The Vice-Chancellor of Vignan University, Guntur, Prof P. Nagabhushan on Thursday, July 27, advocated the need for according autonomy to teachers in designing the curriculum and conducting assessment of their students. The focus has to be on the assessment of students in a scientific manner, as suggested in the National Education Policy-2020, instead of laying emphasis on examination for the students’ assessment, he opined.
Delivering his lecture at the Foundation Day of University of Mysore (UoM) at the Crawford Hall here, Prof. Nagabhushan, a former Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the UoM, suggested that the ultimate aim has to be on establishing a more liberal education system and cited the example of “Chakde India” film where the players get complete freedom and the rest becomes a history. To create history, autonomy of the education system and teachers are mandatory. Every educator must be given a freehand to assess their students in their own methods instead of examinations being the sole criteria, he argued.
Prof. Nagabhushan also cited the example where the Department of Computer Science at the UoM, when he was the chairman in 2000, disbanded the board of examinations (BoE). “We convinced the then VC on our stand.”
Arguing that the Vice-Chancellors of the universities must lay emphasis on revamping the higher education system, he said, while learning has taken a backseat with the entire attention on the examinations.
Stressing the need for uncovering the syllabus by teachers instead of completing the teaching curriculum for the year, the former director of IIIT-Prayagraj suggested that the teachers must strive in making students thinkers. Unfortunately, in the present circumstances, with examinations getting all the attention even from parents, the need to make students qualified and skilled was getting overlooked.
He advised the teachers to go through the vision document of National Education Policy for understanding its philosophy for adopting the ideas in the present education system.
From an economy-oriented education system, there is a need to shift the focus towards an intelligent and well-being oriented liberal education system, Prof. Nagabhushan said in his address.
“This is what the NEP endorses. The motivation should be on learning instead of getting degrees or exams. The aim should be to get educated. This should be the culture of the education system. Regrettably, our teachers and the parents are busy concentrating only on students passing in preparatory examinations and final examinations.”
While urging the academicians to lay emphasis on skill-based and practical-based education, he said education is not a means to make lots of money. The culture has stooped to a level where the students are expressing their wish of becoming billionaires after their education. Education should not be the sole criteria for making money. Education is neither for engagement nor for employment. It is for enlightenment. The system will collapse if everybody thinks that education is for employment and to make money, Prof Nagabhushan explained.
Registrar V.R. Shailaja presided. Registrar Evaluation K.M. Mahadevan and Finance Officer Sangeetha Gajanana Bhat were present.
