State control blamed for ‘slow death’ of universities

Universities are “dying a slow and painful” death in the face of utilitarian policies of the state and aggressive commercialisation of higher education, eminent educationists said last week at a seminar organised by the Delhi University Teachers’ Association, reports the Press Trust of India.

Assessing the crisis in academic leadership, former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University, Roop Rekha Verma, said excessive regimentation taking place in universities was threatening the concept that they are the nerve-centre of creativity and leadership.

“Regimentation occurs at the level of administrations that are run on the basis of vested interests, as well as governments’ constant attempts to appropriate all forms of decision-making for their own benefits. There are too many examples of how perfectly vibrant universities have been sacrificed at the altar of cynical politics,” she said.
Full report on The Hindu Business Line site