“Politics should be kept out of our universities” says Venkaiah Naidu

Naidu said academic endeavors and co-curricular and initiate to attain priority in universities and not factionalism and divisive propensity

New Delhi: After the Jawaharlal Nehru University sparked violence, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said educational institute must not become safe havens for the politics of hate and violence to thrive.

Naidu said academic endeavors and co-curricular and initiate to attain priority in universities and not factionalism and divisive propensity.

There is no doubt that there is space for every shade of opinion and every viewpoint in Indian universities, Naidu said while addressing at the silver jubilee celebrations of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

The Vice-President’s remarks come in the backdrop of the violence at the JNU on Sunday night when masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus, leaving many students injured.

“When students leave the doorways of the educational institutions must be enlightened citizens who will take an abiding interest in protecting our democracy and preserving the fundamental principles that are highlighted in the Indian constitution.

But Indian university campuses must not become safe havens for the hate politics and violence to thrive. Academic aspirants and co-curricular initiatives must attain priority in our universities and not factionalism and divisive propensity. Politics should be kept out from our universities, Naidu said.

Focussing on research and development, the Vice President said that at present India was spending less than 1 percent of its GDP on R&D. This has to change.

Especially Science and Technology research is resource-intensive, time-consuming and risky. As part of society must be prepared to bear with this risk, Naidu said.

Further pointing that it was a matter of grave concern that Indian universities rank low in both research and teaching. Naidu said, though the number of Higher Education Institutions has move suddenly in India since the 2000s, the number of students undertaking PhDs has not shown a comparable hike.

There are over one lakh Indian PhDs in universities around the world. We must attract at least some of this talent back home through better opportunities and incentives so that they may help fast-track the progress of our R & D sector, he added.

Naidu said “It was a matter of grave concern that the latest India Skills Report which suggests that only 47 percent of Indian graduates were employable, he said, therefore, along with education, necessary skills, including life skills, should be passed on to the students.

Appreciating the accreditation framework developed by NAAC, Naidu said he was certain in the time to come, NAAC will act as a friend, philosopher, and guide to our Institutions of Higher Education, continuously raising class and benchmarks for quality and excellence.