Urget measures needed to improve academic management: President Pranab Mukherjee

New Delhi, Aug 10: President Pranab Mukherjee today stressed on the need to take urgent measures to improve academic management in higher level institutions.

Interacting with Institutes of Higher Learning from Rashtrapati Bhavan today using the National Knowledge Network, the President said, an institution can draw the expertise and experience of some of their illustrious alumni for academic management through governing bodies.

"To make learning more effective, teaching pedagogy must be refined, curricula updated regularly, an inter-disciplinary approach adopted and evaluation mechanism reformed. They must identify core competencies and nurture centres of excellence," the President said.

Underlining that with over 700 universities and 36,000 colleges, country does not have even one truly outstanding institution, Mukherjee said the fault lies in our casual approach and the rankings process should be taken seriously.

"Concrete action to present the credentials of our institutions is needed. Institutions must set up nodal authorities to handle data coordination. Some of the IITs have developed expertise in dealing with the ratings process... India has 160 researchers in R&D per one million people compared to 710 in Brazil and 1,020 in China. In high technology exports also, India does not fare well," he said.

Mukherjee said our institutes of higher learning must leverage their linkages with key stakeholders.

"Academic institutes in India must develop partnerships with reputed international institutions. A win-win mode of interaction could be exchange of faculty; collaborative research; and sharing of academic resources like course material and resource persons," he said.

Remembering former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Mukherjee said,"I speak to you today in the shadow of an irreparable loss that we have suffered in the passing away of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. My two illustrious predecessors, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan - a philosopher teacher and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam - a scientist teacher have greatly influenced my thinking on the education sector".

PTI