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PROF. R. GOVINDA
Vice chancellor, National University of Educational Planning & Administration, Delhi
Where would you place education on your national list of priorities?
Obviously at the top together with health.
How best to upgrade government schools?
Upgrading government schools requires paying attention to individual schools and their operations, which is missing in current official schemes. Secondly, developing a sense of ownership in teachers is critical. Teachers must be treated as part of the solution and their capabilities, including attitudinal orientation have to be strengthened significantly.
Thinker/philosophers you admire most.
Rabindranath Tagore and Karl Marx.
Your favourite Nobel laureate.
Nelson Mandela.
Your leadership style.
I believe in a participatory and consultative approach. It helps in assessing the capability of each colleague for institution development.
Your favourite book on leadership.
The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter Senge.
For or against the RTE Act mandating 25 percent reservation for underprivileged children in private schools?
Of course, I am in favour. It’s the first step towards reclaiming all schools as inclusive public spaces.
Should education outlay be doubled by cutting defence expenditure?
Investment in public education has to be increased multifold to meet the demands of equity and quality. But it is difficult to say whether the increased expenditure should be raised by cutting defence expenditure.
How satisfied are you with the growth and development of NUEPA.
I am quite satisfied with the unique place NUEPA has created for itself in Indian education. Further development of the university demands that we expand and diversify the teaching programmes we offer, and significantly expand our research portfolio.
Pessimistic or optimistic about Indian education?
I am quite optimistic. But it requires more intensive and focused attention of the State as well as civil society.