Janardan Dwivedi bats for major reforms in higher education

SHIMLA: Expressing serious concern over 100 per cent cut off in Delhi University over the last two years, Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi today sought major reforms in higher education system, saying increasing reliance on new technologies is limiting the thought process.

In his address on 44th Foundation Day of the Himachal Pradesh University, Dwivedi referred to youths, educational institutions, increasing reliance on new technologies and Internet and observed that this was "affecting the growth of natural intelligence and limiting the thought process".

Quoting noted American scholar Nicholas Carr, the AICC General Secretary said while there was a need to strive for far reaching thoughts and encouraging new thinking process in the present global context, the youths were "falling prey to machine based knowledge, instead of using their brain".

"The people have become like machines, we rely on computers to meditate our understanding of the world and as a consequence our own intelligence flattens into artificial intelligence," he said and cautioned that knowledge and thoughts cannot be manufactured in assembly-line factories, but in human brains.

Referring to 100 per cent cut off for admission, Dwivedi wondered if the students scoring 60 or 65 per cent marks were less intelligent than those having scored 100 per cent.

Pleading for the need of change in higher education, he said that it should be made meaningful and capable of acknowledging social and economic changes rather than promoting human beings as machines-which works as par programme set to work and not the real intelligence.

The Union minister for Surface Transport Oscar Fernandes who spoke on 'Indian Secular Democratic Traditions', stressed on the need for strengthening of education system to cater to the needs of the country and to foster values of secularism, democracy, equality, inclusiveness and common well-being.

Fernandes said that attaining the goal of education to all has been a major challenge since Independence and problems like child labour, absenteeism from school and a high drop-out rate have been a constant concern.

However, the Right to Education Act is a proactive response, but it is regrettable that the rate of enrolment in higher education is still around 19 per cent, which is proposed to be raised to 30 per cent by 2020.

The minister said that Indian youth shine in academics and research all over the world which proves that "there is no dearth of talent but lack of adequate funding and infrastructure for research that hamper our universities".

Fernandes said if funds are provided, the Universities in India can lead in innovation and research and thus compete favourably in the global grading system.