Colleges asked to adhere to parameters laid down by NAAC

ANU Incharge V-C laments ‘commercialisation' of education sector

K. Viyanna Rao, incharge V-C of ANU (centre) looks at the souvenir released at a seminar organised by Maris Stella College, in Vijayawada on Friday. Albert Muthumalai, secretary St. Joseph College, Trichy (left) and Francis Xaviour, Principal of Andhra Loyola College are seen.

The goal of education should be ‘quality education for all' and ‘pedagogy' is all about ‘teaching, learning and evaluation', said Trichy St. Joseph's College secretary Albert Muthumalai on Friday.

Delivering keynote address on “Innovative Techniques Towards Quality Enhancement in Higher Education –The Role of Stakeholders”, a two-day national seminar hosted by the Maris Stella College, he said the objective of the education must be to promote a cutting edge development by imparting relevant knowledge and to achieve the national goal of sustainable development.

He said teachers must exercise great caution to ensure maintenance of quality in their teaching mode irrespective of the knowledge base of the student at the entry-level. Provision of inter-disciplinary courses and the process of sharing and networking of resources besides framing need-based curriculum were other components, he emphasised.

Citing the example of the ‘unsinkable Titanic' ship which sank in 1912 after the captain ignored repeated warnings of ice-bergs, he said teachers must resort to regular checks to see if the students were in sync with the present day scenario.

Incharge Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University K. Viyanna Rao threw light on the prevailing paradoxical situation in the State with regard to the number of seats available exceeding the demand. He said an effective way to enhance quality education was to appoint ‘right' candidates in the assessment committees.

Lamenting what he called ‘commercialisation' of the education sector, Prof. Rao said it had resulted in skewed priorities. “Importance is being given only to professional courses and emphasis is on infrastructure rather than human resources. He said colleges must strictly adhere to the parameters stipulated by the NAAC.

A souvenir brought out by the college management was released on the occasion. Principal of Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, Francis Xaviour, Maris Stella College Principal P. Japamalai, coordinator of the event K. Sandhya and P. Deepa of the PG Department of English participated.