There was an urgent need to re-engineer the education system so as to make it alive to the demands of industry and society, said the Vice-Chancellor of Mother Teresa Women’s University, Aruna Sivakami Anandhakrishnan, on Saturday.
Addressing the 61th College Day celebration at Thiagarajar College here, Dr. Aruna Sivakami pointed out that though abundant opportunities were available in the job market the degrees provided by institutions of higher learning did not match the demands of the industry. She advocated the formation of an industry-institute cell in every college to facilitate an interaction and prepare students in tune with the aspirations of the industry. The curriculum, the Vice-Chancellor said, should take into consideration the aspirations of students also. A mechanism for grievance redressal should be inbuilt in the system. She also called for a revamp of the existing valuation system in colleges. Evaluation should begin at the classroom in the first level and go to examinations at the second level. At the final level, reasons for a student not being able to come out successful in campus recruitment should be analysed and remedial steps taken.
Describing the entry of foreign universities as a “new form of imperialism,” the Vice-Chancellor felt that students should take a resolve to serve the country, instead of lending their knowledge and expertise for the development of other nations. She congratulated the college for its proposal to start a Centre for Women’s Studies and mooted the idea of converting it into a centre for gender studies in order to make it gender inclusive. The Vice-Chancellor honoured retiring teachers, including the Principal, R. Raja Govindasamy, and presented awards to students for proficiency in studies and co-curricular activities.
The president of the college, Karumuttu T. Kannan, presided. Prof. Raja Govindasamy presented the annual report for the academic year.
