‘Future of India lies with private universities’: Public TV head H R Ranganath at ‘Vidhyapeeta’

BENGALURU: Public TV chairman HvR Ranganath, addressing the inaugural event of mega education expo ‘Vidhyapeeta’, said, “The government must understand that the future of India lies with private universities. The graduate degree is gone now, Master degree is the standard in the future. For the incubation of masters or innovations, the government must encourage private universities. I have already started working on that dream. A stagnant university or any educational institution will have no future and needs to keep innovative and more creative. We have such institutions; we should showcase them as India’s institutions of the future”.

“There was a fear of small newspapers (bulletins) shutting down in the beginning. When the broadsheet newspapers came about, everybody thought that small papers would lose their value or existence, but that never happened. When radio came, everybody thought that newspapers would end, but it never happened. After that, TV came, but radio still exists. Then the internet came, and people thought it would be hard for TV to survive. It was the same thought with Android phones, calculators, and computer innovations. Now, there is a fear of artificial intelligence (AI). Everybody thought the same—that people may lose their jobs. But, we need to readjust ourselves. A human being has that power. The era of software engineering is almost over. Human strength is to survive, evolve, and readjust. That is how human evolution happened”, he said.

“Today the education sector is much more developed, and no one is running behind government-based universities. Private universities have evolved with the quality of education and are slowly settling down. There is a need to take it (trust level) to the next level, which means there is a need to reach excellence. Nothing can stop us. If we achieve that excellence, we could prevent Indian students’ migration to foreign countries largely or partially. Parents should understand the significance of this platform and need to participate to understand new or best courses. Make use of this benefit. I hope the government will stand by private universities in the future, and that is my dream also,” H R Ranganath added.

Chairman of Cambridge Educational Group Dr DK Mohan said, “We have been constantly participating in the expo since it started. Many institutions are coming up with new courses. This platform will provide information about courses, but also students will get clarity on their dream field. Parents should choose the best courses, keeping in mind their children’s dreams and future. The mega expo will give students a new dimension to life. A technological revolution is happening in the world. Learning is a never-ending process, and you should keep learning in life. Only then will people achieve success in their careers. The nation will progress only when students bring new innovations. Technology is important to economic development. Students should be prepared for that,” he added.

Chancellor of Garden City University, Dr VJ Joseph, “Students should learn in student accommodation after 17 years. I have visited more or less 250 institutions in 46 countries. Excluding India and some other nations, students compulsorily study in student accommodation. Education is not only learning but also getting life education.”

Vice-Chancellor of Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Dr Kuldeep Kumar Raina said, “The global community is going through a lot of transitions and transformations. We, in our own universities, believe that the young generation needs to be aligned towards the best. For that, we have 12,000 universities in the country, 50,000 colleges, and more than 100,000 lakh students. The young generation is not only the citizens of today; they are becoming the global citizens. If the nation is looking toward Viksit Bharat and we all are contributing to creating a knowledge economy toward Viksit Bharat”.