Higher education needs new approach: Kolaskar

“It is not just the owners of educational institutions… parents and students too are responsible for the diminishing standards of higher education in the country. The situation can be improved only if the approach to higher education is changed,” said Dr Ashok Kolaskar,newly appointed vice-chancellor of Bhuvaneshwar’s Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and adviser of the National Knowledge Commission.

Speaking at the 21st convocation ceremony of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV) on Sunday,Kolaskar said,”We are looking at higher education as a means of getting jobs. In such circumstances,what quality are we looking for? We have ignored the original motive of higher education,which is to mould a good citizen.” He added that more and more youngsters are becoming incapable of handling stress and are suffer from illnesses such as diabetes and heart problems. Despite this,we have not included physical education and yoga in out mainstream higher education,he said.

Kolaskar,Dr V N Rajashekharan Pillai,vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University and Pandit Shankar Abhyankar were presented with D.Litt as part of the convocation ceremony. Deepak Tilak,vice chancellor of TMV said the university is coming up with a nine-storey building in Pune and also has expansion plans in Solapur and Mumbai.