Dinanath Pathy being awarded DLitt degree at the convocation of Berhampur University on Wednesday. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy.

Berhampur, Sept. 17: Though India has managed to set up quality higher education institutes, the enrolment ratio is still a cause for concern.

Furqan Qamar, secretary general of the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, made this observation at the 19th annual convocation of Berhampur University at Bhanja Vihar today.

“The gross enrolment ratio, which is at about 20 per cent, is still lower than the minimum desired level of 30 to 50 per cent,” the professor said.

At the time of Independence, the country had only one lakh students enrolled in higher education.

“We have made significant progress in terms of setting up institutes. With nearly 700 university-level institutions and more than 36,000 colleges, ours is the single largest system of higher education anywhere in the world. However, in terms of enrolment, we are the second largest with nearly 21 million students enrolled in tertiary education. But these developments notwithstanding, our performance still leaves much to be desired on the count of access, equity and excellence,” Qamar said.

“Though women comprise over 40 per cent of total enrolment, their participation across different disciplines remains extremely uneven. Similarly, though the participation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students have witnessed a steady rise since Independence, their enrolment ratio is still much lower than the national average. The number for the minorities, particularly the Muslims, is even worse,” Qamar said.

He said that the country had to attract the best and the brightest in the profession of teaching and research. Our campuses must provide the best possible work environment to help faculty and researchers realise their full potential.

Higher education is an expensive proposition. We must therefore be willing to invest in higher education, he said.

Students on the campuses must define their role as learners by committing themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. It is the quality and ability of students to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and skills in a real-life situation that makes their degrees and diplomas all the more valuable, he said.

Governor of Odisha and the chancellor of the university S.C. Jamir expressed concern over the decline of human values and ethics.

“It is now the role of the academic institutions and teachers to create quality human resource. They must evolve a mechanism where students also embark on a journey of self-analysis and introspection,” the chancellor said.

Vice-chancellor Deepak Kumar Behera said that the university had given special attention to all the three dimensions of activities including teaching, research and extension activities.

Two distinguished personalities — Duti Krushna Panda and Dinanath Pathy — were awarded LL.D and D.Litt degrees, respectively, for their contribution to the society.