AP Gov for one-time funding to varsities

Tirupati, Nov 4 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur today urged the University Grants Commission (UGC) to release funds in a single instalment to new and existing universities in the state.

In his address after inaugurating the two-day national seminar on ''Indian higher Education in the new millennium-challenges and opportunities'' at Sri Venkateswara University here, Mr Thakur said if the funds were released in a single go, the universities could use them to invest in infrastructure and to meet the challenges of higher education.

The battle against inequality can be won through university community synergies, he said.

The participation of university and parents in designing the course structure to have need-based and meaningful education was already a promise found in the national policy of education.

The debate on the goals and purposes of higher education seems endless. The main concern of higher education had always been public good and higher education's progress can be measured by both the quantitative and qualitative progress achieved, he said.

Universities and colleges may be ranked by quality of their output and levels of excellence in teaching and research.

The national policy on education was revised in 1986 after taking up an in depth analysis of the whole gamut of educational system.

The policy also recognised that higher education provides people with an opportunity to reflect on the critical social, economic, cultural moral and spiritual issues facing humanity, he added.

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