Poor facilities hit higher education

By A Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, July 6 – Poor infrastructure and absence of administrative discipline in educational institutions coupled with an unresponsive State Government have retarded the growth of higher education, particularly technical and professional education, in the State. This observation was shared by educationists Prof SD Phukan, Dr Dinesh Baishya and Dr Balendra Kumar Das at a press conference on ‘Facilitation of professional higher education in Assam’ organized by Central IT College and ERD Foundation on Saturday. Terming the present period as one of transition in the sphere of education, Dr Baishya said that changes induced by globalisation had made it imperative that colleges opted for new subjects in addition to the traditional ones. “Similarly, there is also the need for more specialised teachers under the changing circumstances. However, the transition has been rather slow in the State. Gauhati University had announced 72 new courses recently but those are yet to be introduced in most colleges,” Dr Baishya said. Stressing the importance of discipline in educational institutions, Dr Baishya, who is the Principal of B Borooah College, said the overall awareness of the people on education continued to be abysmal even today. Dr Das, Principal of Paschim Guwahati Mahabidyalaya said problems afflicting the educational front were complicated by the lackadaisical approach of the State Government. “Education being such an important area, a dynamic educational policy should have been there long back but that is not happening. The procedure for obtaining permission from Gauhati University to open new courses in colleges is so cumbersome that it discourages colleges to go for new subjects,” he said.Prof SD Phukan, Principal of Regional College of Higher Education, was of the view that the technical education scenario was unlikely to improve unless there was infrastructure development. He also felt that vocational education – an urgent need in to contain the burgeoning unemployment – was unlikely to be developed “if it is continued to be developed in the way it is developed now.” Mahbubul Hoque, director of Central IT College, in his concluding speech, underscored the need for big investments and committed faculty in education. “Education is an industry with lots of scope, and the Government should also facilitate flow of funds for developing the sector. There should also be greater competition which can serve the interests of the students. While we have seen a spurt in big shopping malls we are yet to see quality educational institutions coming up in a similar manner,” he said. Hoque also made an appeal to organizations calling bandhs and strikes to exempt educational institutions from the purview of these occasions. source: assam tribune