Government College (Autonomous) Angul

The Unseen Crisis

   This is a mater of great satisfaction for we all that the Indian economy is steadily on the rise. We have the rosy picture of a not very distant future when India along with China will become a dominant country in our globe. The days of Western hegemony is drawing to a close.

   But, as we worship at the alter of the Mamman, we seem to have forgotten that the swan of Saraswati is beating her wings almost in the void.

   It, ofcourse, always a predicament of a developing nation like India that she will have many strings to her bow. Never the less, higher education and research may not play a second fiddle all the time, if we are dreaming to play an important role in the growth of the human civilization in the foreseeable future.

   Mankind will take great strides during the twenty-first century in the realm of science and technology and also social sciences and human understanding. The pace of growth in all these sectors will be much faster than what it was during the past century or the millennia goneby.

   The pre-eminent role of global leadership in all such spheres inevitably will be taken up by those who can prove their intellectual excellence. The past was ruled by those who conquered territories and held the scepter by the strength of their sword, or those who controlled the purse of the world and hence called the tune. The path to the conquest of future no more lay through blood and thunder nor through the threatening and paralyzing ‘dollar-dole-outs.’ That the universe belongs to the wise and intelligent is a plain fact. This is also a challenge to be quickly realized by a generation of fading hopes and rising expectations. The task of the nation is to equip them properly for their mission.

   ‘The vision of 2020’ set forth before the nation by president Kalam is in fact, a realizable dream. India, for that matter any nation that endeavours to render meaningful contributions on highe education and research on science and technology as well as social sciences and humanities. A substantial portion of the nation’s resources i.e. more than 6% must be earmarked for this purpose and scholars in great number may be attracted to the field of research and teaching. Sometimes, when we set our eyes on the distant horizon, we look askance at the present scenario in the academia. What have we achieved in terms of substantial research in the field of science. Technology, Medicine, humanities and social science during the past half a century? How could China and Japan make tremendous progress whereas we logged behind? It is high time that we made an honest soul searching.

   It is a cruel truth that the youth in the colleges and universities are a generation of fading hopes. The beaming young people who come for the undergraduate of post graduate courses or for Ph.D in the colleges or Universities hardly have the fire burning in them. Most of the young people having gone for professional courses, the spill-over who come to the institutions of higher education invariably are the pictures of frustration. They look almost blank in all directions. Class rooms and laboratories, more often then not, are left unattended by many in so much as that appears unproductive. It is a painful but peculiar state of affairs.

   The fundamental question before us is what will be the fate of research in the Basic sciences and social sciences if a good student do not opt for them for lack of interest or incentives? How can technology grow and prosper without study and research and teaching in these disciplines? Consequently how can we contribute our mite to the building of a new world order?

   The answer is not difficult. To realise it what is required is to acquire the ability to see and internalize the truth which is enveloped by many a cover;