Ramdas M. Pai, Chancellor of Manipal University

Are you satisfied with the importance given to education on the national development agenda?
No. More importance should be given to public-private initiatives since the government cannot allocate more funds.

How best to upgrade government colleges?
Government must recover actual costs incurred — which can be determined by reputed chartered accountancy firms. Thereafter they can charge students variable, means-tested tuition fees, i.e. based on parents’ incomes.

Thinker/philosopher you admire the most.
Rabindranath Tagore.

Your favourite Nobel laureate.
Rabindranath Tagore.

Your leadership style.
Involve all stakeholders and enable them with clear guidelines.

Your favourite book on leadership.
None to suggest.

For or against the RTE Act mandating 25 percent reservation for underprivileged children in private schools?
I am in favour, subject to government meeting the actual cost of education incurred by private schools to educate underprivileged children.

Should education outlay be doubled by cutting defence expenditure?
No. As I have said earlier, tuition fees should depend upon the income of parents. If we adopt the system of means-tested tuition fees, we won’t need to increase education budgets or reduce defence expenditure.

How satisfied are you with the growth and development of Manipal University?
We can grow faster if government agencies encourage us in our efforts to provide excellent educational facilities without subjecting us to corruption.

Pessimistic or optimistic about Indian higher education?
On the whole, pessimistic. It will take several decades before any meaningful improvements are made.