Autonomy is a 250-year old concept and a varsity should be able to decide what courses they impart, the course content and how to raise the quality of your education,” VS Chauhan, who is also a member of UGC, told PTI.
Kolkata: National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) chairman Prof V S Chauhan today said he is in favour of working autonomy for universities to ensure the quality of education. “Autonomy is a 250-year old concept and a varsity should be able to decide what courses they impart, the course content and how to raise the quality of your education,” Chauhan, who is also a member of UGC, told PTI after delivering the 42nd annual convocation address of Rabindra Bharati University here.
Chauhan, who was asked if by autonomy he also referred to financial autonomy, said “I am referring to working autonomy by which I mean a varsity should be free to chart its own course (in academic sphere).”
Referring to RBU, he said “The vision of Gurudev is so large and encompassing that apart from Visva Bharati and RBU, which are here to espouse liberal, good quality, broad education, we can have more such institutions to realise his ideas which manifested in so many areas – including music, performing arts.”
In his convocation speech earlier, Chauhan “India is a transforming state. Changes in UGC, NAAC are all for the good. In next 3-4 years we are transforming,”
RBU Vice-chancellor Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury said both Visva Bharati and RBU have been set up to spread the universal ideas of Tagore and implement his philosophy of education.
Veteran actor-film maker Amol Palekar, legendary singer Nirmala Mishra and popular Bengali writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay were conferred the D. Litt (honoris causa) on the occasion. Theatre personality Ashok Mukhopadhyay, painter Isha Mahammad were among the four conferred the West Bengal State Akademi of Dance Drama Music and Visual Arts Awards on the occasion.
Seventy scholars were given their Ph. D degrees and 50 scholars got their M.Phil degrees on the occasion.
