After working as a professor at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Kozhikode, Prof VK Kumar took over as Dean and director of GITAM School of International Business in 2002. With a wealth of experience, having closely observed students over the years, the professor explains what is wrong with our system and what needs to be done, in a free-wheeling chat.
What was the idea behind introducing a course only on International Business?
What we offer at GITAM is not the usual run-of-the mill courses but a specialised course in International Business. Here, we don’t cultivate students to think through functional programmes, such as accounts and finance, among others. We encourage students to think in an integrated manner and provide a curriculum in an integrated form. Also, we believe in an interactive form of teaching. I strongly believe that we must provide global exposure to students, so we regularly invite foreign professors to come and teach the students for a period of time.
What is your opinion on the current higher education system in India?
To be frank, the current state of higher education in India is bad. Most universities are intellectually bankrupt. Though the government has expanded the education system across the country and has made higher education available to thousands of students, they have diluted the quality of education in the process. Today, we hardly see any difference between professors in regular colleges and those in universities. Unless we focus on quality-based education, our education system will collapse — it has already collapsed, but it will collapse further.
Do you think the current political differences between AP and Telangana governments over education will affect students?
I feel politicians should have an open-mind and not stick to the rule book. The problem is that young students have become the victims of the fight between two State governments, which is unfortunate. Politicians must always think from the students’ point of view before taking any decision. Today, I feel that while universities supported by the Central government offer quality education, most state-run universities are organisationally bankrupt. They are bogged down by reservations and other politics and have poor management skills.
Do you think the AP government’s decision to enable private universities in the State is a step in the right direction?
I personally feel that every university is a public university, as educating people is a public service. By categorising an institution as ‘private’, one may give the impression that they are doing it only for financial gain. However, our service is public-oriented and every student needs to be educated. Having said that, it’s good to enable private universities, as they have good infrastructure, faculty and better resources.
What about the faculty members? How are the teaching standards in our universities?
There is an acute shortage of quality faculty in our universities. Our research output is also very minimal. The problem with most teachers is that they have not yet shifted from the past and continue to use age-old methods of teaching. Today, with the advancement of technology and the introduction of the internet, students have a lot more knowledge about various things and they expect professors to share that with them and teach in an interactive manner, rather than stick to the script. You cannot go to a class and teach in a monologue. There must be dialogue between the teacher and students. And more importantly, we need to create an environment to motivate youngsters to get into teaching. Sadly, due to politics within universities, poor teaching atmosphere has been created and this needs to be changed to attract better teachers into our education system.
What about the students? How is the current generation faring in terms of talent and intellect?
There are three categories of students. The first category are brilliant and get into the premier institutions of our country and do well throughout. The second are those who have tremendous potential but don’t get through to the best institutions, either due to reservations or other reasons. However, these students are very well-rounded and often do better than the first category of students.
Then there is the third category.These students are victims of our expansive education system and they are not able to sustain engineering and management programmes. Today, 85 per cent of engineering students are not employable. Parents are not supportive of other choices and these students are forced into engineering and management courses. By the time they graduate, they lack the skills and knowledge to sustain themselves in the industry. This needs to be addressed. Expansion of education must always be done with excellence and one must not compromise on quality.
— suhas@newindianexpress.com