The Hindu Business Line : BHU fetes CCMB Director

DR Lalji Singh, Director, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), here has been given an extension up to his superannuation — 2007. He would be completing his first six-year term in July this year.

According to a press release from the CCMB, Dr Singh has also been conferred a honorary D.Sc. Degree by the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), his Alma Mater in Uttar Pradesh , where he delivered the Convocation Address to the Faculty of Science on May 10.

The Degree conferred by Prof P. Ramachandra Rao, Vice-Chancellor, BHU was in recognition of Dr Singh's contributions to the areas of human genetic diversity, DNA fingerprinting technology in India and wildlife conservation.

In his convocation address, the CCMB Director identified lack of autonomy as the top of the list of maladies affecting higher education in the country. The deteriorating conditions resulting from rapid expansion and worsened by the affiliation system and the shrinking finances, were other major reasons for a decline in the quality of education in Universities.

There are more than 200 universities, 8,000 colleges, 5 million students and 2,70,000 teachers involved in higher education. The big challenge is to ensure a certain level of quality education is imparted. Dr Singh suggested that while the Government continued to fund higher education, University-Industry synergy should be rapidly improved.

The CCMB Director suggested an increase in the national investment in education and research and development, creation of resource centres, networking them, link University-industry-institution and bring in people's participation to maximise the outcome of the investment.

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