'Experimental bent of mind soul of teaching'

Teaching that is based on explaining issues and concepts straight from textbooks is no education at all. This applies to teaching medicine as well, said Dr Chandrakanth Kokate, vice chancellor of Belgaum University.

Speaking after the inaugural address at the third convocation of Sri D Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education and Research here on Saturday said: “An experimental bent of mind is what is crucial for teachers in any discipline. A true teacher should be an embodiment of leadership qualities and character. She or he should be keen on taking up research and have an in-depth and accurate understanding of the community they are serving. Only then can a teacher succeed in fashioning worthy students.”

Challenging

Noting that our country is one of the largest in the world, he said: “Providing higher education in a vast country like ours was a challenging fete. At the time of independence, there were as many as 25 universities in the nation. Now, the number has risen to 520 universities, this comprises central, state-level, autonomous and deemed universities.”
As many as 92 students were conferred degrees on the day.