ENARADA, Bhubaneshwar, February 26, 2014:
All India Vice Chancellor’s Conference was inaugurated at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar by Dr. S. C. Jamir, His Excellency the Governor of Odisha in the august presence of Prof. H. Devraj, Vice Chairman, UGC, Prof. Rajendra B. Lal, President, AIU, Dr. H. M. Desai, Vice President, Prof. D. S. Chauhan, Secretary General, Dr. A. Samanta, Founder of KIIT and KISS and Prof. N. L. Mitra, Chancellor, KIIT University on
February 25, 2014.
More than 500 Vice Chancellors from various universities of the country as well as senior functionaries of apex bodies like University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and Ministry of Human Resource Development are attending the 88th Annual General Meeting of the The Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
Inaugurating the three-day conference, Dr. Jamir said, the meet can provide a platform for academicians to deliberate on important issues of higher education of the country. Standard of higher education has
direct relationship with the development of a nation and the quality of life of its citizen, he stated, adding that it is an area in which higher education system of the country lags behind. He lamented that
none of the Indian universities figures in the top 200 universities of the world. Only about 11% of our colleges are in ‘A’ grade, whereas 71% are placed in ‘B’ grade as per the latest assessment by the
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the Governor informed. He appreciated the theme of the conference – ‘Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)’ – and said that it will provide wide scope for exchange of views and ideas on this flagship programme of the government which is designed to transform the higher education.
Prof. Devraj praised the beautiful campus of KIIT University. He congratulated the Founder of KIIT & KISS for his effort towards establishment of such impressive university in Odisha. UGC has always laid importance on quality education, he stressed, while inviting educationists and academicians to think of ways to make higher education more qualitative. He said “This is also the main goal of RUSA”.
Prof. Mitra said universities are link between future and past. There should be integration between external and internal education. He suggested proper training for vice chancellors, when they shifted from academy to administration. Prof. P. P. Mathur, VC, KIIT University also spoke on the occasion.
Odisha is hosting this prestigious meet after a long gap of 67 years. Last it was held in erstwhile Ravenshaw College in 1947. Expressing his happiness, Dr. Samanta said, after organizing prestigious Indian Science Congress, Eurasian Silk Road Consortium and many more national and international conferences and seminars successfully, KIIT is proud to host the All India Vice Chancellors’ Meet.
