New Delhi, Jul 9 (PTI) The blame for the state of the Indian universities cannot be laid at the door of politics and governments alone, and the institutions are just as much to blame, eminent educationist Deepak Nayyar said on Wednesday.
Delivering the B G Deshmukh Lecture here, the Emeritus Professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said the rationale for centralisation of admission tests is “questionable and flawed”.
“It is essential to recognise that the blame for the state of our universities cannot be laid at the door of politics and governments alone. Universities as communities and as institutions are just as much to blame,” he said.
Nayyar felt the quality of leadership at the universities has declined rapidly, in part because of partisan appointments by the governments of vice chancellors, who are simply not good enough as academics or administrators.
He said another reason is most vice chancellors “simply do not have the courage and the integrity” to stand up to governments “but have an eye on the next job if they can”.
Every government and every party, Nayyar underlined, are culpable in the growing politicisation of the universities in India.
“This strangles autonomy and stifles creativity without creating any accountability,” he said.
Nayyar said in mid-25, the BJP is not only the largest constituent of the NDA coalition that rules the Central government, but it is also the ruling party in 19 of 28 states.
“The ideology of the BJP and the RSS, which shapes their political and social perspective, is now exercising a profound influence on higher education in India,” he opined.
Referring to the admission processes been centralised in the National Testing Agency (NTA), Nayyar said the rationale behind the move is “questionable and flawed”.
“You know, the IITs have run the JEE exam without flaw for decades, for half a century. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he said.
The educationist said primary education of acceptable quality creates the base.
“Equal opportunities along with universal access in school education are critical, but access without quality is no access,” he asserted. PTI GJS AS AS
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