CHENNAI: Cooperation, coordination and sharing of infrastructure and resources between varsities were the way forward for improvement of higher education sector in India, Vice-Chancellors of two of Chennai’s leading private universities said here on Friday.“Collaborations between universities is not there in India. Forget that, most of the time there is no cooperation between departments of the same college or university. They don’t share infrastructure or human resources,” P Kanniyappan, Vice-Chancellor of the BS Abdur Rahman University, said at a function to mark the National Education Day — the birth anniversary of India’s first Union Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad — at the university in Vandalur.“Being a university means sharing between all disciplines and departments. Interdisciplinary study is the way forward for higher education around the world,” he added.Echoing this view was SRM University Vice-Chancellor M Ponnavaiko. “Private investment in higher education was allowed by the Union government in the first place because there was a gap that the government could not fill. It is up to these institutions to carry forward the cause of higher education. And that can only be done by effectively leveraging the resources and infrastructure at hand,” he said.While inviting each other to share their resources and expertise, both Vice-Chancellors dwelt upon the social role of universities. “There are three roles for any university. They are teaching, research and service. Service to the community is what is forgotten most often,” he said. Both Vice Chancellors told Express that steps would be taken to increase cooperation between the two universities.
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