Single-subject universities deplorable: NAAC ex-chief

Higher education should be heterogeneous (consisting of different subjects) instead of sticking to the specialised and subject-wise accumulation of knowledge, according to H A Ranganath, former director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

“By definition, education should be vibrant. However, more and more single-subject universities are coming up, which is a deplorable trend,” Ranganath said in a keynote address at a State-level seminar organised by the First Grade College Principals’ Association here on Monday.  Ranganath, who was also vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, said quality education was a student’s birthright.

“There has been a paradigm shift in education from the national arena to the global stage. Education has now become learner-centric rather than teacher-centric,” he explained. On the low standard of education in the country, Ranganath said what were earlier incubation centres of enterprise, innovation and creativity had become institutions that churn out unemployable graduates.  

B L Bhagyalakshmi, Director, Department of Collegiate Education (DCE), called for measures to increase teachers’ confidence, improving the quality of colleges and their infrastructure.

Titled “quality initiatives and benchmarking in higher education,” the seminar saw as many as 150 principals of government colleges give presentations on topics ranging from models of students’ governance to role of principals in improving quality in institutions.