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| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
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Knowledge does not flow from monologue
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Knowledge does not flow from monologue
PHILOSOPHERS from times immemorial have stressed upon the significance of free dialogue and discussion, in short, a free and democratic communication system, for a healthy education system. But in reality, our education system, right from the elementary level to that of higher education, is based upon a one-way communication, with the teachers passing on information (rather than knowledge) and students mugging it up all. The process being one way automatically gets too monotonous and that is why even our teachers find it so boring to sit through continuous sessions for a couple of weeks during their professional training programmes, which they have to attend in order to get promotions. Recently, Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission, initiated the use of new media for evolving a dialogue among the young students, spread over different institutions of higher education, on a common platform, on issues that need to be discussed at a public forum. This no doubt is a welcome step, simply because it pushes the system towards a socially inclusive system, with an underlying assumption, i.e., everybody has a viewpoint that is worth knowing. And the process itself is stimulating, forcing everybody to “think”, “introspect” and “analyse”. While I was fascinated by this experiment initiated by Pitroda and Michael Sandel, I felt that we first have to start this process within our own institutions. Our universities have become spaces, extremely charged with political interests, which at times become so prominent that these enfold the innocent and unsuspecting students, leading to a very dangerous trend. Take the example of any university and one finds a highly undemocratic system of functioning, with a small group of very important persons, occupying the most important spaces, physically and otherwise, always operating at the top. A huge gap exists between them and the rest of the members of the institution. Where is the free dialogue, a pre-requisite for a democratic public sphere? Everyone wants to speak, while no one is willing to listen. As a result, everybody speaks; may it be in a meeting or a seminar or a classroom, making the whole discourse/interaction absolutely one sided and monotonous. Methodologically, we have already moved towards a participatory system, be it political democracy, or social research, or social planning; but practically, we are still totally oblivious of the participatory system. This system is based upon the assumption that while no one is an expert, everyone has something to contribute. Knowledge is not bound by degrees, techniques, caste, gender or even age. Research studies have already shown that strategies to handle poverty shall have to be learnt from the poor themselves and cyber crime cannot be handled without the help of ethical hackers. Sitting in air-conditioned offices in metropolitan spaces, one cannot empathise with the victims of violence, terrorism or poverty. But this is also true that most of us start initially on grassroots and yet once get a little success, move to that insulated space, totally divorced from the ground reality. We have already moved from compartmentalised disciplines to an interdisciplinary world, where collaborative and collective work is attached greater value. But are we ready for it? The first condition for such a system to flourish is listening to others’ voices. Many of the problems being faced by contemporary society can be solved just by initiating the process of listening to others. Public spaces need to be created where freedom of speech and expression is made possible, at least in institutions of higher learning. Once the bottlenecks in free communication are removed, the work culture of our universities shall surely improve tremendously. When the voices of a large chunk of people go unheard, they naturally lose interest and withdraw and that is exactly what has happened in our system. Many a times, people are silenced because they could not articulate impressively, or their ideas are not liked by those in power, and not because they had nothing to say. So long as those in metropolises dominate at the cost of hundreds of thousands situated on the periphery, so long as the powerful (despite their intellectual bankruptcy) continue to silence the weak pregnant with innovative ideas and so long as one gender gets on to the sky by suffocating the other more silent gender, democracy shall remain meaningless. All the arguments for an inclusive society are going to fall flat unless there evolves a dialogic public space. And the process has to begin in the institutions of higher learning, especially universities. It is an irony that our universities have become spaces where young men and women practice hyper consumerism, casteism and patriarchy. While seminar halls remain haunted for want of young students, DJs and discotheques tend to attract all of them like magnets. Our education system has already been rendered lifeless, smitten by the glitters of corporate culture and culture industry. Where is that hunger for knowledge? Where is that continuous dialogue between teachers and students? Where are those research students burying their heads into the piles of books at the libraries? Isn’t time all this is brought back, lest it is too late? The writer is Chairperson, Department
of Sociology, and Dean, Faculty of Arts,
Panjab University, Chandigarh |
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Japanese business group plans free residential school in India
TOKYO: A Japanese business group has offered to set up a free residential school in India, based on the model of Super 30, an educational programme which grooms underprivileged students for the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology. Atsuhiro Horiuchi, Chairman, board of directors of CGC group of companies of Japan, has offered a tie up to Indian educationist Anand Kumar who runs the Super 30 programme in Bihar, and requested him to spearhead the school project. Horiuchi said he wants to develop a school from Class I to XII in India on the lines of Super 30 as a free residential school to provide holistic education to children, according to a press release. CGC, a chain of 220 companies and more than 3,000 stores, will bear all the expenses for the school, it said. “It will identify talent and nurture them in the best possible way, just as Anand does in Super 30,” Horiuchi said. Kumar has appreciated the initiative and Horiuchi’s concern for inclusive quality education, though he is yet to take a decision on the offer. “I will give it a serious thought as it is something that can really help talent, which otherwise fades away for sheer lack of opportunities. Quality education today is increasingly getting confined to the rich and well off,” Kumar said. Kumar was on a week-long visit on the invitation of the Japanese government to explore the emerging prospects for Indian students in Japan. — PTI
Fake PhDs revoked in Russia
MOSCOW: Russian academic authorities have revoked doctoral degrees of 11 persons accused of plagiarising their dissertations. The authorities said it was the first step in a crackdown on an alleged network cranking out fake PhDs. All the 11 PhD holders stripped of titles by the Higher Attestation Commission, including Andrei Andriyanov, 30, a member of the ruling United Russia Party, defended their dissertations at the Moscow State Pedagogic University. The scandal broke out after Andriyanov, who holds a PhD in history, was appointed in March 2012 to head Kolmogorov School, an elite Moscow mathematical school. Bloggers, who accused Andriyanov of securing the job through his connections rather than his qualifications, examined his dissertation and reported numerous violations of PhD requirements and plagiarism. A hastily convened state commission checked a sample of 25 dissertations defended at Moscow State Pedagogic University in 2007-2012, including that by Andriyanov, and found violations and plagiarism in 24 of them.
— IANS/RIA Novosti |
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Guru Nanak Dev
University, Amritsar GURU Nanak Dev University has decided to hold admission to the MBA course through the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) from the session 2013-14. The test will be conducted by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) from February 21 to 25. The MBA course is being run by the university on its main campus, Regional Campus, Gurdaspur; Regional Campus, Sathiala; University College, Jalandhar; and ASSM College, Mukandpur. Dr Rajinderjit Kaur Pawar, Dean, Academic Affairs, clarified that admission to the MBA course would not be done through any other entrance test. Punjabi varsity emerge overall champs
Punjabi University, Patiala, won the overall championship trophy of the All-India Inter-University Archery Championship, while Guru Nanak Dev University remained runners-up. The teams from as many as 50 universities from all over the country participated in this meet. However, in the men’s section, Guru Nanak Dev University archers clinched the top slot with 18 points, while Punjabi University teams could garner 16 points to remain on the second place. The third and fourth places went to Pune and Rajasthan universities, with 5 and 4 points, respectively. In the women’s section, Punjabi University showed its dominance by securing 29 points, followed by Guru Nanak Dev University archers with 10 points. The third and fourth places went to Gondwana (3 points) and Delhi University (2 points), respectively. Professor Rajinderjit Kaur Pawar, Dean, Academic Affairs, presided over and gave away trophies and certificates to the winners. Dr H.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director, Sports, welcomed the chief guest. Dr P.K. Sehajpal, Dean, Students Welfare, was also present on the occasion.
Athletics meet
Guru Nanak Dev University athletics (Men & Women) teams participated in the All-India Inter-University Athletics (Men & Women) Championships held at the University of Kalyani recently. Dr H.S. Randhwa, Deputy Director, Sports, said this was for the first time that the university team had won a gold medal in the 4x100m relay race. The winning members of the team included Maninder, Amarbir, Kulbir and Rohit Mehra. The university also won three gold medals in individual events. While Maninder Singh won a gold medal in the 100m race, Lovejeet Singh and Khushbir Kaur won gold medals in hammer throw and 5-km walk, respectively. A university team, including Arshdeep, Arwinder, Harpreet, Harjinder, also won a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay race.
Book exhibition
Bhai Gurdas Central Library of the university organised an exhibition-cum-sale of books at Sangat Hall on the campus recently. Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.S. Brar inaugurated the exhibition, while Dr H.S. Chopra, Librarian of the university, welcomed the chief guest. Over 42 publishers/ distributors/ booksellers took part in the exhibition. Well-known publishers like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Sage, Prentice-Hall of India, Tata McGraw-Hill, Rawat Publishers, Jaipur, Manohar Publishers, Singh Brothers, Harvard University Press participated in the fair. — Contributed by G.S. Paul |
