VIJAYAWADA: Stating that universities play a pivotal role in building a knowledge-based society, Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh urged Vice-Chancellors to act as leaders who steer the education sector and as ambassadors of reforms.
Addressing the meeting of Vice-Chancellors of public universities in Vijayawada on Monday, Lokesh recalled that during his long padayatra, he personally met the youth of Andhra Pradesh and understood their hopes and aspirations. Many of them, despite holding certificates and completing higher education, are confused about their future.
“I took charge of the challenging Education Department to address the questions and concerns of students and youth. When I met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, he remarked that it was the first time he had seen a key political leader heading the Education portfolio. This reflects our strong commitment to improving the education sector in Andhra Pradesh,” Lokesh said..
He wanted the Vice-Chancellors to focus on five key aspects to strengthen public universities.
“The gap between teaching and real-world requirements. The major challenge today is the lack of quality standards in education. Our degrees have limited international demand. Recently, when I attended a Stanford alumni meeting, I learned that Stanford Graduate School of Business (which runs the MBA program) has completely revamped its curriculum. During my MBA days, it was revised once, and now it is being redesigned again. Hence, I urge Vice-Chancellors to focus on comprehensive and periodic curriculum reforms in line with changing times,” Lokees said.
Therefore, universities must continuously review and update their curricula, adopt multidisciplinary education, and align teaching with real-life needs. This is our collective responsibility, he added.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, who presided over the Vice Chancellors’ conference said that the higher education in the country is undergoing a major shift with the implementation of National Education Policy 2020, laying out a vision for a remarkable transformation in India’s higher education landscape by 2040.
He said over the years, Andhra Pradesh has built a wider and inclusive higher education system with a large number of universities and colleges spread across the State, expanding access to higher education significantly.
The Governor said that many young people-particularly from rural and first-generation learner background-are able to aspire for university education and the increasing participation of women in higher education is a positive and encouraging trend.
He further said that the State’s overall Gross Enrolment Ratio at 36.5 above the national average of 28.4, and maintaining a Gender Parity Index of 0.93, by ensuring near-equitable participation of women in higher education, is a clear sign of progress.
He said AP has taken steps to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds through scholarships, fee support, and other welfare measures.