Education, Careers & Professional News
New JNU VC set his agenda for the campus
Prof. B.B.Bhattacharya ,new Vice-Chancellor of JNU has set his agenda for the campus and said that his top pririty would be the academic excellence. There would be all freedom of expression on the campus as long as it does not affect the academic functioning ,he added on the first day in office as the Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Placing academic excellence as his supreme priority“, Prof. Bhattacharya on Thursday said he was all for freedom of expression on the campus as long as it did not affect academic functioning or disturb the basic commitment and integrity of teachers and students.
Stressing the need to maintain the University`s reputation, Prof. Bhattacharya said: I am hoping to enhance the boundaries of JNU to make it more known internationally. I am hoping that like the IITs, the campus too should be seen as a benchmark of standard in Indian education abroad.“
The former Director of the Institute of Economic Growth spent most of his first day meeting various Deans, discussing academic issues, problems and signing important files. It has been a very hectic day and I am still trying to understand the academic needs and problems. The first couple of days are clearly going to be about understanding the system… I am conscious that it is a large institution and that no matter how big the Vice-Chancellor`s post is, he cannot change things alone. I am looking forward to taking everyone along in the endeavour,“ he said.
While conceding that he had been `warned` about the strong political activity on the campus by many people, Prof. Bhattacharya said, I wont interfere in these affairs as long as they don`t disturb the basic academic atmosphere of JNU. Having myself debated during my college days, I do believe that important issues need to be debated. But these should not be at the cost of student discipline,“ said Prof. Bhattacharya, adding that the autonomy of the University was important. Having earned his post graduation in Economics from the University of Allahabad in 1966 and later did his Ph.D. in 1971 from the Delhi School of Economics. His tenure with Delhi University may have taught him administrative part of the work, but the economist is ready to deal with much more.
Sources: Online Resources