Take up research to upgrade, grow, VC tells colleges

Mangalore University Vice Chancellor Prof K Byrappa said that research taken up by colleges would enhance the quality of education imparted by them.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of newly instituted postgraduate study centre at Poorna Prajna College, the vice chancellor said that taking up research was the need of the hour. An educational institution can upgrade itself and grow only by taking up research, he added.

Assuring support from the University, the VC added that private institutions always embarked upon research and took up novel projects. However, is a dearth of research activities in public educational institutions and there is an urgent need to boost the morale of the public educational institutions by taking up research, he added.

 The government colleges have always given priority to teaching and not to research. The scientific research is tough, as inventiveness requires hi-tech laboratories and other facilities besides good scientific ambiance, Byrappa said.

Private initiative
Calling upon the private institutions to take up biotechnology-oriented research activities, the VC added that research on cell biology, molecular biology and micro biology helped an institution to be on a par with modern revolutionary and exploratory research.

He said that smaller institutions can go for integrated research, where the colleges can collaborate with the University and take up joint projects and publications. Byrappa said that the university would lend support to such projects.

He said that the university academicians had been directed to support research initiatives taken up by the faculties of various colleges coming under the university, adding “If not the university professors will face action.” He called for finance mobilisation to equip colleges with hi-tech research labs.

Speaking on the occasion, Admaru Mutt Pontiff Vishwapriyatheertha Swami said that government should earmark funds for taking up educational activities.
The seer said that government should not utilise the funds collected through educational programmes for other purposes. It should solely concentrate on the education sector. He said that government should also take up measures for regular payments of salaries to the faculties.

The seer alleged that although UGC released funds towards salaries there  were obstacles and faculties didn’t receive salaries for months together. The problem should be set right, or else there might come a day when teachers take an extreme step like farmers who are committing suicide, the seer added.