In search of excellence

Thiruvananthapuram: When the Maharaja of Travancore decided to set up the University of Travancore in 1937, his diwan Sir C P Ramaswami Iyer had none other than Albert Einstein in his mind to preside over it.

The diwan in fact wrote to the most known face of modern physics of that time, perhaps of all times, inviting him to be the vice-chancellor of Kerala's first university at a royal remuneration of Rs 6,000 per month.

Kerala has advanced a lot in higher education from the time of the diwan and the state now hosts as many as 12 universities, of which six are subject specific ones such as the medical, technological, Malayalam and Sanskrit universities.  

But when it comes to higher education, Kerala is a paradox of extremes. The state boasts of total literacy also hosts several centres of excellence such as the Sree Chithra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, the Centre for Development Studies, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology and the Indian Institute of Management. But when it comes to higher education in the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, the state cuts a sorry figure.

Apart from The Cochin University of Science and Technology, not one of the other universities has a national standing. Some of the colleges have created a name for themselves within the state but not many have students from across the nation come seeking an admission in them.

"It is true that the standards of higher education in the state are poor," said Dr M Sarngadharan, former head of the department of commerce, University of Kerala: "This can be understood by the fact that none of the universities in the state came in the top bracket in the rankings by various organisations."

The Global Education Meet (GEM) the state government hosted at Kovalam from January 29 is an attempt to address the issue of quality improvement of the state's education sector through international and private partnership. The GEM theme paper makes several suggestions which, if followed up meticulously, could bring out the desired changes in the sector.

Faculty exchange: Theme paper of GEM identifies faculty exchange as one of the most effective way toward to develop a diverse set of knowledge reserves in a challenging intellectual environment. This is possible either by sending faculty to international partner university or bringing their faculty to institutions. International scholarships, sabbatical leave for faculty and the like are some such programmes that could aid the student and faculty alike, the theme paper said.

Tie-up with international universities: The theme paper envisages a system in which an aspiring student can opt for pursuing a degree course in tandem with an international partner university. This would provide an opportunity for a student to obtain additional degree or diploma along with a similar degree from the parent university.

Joint programmes: GEM calls for effective knowledge creation and dissimilation, capacity building and exchange of ideas through jointly organised conferences, seminars, workshops, training programmes and similar such activities with international academic partnerships. It also advocates different models of joint integrated teaching using information and communication technology tools for the benefit of both students and teachers of different universities worldwide. Joint research activities with international partner universities is another suggestion in the theme paper.

Summer and winter Schools: The paper says summer and winter schools help students get exposed to eminent professors from internationally reputed partner universities.