BENGALURU: India can thrive only when more funding is given to the education sector, and when education is free of rules and bureaucracy. Instead of vice-chancellors being appointed by politicians, they need to be a part of the academic system, said Jayant Murthy, senior professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
The professor spoke as part of a webinar hosted by the Breakthrough Science Society, Karnataka, on the occasion of National Science Day held on Monday. The webinar, titled ‘The Future of Science and Research in India’, featured Prof Murthy, alongside Ramesh Londankar, chairman of Department of Biotechnology, Gulbarga Universtiy, Jyotsana Dixit, assistant manager at Glaxosmithkline, and Anand Raj, president of the Breakthrough Science Society.
Speaking on the disparity between private institutions and government-funded institutions, Murthy said, “The future of science and research in India has to live in universities, not in a handful of elite academies. We will never be able to take advantage of the number of young minds that we have with so few academies. The only way to do this is to put money into the public education system and allow people to prosper by including a healthy research environment.”
Londankar said that education and students are more geared towards finding jobs rather than picking up interests. “Applied sciences are often picked up as they offer more lucrative jobs. We end up neglecting basic sciences that involve more research-based approaches and there has been no proper encouragement for this. Syllabuses should be geared towards scientific developments and encouragement should be given towards research,” he said.
Question ruthlessly, scientist advises students
Bengaluru: Celebrating National Science Day, Raman Research Institute invited a number of students from various schools in Bengaluru to pose questions to scientists working at the institute. Four scientists from the institute -- physicists Sadiqali Abbas Rangwala, Sumati Surya, biophysicist Pramod A Pullarkat and astrophysicist Shiv K Sethi -- answered questions from the students, as part of the ‘Ask a Scientist’ programme. Students visited from the Government Girls' High School and Stella Maris Girls' High School, both in Malleswaram, as well as Kendriya Vidyalaya branches in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Hebbal. “Being good at science, or being a good scientist, requires the ability to question everything in a ruthless manner," Rangwala said in response to a question.