Akshai Aggarwal,
Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Technological University
The number of universities is important, but even more important is the quality of education
In 1854, East India Company established three universities in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and today India is home to 600 universities”
Today youth in India want to study at premier institutions; even these institutions face a major drawback in their research facilities. There has been a steep fall in the ranking of India’s educational institutions year after year, while the ranking of universities in other countries keeps rising.
The students in India are quite capable, they are making a mark everywhere in the world. But the problem of engineering students in India is that they have no practical knowledge due to poor facilities for research in the institutions where they are being trained. Indian students tend to shy away from the practical problems.
India has a rich tradition in education, but no new innovations in education have happened after the burning of Nalanda University in 12th century. In 1854, East India Company established three universities in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras and today India is home to 600 universities.
The number of universities is important, but even more important is the quality of education that they provide. We need to look at the structure of our universities and devise a system that is suitable for doing thorough research. We don’t have to blindly create more replicas of the IITs, we can try to evolve some other models also.
