Need to revive ancient knowledge systems of country: Union Minister Subhas Sarkar

Sonepat, February 19

Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, on Monday inaugurated the fourth edition of World Universities Summit (WUS), 2024, organised by the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) at OP Jindal Global University (JGU). The summit has been organised on the theme “Universities of the future: A global partnership for social justice and sustainable development”.

Need to re-imagine higher education

We need to re-imagine universities of the future for social responsibility, community engagement and sustainable development. Universities play a crucial role in providing direction to any nation. — Subhas Sarkar, Union Minister of State for Education

The summit will last three days, from February 19 to 21. On the third day, a physical “Higher education leaders’ conclave” will be held on the JGU campus. Vice-chancellors, deans, senior leadership and faculty from several Indian universities will take part in the event.

On the occasion, Education Minister Sarkar and referred to Indian youth icon Swami Vivekananda to emphasise that: “We must have man-making, life making and character-building education.”

He said: “We need to re-imagine universities of the future for social responsibility, community engagement and sustainable development.”

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he urged all listeners to reflect on the fact that “universities play a crucial role in providing direction to any nation” and how that can be done by reviving the ancient knowledge systems of the country.

Concluding his speech, Sarkar said the philosophy of India was based on “sustainable practices” and “Sarva Mukti” (freedom for all) as the vision for education. The universities of future should lead to this path towards freedom for all and sustainability, he added.

Professor C Raj Kumar referred to a recent article he wrote to emphasise that “Viksit Bharat by 2047” had a direct and substantial correlation to India’s aspirations for nurturing world-class universities. He reflected on the role that universities can play in achieving the “Viksit Bharat” goals for the betterment of youth.

The guests of honour at the inaugural session of the WUS today were Professor Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, Association of Indian Universities, Professor Virander S Chauhan, former Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC), and Dr Ashwin Fernandes, Executive Director (AMESA), QS Quacquarelli Symonds India. Professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, JGU delivered the vote of thanks at the end of today’s inaugural session. The summit will conclude on February 21 with an on-site higher education leaders’ conclave on the third day.