Universities must strengthen ties with industry, says Lokesh

IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Monday said universities played a pivotal role in building a knowledge society and exhorted Vice-Chancellors to act as ambassadors of the reforms initiated by the government.

Addressing the Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Public Universities here as the chief guest, Mr. Lokesh said curricula must be updated regularly to remain relevant and industry–academia linkages strengthened. He observed that innovation and startup ecosystems in State universities were weak and warned that outcomes would fall short of expectations unless institutions acquired a competitive edge.

The Minister said Vice-Chancellors should devote more time to administration while remaining alert to issues that could adversely affect academic excellence, and called for greater reliance on data-driven decision-making. He stressed the need for financial self-reliance through active engagement with alumni networks, citing the example of Andhra University alumni heading several Fortune 500 companies. The syllabus, he added, should be overhauled periodically to make students future-ready.

“The government is committed to developing world-class public universities by protecting their autonomy and recognising talent,” Mr. Lokesh said.

Presiding over the conference, A.P. Governor and Chancellor of the universities S. Abdul Nazeer said public universities must improve standards to secure places in the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework. At present, he noted, Andhra University was the only one among the State’s 25 universities to feature in the top 50, while Acharya Nagarjuna University ranked within the top 100.

Mr. Nazeer emphasised greater focus on R and D, observing that research, innovation and patents acted as growth engines and fostered a vibrant academic environment. Teaching, he said, should encourage creativity rather than rote learning, with due emphasis on rural and tribal students.

Education should not be limited to enrolment alone, he said, expressing concern that the State’s literacy rate was below the national average, according to some reports, even though the Gross Enrolment Ratio stood at 36.5% compared with the national average of 28.4%.

Stating that the future of Andhra Pradesh depended on strengthening human resources, the Governor expressed hope that the conference would come up with practical solutions to the problems confronting the education sector.