Two days back my Uncle sent me a message through Whatsapp asking was it true that Subramanian Swamy was going to appointed the VC of JNU. My immediate response was that I hope not for JNU would eat him alive.
Of course the news was not true. The MHRD has issued a denial and it has been pointed out that he is anyway 76 years (something that should have stuck me considering one of his daughter is just a year older than me which makes him closer to my parent's age) and that unless the statutes are rewritten, he cannot be appointed VC.
But that is not the point. The point is that it is certain that the VC who will be appointed will be from right-wing. And everyone is afraid of it. But what bothers me is that no one dares to point out that if UPA was in power it was clear that either a left-wing or some one close to Congress will be appointed the VC of the Central Universities. It is always thus. The Central/State government always handpicks its favorites to head Central/State Universities never mind whether they possess the academic and administrative capabilities.
So my question is: Why does the government interfere into the functioning of an autonomous University? This interference extends into who will be appointed as teachers, it spills into student politics, finally ending up in ensuring that the University does every thing except academics. In State Universities is is even worse. My friend tells me that in her State, there is a price for every post- x amount (running in crores) for VC, y amount for Professor, z amount for Associate Professor, and so on so forth down the line. When positions are available for money, why would somebody be bothered to teach?
I have studied in the US and the job of the President of the University was to fundraise and lobby for money. It is his/her job to ensure that funds flowed in. The President was appointed by the Governing Board and was accountable to them. The hiring was done by the respective departments based on their requirements. The academics continued irrespective of whether the Republicans were in power or Democrats were in power.
Here the academics is at the mercy of the powers. So if it is Right-wing we will get idiocies like astrology is science and Vedic maths. If it is Left-wing we will get the exact opposite. But rest assured, that the academics will never be free from the color of the politics.
Of course the news was not true. The MHRD has issued a denial and it has been pointed out that he is anyway 76 years (something that should have stuck me considering one of his daughter is just a year older than me which makes him closer to my parent's age) and that unless the statutes are rewritten, he cannot be appointed VC.
But that is not the point. The point is that it is certain that the VC who will be appointed will be from right-wing. And everyone is afraid of it. But what bothers me is that no one dares to point out that if UPA was in power it was clear that either a left-wing or some one close to Congress will be appointed the VC of the Central Universities. It is always thus. The Central/State government always handpicks its favorites to head Central/State Universities never mind whether they possess the academic and administrative capabilities.
So my question is: Why does the government interfere into the functioning of an autonomous University? This interference extends into who will be appointed as teachers, it spills into student politics, finally ending up in ensuring that the University does every thing except academics. In State Universities is is even worse. My friend tells me that in her State, there is a price for every post- x amount (running in crores) for VC, y amount for Professor, z amount for Associate Professor, and so on so forth down the line. When positions are available for money, why would somebody be bothered to teach?
I have studied in the US and the job of the President of the University was to fundraise and lobby for money. It is his/her job to ensure that funds flowed in. The President was appointed by the Governing Board and was accountable to them. The hiring was done by the respective departments based on their requirements. The academics continued irrespective of whether the Republicans were in power or Democrats were in power.
Here the academics is at the mercy of the powers. So if it is Right-wing we will get idiocies like astrology is science and Vedic maths. If it is Left-wing we will get the exact opposite. But rest assured, that the academics will never be free from the color of the politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment