V-C convention focuses on innovative ideas

The three-day UGC-AIU All India Vice-Chancellors' Conference and the 85th Annual Meeting of the Association of Indian Universities at Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University was a conglomeration of intellectuals and academicians. Newly-appointed Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan also made his first public appearance at the conference.

Over 400 vice-chancellors from across the country and some foreign universities were present including President of Association of Indian Universities, Chairman UGC, Dr M D Tiwari, Dr Sukhadeo Thorat, Prof Arun Nigawekar, Planning Commission member Dr Narendra Jadhav, Founder and Chancellor of Bharati Vidyapeeth Dr Patangrao Kadam, His Excellency Mr Gudmundur Eiriksson, Vice-Chairman of UGC, Prof Ved Prakash, Secretary, UGC, Nilofar Kazmi, and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras Prof S P Thyagarajan among others.

Many innovative ideas were thrown up at the various sessions. The experts also discussed various issues.

Chief Minister Prithiviraj Chavan in his speech said: "My coming to the city for the function within 24 hours of being sworn in as the Chief Minister, and which could delay the process of cabinet formation, proves that education is a top priority of the government."

He also pointed out that even as the central government has increased funding for innovative projects and research and the department of science has expanded the scholarships, not many students opt for basic sciences.

Dr Thorat said the state government last year cancelled the provision to appoint a representative of UGC on vice-chancellor selection committee. He also mentioned that UGC's Model College scheme drew a poor response. Under this scheme the UGC grants Rs 3 crore to colleges, and the state government is required to grant Rs 5 crores. "Only 40 colleges from the country participated in the scheme," he said.u00a0