JNUTA discussion on ’Challenges facing Indian Academia’

 Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association organised an interaction with JNU Chancellor Prof. Yashpal, focussing upon the theme-’The challenges facing Indian Academia’ on 24 April, 2007.

Welcoming Prof. Yashpal, JNUTA President Prof. Chaman Lal described him as ’people’s scientist’, who made common people understand science in their own language. Prof. Chaman Lal expressed his concern about desensitization of society towards academia, intelligentsia, writers and creative artists. Keeping in view its social concerns, he said JNUTA decided to hold this discussion, the idea of which came from Prof. Yashpal himself.

Initiating the discussion Professor Yashpal said that it was a strange coincidence that on one side science was getting popularised, on the other hand the number of astrologers were also increasing alarmingly. He said that the science needs to be used for the betterment of human conditions. He wondered that though almost everyone knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, yet on this excuse, a whole nation was destroyed. Prof. Yashpal said that India is a nation of diversity and this diversity should be celebrated. He also said that education should not concentrate just on creating experts; rather the holistic human personality should be the aim of true education. Prof. Yashpal complimented JNU and its scholars for their enlightened and socially concerned ideas.

The discussion continued with Prof. Arun Kumar presenting the theme paper for further discussion. Prof. Rekha V Rajan focussed upon the effects of globalisation on the teaching of foreign languages. Prof. Avijit Pathak spoke about the need to understand natural, social and cultural phenomena. He said that market pragmatism was overshadowing the humanist aspects of pedagogy. Prof. Rupamanjari Ghosh spoke about the need of vision in teaching and research. Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy underlined the fact that academia has not performed its role in making society aware about the need of education for backward and oppressed sections of society.

Profs. A. K. Mohanty, Madhav Govind, B.C.Tripathy and Vivek Kumar participated in the discussion. In his concluding remarks, Vice Chancellor B.B.Bhattacharya said that with the changes in social set up, individuals also get changed. He said that market in its true form was not yet accepted in India, but he emphasised that no one is immune to the effects of market.

The discussion concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Vivek Kumar.

President, Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association