Innovator Wangchuk calls for revamp of education system

New Delhi: Praising affirmative action in India, innovator and educator Sonam Wangchuk on Friday called for a “little tweaking” of the reservation system so that children of people who have benefited from it may voluntarily give it up for others in their community. Calling for a revamp of the education system, Wangchuk, addressing students at the Sixth Convocation of Ambedkar University (AUD) on Friday said that “India should lead the world in the field of education.''

Addressing the 568 students who were awarded degrees, Wangchuk said the university was “unusual and out-of-box” in its courses and “for inviting me as I am not guest material and spend time in the mountains doing my own thing”.

Highlighting the university’s achievements, vice-chancellor Shyam Menon pointed out that over 60 per cent of the graduating students were women, and this is a trend maintained by AUD. “The university has launched BVoc and MA in Law, Politics and Society in the present academic year at its Karampura campus and will launch a programme in Global Studies, Urban Studies and Public Policy.” He also spoke of an Mphil programme in Disability Studies and the conducting of English Language Certificate Programme for aspirants of higher education, particularly for students of government schools.

Wangchuk, who was the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character in the film, ‘3 Idiots’, has through his Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), looked for alternative methods of education. He revealed that “we are going to start a diploma course in mountain development in mid-2018 and are looking at more such new courses.” He said the Ice Stupa project that he had started in Ladakh to stop drought has done well and “now we are taking it up the hill to add greenery in that region.”

LG and chancellor of AUD Anil Baijal was all praise for Wangchuk for breaking free from “the outdated approaches of education and creating his own system of knowledge”.