How does it feel to head the great institution that is your alma mater? 
I am deeply honoured to head an institution where I was a student. I will try to ensure that during my tenure, the institute prospers. I may not get a second term. But, one can make a difference in three years with sincere, honest and smart leadership.

The university faces a huge shortfall of teachers. There is a perception that this has hit the quality of education. How do you respond to it?
During the last decade, when Ravenshaw College became a university, some undesirable developments took place. There is no doubt that there is a lopsided student-teacher ratio. We have not been able to fill half of the faculty positions. Though an attempt has been made to fill up some of the posts through recruitment, the matter has reached the court. Unless the court permits, we cannot fill up the posts. If we want to utilise the regular staff and teachers of the self-financed courses, we find that half of the posts are lying vacant. Once these posts are filled up, we can have a good teacher-student ratio. 

We have been hearing about the second campus of the Ravenshaw University. What is the status now?
Unfortunately, we have not received a single paise from the state government on this account. Though most of the land for the purpose has been transferred to the university, there is a dispute over a small patch.

When do you think it will come up?
We have been promised some money. (The chief minister has announced Rs 50 crore for the university, including Rs 30 crore for the new campus). The progress has been tardy due to lack of resources.
Assuming that I get the co-operation from the engineering department and architects, I can say that it will not take more than two or three years to build the campus. We are yet to prepare a master plan. As the current campus is taking care of traditional courses, we will have to prepare a detailed project report on the cutting-edge research facilities that would be located on the new campus. With Rs 100 crore, the second campus of the university can be developed. The law varsity adjacent to the second campus has been built at a cost of 
Rs 300 crore.

The state government has been focusing on the IT sector. When will the university campus be enabled with Wi-Fi?
Part of the campus has been equipped with Wi-Fi facility. At this age, technology should be used as an answer to all problems. As the head of the institution, I will be happy to see that e-resources are available in library. The students can sit in any part of the campus and download material. We are making efforts to provide computers in the hostels. The state government has entered into an agreement with BSNL to make this campus Wi-Fi connected. We are getting all sorts of co-operation from the government in this regard. But I can’t say when it will be completed.

Earlier, students from other countries, particularly Afghanistan, used to come here to study. But over the past few years, the university is no more entertaining foreign students. What’s the problem?
Foreign students are welcome, but they should be able to cope with our study atmosphere and syllabus. I was looking after international affairs when I was with the Central University in Hyderabad. The problem with Afghan students and those from erstwhile USSR countries is that they have very little knowledge of English. All of them come with scholarships. But when they join classes, they fail to cope and all sorts of problems crop up. If the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) asks us to admit foreign students, we would like to ensure that they pass the basic English language test so that they could pursue higher studies in a proper way.

Ravenshaw University is running a number of self-financed courses. Are the students getting placements after passing out?
Many of our students are getting jobs via campus placements. The university has turned out to be one of the best in terms of recruitment. It has been possible because of the dedication of our teachers. At the same time, I want to tell you that we are not here to capture the market to earn something from self-financed courses. Having such courses through private parties is an aberration. We are to see that self-financed courses are integrated to the existing schools. Our next step is to rationalise the courses. It does not mean simply education but quality education. If teachers are not qualified, we will prefer to discontinue the courses. We do have many IT courses running in the university. If all of them are integrated under one school, there will be greater synergy. For example, there is a department of electronics and telecommunication and if we integrate it with the physics department, it will bring more synergy and uniformity.

What’s the budget of the university? Are you getting the required support from the state as well as the Centre?
Let me be frank, whether it is central budget or state budget, we need more money. Last year’s total expenditure was Rs 32 crore. To run a university such as Ravenshaw, Rs 32 crore is not enough. We have a lot of things to do but the funds don’t go that far. If we leave the salary part, we require about Rs 15 crore to take up different programmes. On a conservative estimate, we need Rs 50 crore a year.

This is one of the oldest educational institutions in the state. What is the infrastructure situation here?
The infrastructure is in a pitiable condition. The strength of students has gone up by three times. No new infrastructure has been added. There is a complaint that there are no chairs for students. The state government has told us not to build any new infrastructure in the existing campus. Naturally, there is a burden on the existing resources. Stability is our main concern at the moment. We are doing out best to manage with the available infrastructure.

There is a concern about the tardy progress in research at the university level. What is the status of the ongoing research projects here?
I am trying to ensure that the number of research projects goes up. I am trying to motivate people to pursue it. Incidentally, the chemistry department is doing a good job. It is getting good funds for research. Efforts are on to convert traditional teaching centre into a research-oriented institute.

When is the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) team expected to visit?
We want to see that the university goes through the NAAC assessment. We want to see that the self-study report is ready. We will invite them to visit us. Besides addressing the funding problem, it will also ensure quality education.

You are one of the prominent educators of the state. Do you think the quality of education in the state has taken a hit?
I don’t agree with the perception that the standard of education has gone down. What has happened that in our days, only a few colleges were there and Ravenshaw College was the best. All bright students used to get themselves enrolled here. The character of the mass education has changed. There has been a boom in the technical education