Teaching and research programmes in science in Indian universities

摘要

The familiar rush of the faculty and leadership of universities to become sycophants of the regime in power is not so uncommon in our times in India. A number of problems of teaching faculty and relevance or otherwise of science courses, plaguing our universities today, could be attributed to this. Several disturbing reports deal with the decline in the number of students opting for undergraduate courses in basic sciences. There have also been talks of 'private funding' of science education and research in Indian universities by both the University Grants Commission (UGC) as well as the government. While the model of private-funded university seems to have worked and driven first-class research in the American university system to a large extent and in some institutes in Europe, we must ask the following questions: Are Indian universities ready to take up this model? What is the problem with teaching and research programmes in science in the university system?