students through aggressive marketing. This trend will continue, and India will have to adopt appropriate internal and external strategies to safeguard the interests of people.

It is essential to promote good teaching programmes and universities outside the country to attract foreign students to India. Prof Nigavekar said good educational institutions should be allowed to open their campuses in other countries, and this needs agreement between the nations concerned.

Prof Nigavekar said, "We could allow a consortium of universities to establish higher education institutions, exclusively catering the needs of foreign universities on Indian soil. We may have to create `special educational zones' for this purpose and allow such educational set-up to have an open and flexible autonomous operative structure."

He said such educational zones could form a good domain for meaningful collaborations between good public universities and healthy private education providers.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council and National Accreditation Board should be made stronger and given a greater in the maintenance and sustenance of quality, both at the programme level and the institutional level.

Prof Nigavekar urged universities to review the teaching and learning process to bring in a spirit of analysis while covering the curriculum.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page