Vice Chancellor Prof. Varun Sahani’s announcement that the University will introspect on why the Goa University (GU) stooped in the NIRF rankings, is welcome. The University has started some good initiatives like Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), Chair Professors, University Choir etc. But every year, the students complain about late results, late re-evaluation results and hence delayed schedules. The University needs to set this aspect in order first. Also, the University which has several Departments spread across various Faculties has no single journal or publication of repute. Forget about patents, there is no basic Research & Development (R&D).
A quality check about the teaching faculty and student community will display a sordid story. The University should not be a factory producing graduates and post-graduates. There are many PhD holders from the University but young PhD holders are seen struggling with contract basis jobs. How can we blame for them not devoting enough time to research?
The University has a vast campus and a few more faculty blocks can definitely be built. But the Varsity prefers to “delegate” Post Graduate courses to other colleges across Goa. The University needs to ensure that all Post Graduate Departments are brought at the Taleigao Plateau and invite the best of faculty members for post-graduate courses. The University also needs to revise its course components such that essay writing, paper presentation, research skills, etc. are incorporated in the minds of the young students right from undergraduate level. As a banker, I stayed in Pune, known as the “Oxford of the East”. Many undergraduate students there continue to present research papers and essays at conferences and seminars. How many of our Goan students can do the same? Hence, R&D needs to initiated since a young age.
Another area where the Varsity has made a criminal neglect is the feedback setup. How many graduates of the University are promoted to give a feedback (preferably anonymous) about their experiences at the University and the quality of education they received? I appreciate the Vice Chancellor for being candid enough to admit the backlog of teaching faculty. Will the Govt. wake up at least now and fill the vacancies? Vice Chancellor Prof. Sahani is a scholar of repute and has been a part of reputed institutions like the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). We, the people of Goa, have a lot of expectations from him.
