Affiliating system, an outdated practice

Terming the dominance of the affiliating system as a practice that was outdated and anachronistic, VC Kulandaisamy, chairman, Tamil Virtual University, said this was "sapping the energy of the Indian higher education system and inhibiting its march towards excellence."

Speaking at the 152nd convocation of the University of Madras, he said the weakness of higher education in India it is imparted in affiliated colleges, unlike in the developed countries where higher education happens on university campuses.

"All over the world, higher education happens on university campuses. Even the humblest of universities have a modest strength of students, infrastructure, academic manpower and an atmosphere of inquiry, investigation and research. The entire faculty has research as part of its duty. In India, higher education is in a large number of small institutions, most of which do not meet even the modest requirements of university-level academic function," he said.

The bulk of the faculty in higher education -- almost 84% -- is not expected to do research in India. The strength of PG students is only 9.3 and even among them, 67% do not have an atmosphere of research which is a prerequisite for PG education. The universities which constitute the fertile soil for research have only a fraction of the total higher education faculty (16%), Kulandaisamy said.

A total of 596 graduates received degrees, prizes and medals at the ceremony in person while 86,806 did so in absentia. University of Madras vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam said that new infrastructural facilities were going to be established at the various campuses of the university at a cost of Rs 90.25 crore. These include the construction of a multi-storeyed building and a students' amenities centre at Chepauk and the construction of an indoor stadium at Chetpet Union Grounds.link