A centenary is a milestone in an institution’s journey, but celebrating it after a five-year turmoil that the institution faced as part of the Telangana agitation, is a challenge. The real test, however, is transforming the university to face the challenges from outside in terms of its reputation and acceptance of its students.
Osmania University Vice-Chancellor S. Ramachandram is game for it and accepts all the challenges with conviction that the university would change for good. He boldly acknowledges the deterioration that has set in and wants to use the positive atmosphere created by the celebrations to steer the institution on the right path.
“Students should realise that the Telangana State is achieved and its time discipline is brought back into the system while efforts are on in this regard with a series of reforms,” he said. The new generation students entering the varsity after Telangana formation have a different view and were pretty serious about education. The responsibility, he feels, lies with the faculty to bring academics back into focus. Towards this, he said academic audit of teachers would be introduced soon.
Prof. Ramchandram agrees that serious research has taken a hit while universities are recognised by their research excellence. “Students should realise that their as well as the varsity’s future depends on quality research. It will be one of the priority areas for me,” he said. The V-C doesn’t hesitate to admit that technology has not been embraced in teaching-learning as it should have been. A Good Governance document was ready that would pave the way for tackling several concerns.
The V-C expressed happiness over the sanction of ₹200 crore by the government for the centenary celebrations. Around ₹20 crore would be spent on the events planned for the year-long celebrations, while the remaining would be utilised for creating infrastructure and development. “About ₹72 crore will be spent for hostels only,” he said. A centenary convention centre, skill development centre and a centre for Telangana studies are in the V-C’s vision as part of the 100-year celebrations.
Dismissing rumours that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was not keen on holding the celebrations on the campus, he said the CM has a deep understanding of the way the varsity functions and the issues haunting it. “He is keen on bringing back its glory and has some great ideas that he shared during our discussions.”
The celebrations would not be confined to Telangana alone as the alumni in the USA were planning big with a series of events in May. “Celebrations are planned in four cities as of now and the alumni are requesting us to attend the events in other cities as well. The idea is to showcase to the world the contributions of Osmania University to the society and world.”
Another mega event would be the convocation to be held in July after several years. Would the Chief Minister be honoured with a doctorate? “There are several suggestions and requests on this aspect, including a request to honour the Chief Minister with a doctorate. The final decision will be taken with the Executive Council,” he said.
