Academicians to debate Knowledge Commission report

Drimi Chaudhuri and Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, March 5, 2007
A year after the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) submitted its report on recommendations to improve the education system; Scottish Church College has taken the first steps towards exploring its full potential. The city-based college is gearing up to host a congregation of academicians from across India for a conference on the NKC report and its effects on higher education.
J. Abraham, the principal of Scottish Church College said that it would be the first ever conference on the National Knowledge Commission report. Being held in the college premises on March 24 and 25, the University Grant Commission (UGC) is providing the funds to organise the National Conference on Knowledge Commission Report and Higher Education in India. “We have invited UGC Chairman S.K. Thorat to inaugurate the conference. We are aiming to sensitise higher education institutes in eastern India to become aware of NKC’s activities. We expect around 150 delegates from various institutions across the country to attend the conference,” Abraham said.
Professor Ashok Burman, convenor and the college’s economics department head said that the conference is being organised under the aegis of his department. “We have invited Sudhanshu Bhushan, senior fellow and in-charge of higher education at the New Delhi-based National University of Educational Planning & Administration as the keynote speaker and Professor Farooq Qamar of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) as the special speaker,” he said. While state higher education minister Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury would be the chief guest, Suranjan Das, pro-vice chancellor (academics) of Calcutta University, would attend as a special invitee, along with several members of the All India Federation of University & College Teachers’ Organisations, he informed.
The conference takes particular significance, with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee criticising the NKC while inaugurating the 14 Bengal Science Congress on February 28. “The commission has largely failed to fulfil our expectations. We still do not know how much progress we have made or we need to make in terms of science and technology. There is no set target,” he had said. According to the conference organisers, the forthcoming symposium aims at accessing the present situation of higher education in eastern India.
NKC, a commission led by Sam Pitroda, is a high-level advisory body to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, with the objective of transforming India into a knowledge society. It covers sectors ranging from education to e-governance in the five focus areas of knowledge paradigm, including easy access to knowledge, all levels and forms of education, effective creation of knowledge, applications of knowledge systems and services like e-governance. NKC has been given a mandate to guide policy and direct reforms, focusing on key areas like education, agriculture, industry, science & technology and e-governance.
drimi.chaudhuri@hindustantimes.com
mou.hindustantimes@yahoo.com