‘Revive students’ interest in technical courses’

Ravinder Saini

The declining interest of students in technical courses is a matter of concern. Technical education is the backbone of higher education and hence remedial steps are required urgently, says Prof SP Bansal, who relinquished the charge of Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi University (IGU), Rewari, on Thursday.

The students’ strength at the IGU was around 1,200 when he joined it in April 2016. Now, the number has crossed 3,000 while 15 new professional courses have been introduced, he says. He had also served as the officiating Vice-Chancellor of Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan (Sonepat), for around 10 months. 

Bansal says during his tenure, the IGU signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with universities of Italy, Sri Lanka and Dhaka to promote quality research. Skill development labs and placement cells have been established in all departments at the IGU while a project to set up a foreign languages lab is in the pipeline, he adds. 

“Affiliation of all colleges in Rewari and Mahendragarh districts with the IGU and recognition to the university under Section 12B of the UGC Act for financial grants are two other major achievements,” says Bansal. The state government had recently sanctioned 63 posts each of teaching and non-teaching staff for the IGU. 

Bansal will soon be joining Himachal Pradesh Technical University, Hamirpur, as Vice-Chancellor. Asked what will be his priorities in his new assignment, he says a committee of senior professors will be formed to find out the reasons for the decreasing popularity of technical courses.

“Technical education is the backbone of higher education and there is a dire need to improve its quality to regenerate students' interest in it. The committee will visit various institutions running technical courses in Himachal Pradesh and interact with their faculty and students to ascertain the causes of declining students' interest. Effective steps will be taken to promote technical education in Himachal on the basis of the recommendations of the committee,” says Bansal, who hails from Shimla.