Education system should be more student-friendly -Prof. Dr.Bhushan Patwardhan

PUNE: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE- “Changes need to be brought in the education system. For that, we plan to get 8 new rules. Through that, we are working on making the education system more student-friendly.” Said Prof. Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice President, UGC.

He was delivering a speech as the Chief Guest of the 3^rd National Teachers’ Congress (NTC) commenced in the MIT World Peace University campus in Pune. It is organized by MIT World Peace University and is supported by Government of Maharashtra, AICTE, Association of Indian Universities, Bhartiya Chhatra Sansad Foundation, and Union Ministry of HRD, UNESCO chair for Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Tolerance.

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Chancellor, Nalanda University and world-famous computer scientist, Prof.Dr.Vishwanath D. Karad, Founder President, MIT World Peace University, Prof. Rahul V. Karad, Executive President, MIT WPU, Pune, Dr. I.K.Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Dr.Jay Gore, Global Convener of NTC, Dr. Nandkumar Nikam, President, Maharashtra State Principals’ Federation, Dr. Sudhakar Jadhavar, Secretary General, Maharashtra State Principals’ Federation, Prof. D.P.Apte, Registrar, MITWPU, Prof. Dr. R.M. Chitnis, Provost, MITWPU & Dr. Sudhir Gavhane, National Convener, 3^rd NTC, Dr. Chandrakant Pandav, Prakash Joshi and Prof. Sharadchandra Darade Patil were present on this occasion.

Lifetime Achievement Awards were conferred on Dr. P. C. Shejwalkar, Father of Management Education in Maharashtra, Prof. Dr. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Dr. S. J. Chopra, Chancellor, The University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), India and Dr. Parag Diwan, Vice-Chancellor, Great Lakes International University, Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.

Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan said “The education system in India is going through an interesting phase. We are trying to bring in greater autonomy to our educational institutions to help them provide quality higher education. Changes need to be brought in the education system. For that, we plan to get 8 new rules. Through that, we are working on making the education system more student-friendly in terms of choosing subjects they want to study. We are set to make 40 new outcome-based programmes for improving the education system. We also plan to incorporate National Academic Credit Band that enables students to pursue courses outside their universities and gain credits useful outside their own university. We also plan to start junior fellowships for needy students. Students should work on their soft-skills and communication too.”

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, He stressed on the fact that higher education was presented to the world by India in the form of renowned universities like Nalanda and Takshashila. “Universities like Nalanda and Takshashila changed the destiny of humanity and the future definitely belongs to Asia.”

Noted author Sacchidananda Joshi emphasized on role of teachers saying, “No society can flourish, progress or prosper until its teachers are regarded and respected.”

Anand Sudarshan, Founder & Director, Sylvant Advisors Pvt. Ltd said, “Future ready is one reality, but making students future ready is a desire and aspiration every teacher should nurture.”

Prof. Dr. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) advised teachers to improve their own reading, communication and listening skills so that they can be imparted to students.

Mr. Rahul Karad, said, “The past editions of The National Teachers’ Congress have received great response from people coming from rural, urban and semi-urban areas. We need not always look to the universities in the West for benchmarking and marking standards of education in our country.”

Prof Dr Vishwanath D Karad, said, “Teachers play an important role in any society. They should imbibe the importance of spirituality along with science in impartment of education to the students. Religious scriptures are Life-guiding forces and should not be treated as superstitions. Their importance needs to be inculcated on students’ minds.”

Prof. R.M. Chitnis gave the introductory remark. The event was compered by Gautam Bapat. Vote of thanks was given by DP Apte.