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Journalism of Courage
Dr Satish Sharma, principal, LR DAV College, Jagraon, has been elected to the Panjab University senate elections six times in all and has been closely watching the progress of the university over the years. Dr Sharma has also keenly observed the growth of higher education in the last two decades. He talks to Sameer Kumar Sharma about what needs to be emphasised upon in the university education system.
Ques: Sixth time in the senate. How would you rate the progress of higher education in the state?
Education level has definitely improved a lot over the years and various progressive changes have also been introduced. But, higher education in the rural areas is still lagging behind.
Ques: What do you think are the reasons behind this disparity?
Rural colleges are facing a lot of difficulties when it comes to providing better education standards. The result is that modernisation of education has still not been done, which is now the need of the hour.
Ques: What changes would you suggest in order to make the present system of education modern?
For the overall improvement of higher education system in the country, we need to make it job-oriented. And that can only be done when we develop our colleges at par with the technological advances. For example, every college should have computer centre and every course needs to reviewed in the context of the job opportunities it can offer to the student. The traditional courses also need to revamped to make them more interesting and job-oriented.
Ques: Apart from that, what areas of study need to be focused upon?
The youth of today is exposed to many cultures and has many options. Therefore, the role of education is far more important. There are problems of drug abuse and unemployment among other. We need to introduce measures to have more social awareness in the society. For example, the sex education is still not taught at any level. Moral education on the other hand should also be emphasised.
Ques: How has the senate played its role in the development of PU?
The university has a glorious past and and a bright future. The senate has been effective in introducing positive changes in its functioning. It has also understood the need to focus on providing higher education in far-flung areas, including Muktsar and Hoshiarpur.
