October 23, 2010 10:42:06 AM
PRASANNA MISHRA
Dr Pranakrushna Parija was the Vice-Chancellor of the Utkal University in 1965 when I joined the university as an Assistant Professor in the postgraduate Department of Political Science. A few months later, in the IAS interview, I found Dr Parija as a member of the panel of eminent people assessing the candidates of the day. His erudition was known far and wide. He had been the president of the Indian Science Congress in 1960, had a Tripos in Natural Sciences in 1916 and a Tripos, part II in Botany from the Cambridge University. He was the first Indian to be elected a scholar of Christ’s College, Cambridge in 1918. On Dr Parija’s passing away, Chief Minister Nilamani Routray made a historic decision. The National Flag flew at half mast.
Those were the days I recount today to highlight how there has been a steady plummeting of the value-system over the years, culminating in the desecration of the statue of this very illustrious son of Odisha. Dr Parija had spent years in the Ravenshaw College after joining the Indian Educational Service in 1921. That this shameful incident was viewed with equanimity in the city of Cuttack speaks volumes on the growing insensitivity of our society. No wonder, such an act has gone unpunished. Could statues of Gopabandhu and Madhusudan, missing from the campus of the university, also have met with similar treatment?
I had a short stay of about ten months in the university. The Department of Political Science was a large one with over 200. Many of them have occupied positions of eminence in our society. Four of them became Vice-Chancellors in different universities of the State. The Ravenshaw College got converted to a university. I viewed this development as a loud statement of the Government that mushrooming of universities is in tune with the prevailing widespread disorder in the education sector.
The Ravenshaw College had been at the forefront of quality education in the country for over a century. For thousands of people, the college has been the alma mater for generations. My grandfather and my father were students in the college. So was I, for four years. I lived those years in the East Hostel where I was also the editor of the hostel magazine for some time. Today, unfortunately, peace and tranquility in the campus of the hostel seem to have been disturbed. I also feel that the unique university which should blossom into one of the most sought-after temples of learning has faltered. The various schools the existing teaching departments have been brought under should have introduced courses on new related subjects. For example, the schools dealing with science could have introduced subjects like microbiology; molecular biology; bioinformatics; marine biology; Nano technology; biophysics; biochemistry and geophysics. It is a matter of concern that even syllabus of the existing subjects is not being updated to keep pace with the new developments in the area of study. I am sure none would like the university to be just “another” institute. It was therefore perhaps not desirable to have gone in for courses on BBA, MBA and hotel management. Since there are well-established premier institutes in the country for such areas, the Ravenshaw University would always remain a second or third grade institution for such courses. Teaching subjects like BBA; MCA; MA (Journalism) by outsourcing teaching staff is another area of concern. This arrangement affords little say to the university on the calibre of the teaching staff engaged by the outside agency.
The university is yet to make its statute. As a result, academic bodies like Academic Council and Board of Studies would not be able to function well. Arrangements for research activities in science streams are almost nonexistent. The old laboratories of the erstwhile college are languishing without worthwhile development. The library is being poorly maintained. A music section has been created in place of the journal section. The university is in urgent need of more hostels; class rooms, library and laboratories. There is need for economy on expenditure on beautification; remodelling, TA, telephones, seminars, etc. The front portion of the historic building is now poised to be converted into a museum where for years eminent professors were teaching students.
The West Hostel is now only for MBA students.
While the principal of the erstwhile college was having assistance of only one stenographer, the number of personal staff for the Vice-Chancellor seems to have increased manifold .Besides the stenographer, there are now a Special Assistant, an Executive Secretary, a Public Relations Officer, a Photographer and a Development Officer. Most of these functionaries are not against any sanctioned posts. How they are being paid salary needs looking into. Such arrangement does not seem to be in tune with existing policy of the Government.
Where is the university headed? Is it striving towards excellence in the academic arena? Is it promoting research activities? Is it conducting meaningful tutorials? It may be worthwhile to mention a few specialities of the Cambridge University. I quote “The principal method of teaching at Cambridge colleges is the supervision. These are typically weekly hour-long sessions in which small groups of students, usually between one and three, meet with a member of the university’s teaching staff or a doctoral student. Students are normally required to complete an essay or assignment in advance of the supervision, which they would discuss with the supervisor during the session along with any concerns or difficulties they have had with the material presented in that week’s lectures. Lectures at Cambridge are often described as being almost a mere ‘bolt-on’ to these supervisions. Students receive between one and three supervisions per week, depending upon their subjects. This pedagogical system is often cited as being unique to Cambridge and Oxford (where “supervisions” are known as “tutorials”). Cambridge produces more PhDs per year than any other British university. In 2006, a study showed that Cambridge has the highest research paper output of any British university. The university is also closely linked with development of the high-tech business cluster in and around Cambridge, which forms the area known as Silicon Fen. In 2004, Silicon Fen was the second largest venture-capital market in the world.
The Ravenshaw University has been in existence for some years. It should have incorporated a few best practices of the best universities of the world. I would like to believe that the university is about intellect; not gimmickry.
-- The writer is a former civil servant. He can be reached at punarbashu@gmail.com
