Government is not doing enough to promote Higher Education : VIT Chancellor

“We should open more institutions so higher education is not restricted to the upper class or the wealthy. Governments are not doing enough to increase opportunities for students from the middle and lower class to get a higher education,” said VIT Chancellor, G Viswanathan.

Viswanathan said that contrary to common belief, the only way to ensure quality in higher education is to increase the quantity.

He said, “Colleges must employ good teachers and offer financial incentives to students to pursue post graduation and research to get good quality. There are 12 crore students waiting to get into colleges, but colleges and universities in India can accommodate only 2 crore candidates.”

“The higher education sector in the country is not growing at the rate it has to. The government should change its policies to keep pace with the developed world,” he said.

He was speaking at the inaugural function of an international conference on ‘Innovative Pedagogy in Higher Education for Millennial Teachers’, organized by the department of education of the University of Madras.