Khan: Reflecting

Ranchi, March 2: The buck stops at his chamber, Ranchi University vice-chancellor A.A. Khan said today as he blamed himself for the academic rut in the once-revered institution.

He, however, promised to take a call on the situation and assured that the university will undergo a palpable change within the next three months, as he spoke on a wide range of issues while his tete-a-tete with the media today.

Khan, who reviewed the progress of the university after two months of assuming charges, said: ?Though the entire system is accountable for the rut, being the head of the family, I am mainly responsible for this. My efforts have failed me.?

When grilled over his admission, the vice-chancellor sailed into a philosophical mood and blamed it on ?the theory of inertia?. ?Like any other problem, this will also take its own course of time to break the inertia. Since I do not believe in a dictatorial method, I will reach the desired ends in phases,? he added.

Speaking about his surprise inspection in the university, where Khan ended up venturing into near-empty classrooms, he said: ?I am deeply pained by the attitude of some teachers, who continue to ignore their duty. However, my initiative to seek monthly reports on classes allotted and classes taken has started bringing the desired results. Some colleges, including some remote and rural ones, have indeed furnished the report.?

Khan also took this opportunity to take a dig at private tuitions, holding a class bursting at its seams responsible for its flourish.

?Colleges have admitted more students than the sanctioned number of seats and as a result a handful of students cannot attend the class. Thus the practice of private tuition has been picking up. However, from the next session I will make it compulsory for the colleges to admit only the sanctioned number of students,? he said.

Attributing parents as an important cog in the wheel of education, Khan spoke highly of the parent-teacher meets. ?Some Jamshedpur colleges arranged for telephonic conversations with some parents. That led to some insightful exchanges of ideas and solutions,? he said, adding that while Jamshedpur colleges have implemented his directive of such meets, colleges in Ranchi were yet to come up with any such programmes.