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A university is a place where new ideas germinate, strike roots and grow tall
and sturdy. It is a unique space, which covers the entire universe of
knowledge. It is a place where creative minds converge, interact with each
other and construct visions of new realities. Established notions of truth are
challenged in the pursuit of knowledge.
To be able to do all this, universities have to be autonomous spaces. They
are diverse in their design and organization, reflecting the unique historical
and socio-cultural settings in which they have grown. This diversity reflects
the organic links that they have with their surroundings, which are not only
physical but cultural as well. Through research and teaching, they create,
evaluate and bring about advances in knowledge and culture. The principle
of moral and intellectual autonomy from political authority and economic
power is ingrained in the very idea of the university. This autonomy ensures
freedom in research and training and it is expected that the governments
and the society would respect this fundamental principle. Teaching and
research have to be inseparable, because the task of the university is not
only to impart knowledge to young people but also to give them opportunities
to create their own knowledge. Active and constant engagement with the
young minds and hearts of the society also implies that the universities are
to serve the society as a whole, and in order to achieve this, considerable
investment in continuing education is essential.
The slow but increasing democratization of higher education in India has
meant that the university is no longer the preserve of the children of the
elite, or of the educated / professional middle-class. As more youngsters from
a different segment of society enter the universities, they look at higher
education as a means to transcend the class barriers. Consequently,
university education is no longer viewed as a good in itself, but also as the
stepping-stone into a higher orbit of the job market, where the student expects a concrete monetary return, and consequently in this perception, the
university of today is expected to be in tune with the emerging needs of the
society. Even so, graduates should be sufficiently exposed to
interdisciplinary experiences, which can sustain them when the demands of
a particular job market changes. |
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