One of the bright spots in the capital of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati is the three-year-old campus of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). The institution, which was set up after Amaravati was declared as the capital of the new state, is fast expanding and now boasts of an intake of more than 3000 students. Chancellor and Founder of VIT, former Tamil Nadu MP, G Viswanathan was in Hyderabad for a private event where he shared the stage with Telangana Governor, Tamilisai Soundararajan. Speaking on the sidelines of the event, the educationist said that three new hostels and buildings will come up soon on the campus and they plan to hire more teachers and increase the strength of the college.
He also aired his views regarding the recent decision of the AP Chief Minister, YS Jaganmohan Reddy to introduce English as a medium of instruction in all government schools from the next academic year.
“I can recall that YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the first Chief Minister then from the southern part of the country to introduce English medium in some government schools. I came all the way from Vellore to congratulate him. He told me that there was opposition within the party but he had overcome it. I am happy that the new CM has done it since the poor will also have an option to study in English and it will help them.”
The former Rajya Sabha MP felt that this move of the AP government will not pose a threat to the existence of the private schools.
Speaking about the recent protests rocking the JNU regarding fee hike issue, he said, “Government spends a significant amount of money on their institutions. JNU is one among them. The hostel and room rent is very less, compared to anywhere in the world. Some of the students do not vacate for a long time, I heard. The poor students should, of course, get facilities at a very low fee but the fees for well-to-do students should be reasonably increased. The government also cannot increase the fee suddenly and they should do it in stages,” he said.
Mr Viswanathan also said that the reason why none of the universities from the country finds themselves at the top in the world rankings is that the state and central governments allocate less budget for education and as a result of which, the educational institutions do not spend much on research.
“As a country, we have the potential to become the world power in education,” he said. “We have very good teachers and students in India. The atmosphere is very good and the only thing we require is infrastructure and investment. We should improve our image in the world and get more foreign students. The opinion that India is a poor country and there is no good education here has to change. For just, 1/3 or 1/2 of the fees that they have to pay in their countries, the foreign students can get the same education in India.”
He felt that the curriculum has to be upgraded regularly and the latest subjects have to be added so that our education system is on par with the global standards.
Mr Viswanathan said that the government has to focus on making medical educational normal by increasing the seats and prevent thousands of medical students from studying in colleges outside the country
