Public funding on education is much lower in USA: Prof V Durga Bhavani

Tirupati: Vice Chancellor of Sri Padmavathi Mahila University (SPMVV) Prof V Durga Bhavani said the major difference in the education system between the USA and India is about reliance on public funding.

She said in the USA only 8-9 per cent government share was there and the rest of funds they acquire through philanthropists. Philanthropy was imbibed in public institutions there, she said and added that's why they could establish quality and sophisticated laboratories and acquire other infrastructure.

She recently attended Fulbright - Nehru International Education Administrators seminar in Washington DC and Philadelphia. Briefing her visit to the USA to media here on Thursday, the VC said that the seminar was aimed to provide Indian college and university administrators the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the US higher education system.

A team of 12 members from India participated in the seminar, she said. In India, the government has imposed that industries should spend on infrastructure for the society under corporate social responsibility (CSR), she said and added if industry-university link is established, universities will get huge investments under CSR to develop infrastructure and laboratories.

She said another key aspect of US education system was, they provide research-oriented education even from degree level, which leads to quality research at university level. Durga Bhavani felt “While we were training our students at mid-level, there students were being made as global leaders.”

She added that global classroom concept occupies an important role in curriculum in which the lectures of eminent scholars in the field will be available for students of various universities which have a network. “This, networking of good institutions must come here also, so that good labs and faculty can be shared among the networking institutions,” she pointed out and maintained this can be done initially at local level also.

Meanwhile, Durga Bhavani has completed two years in office as Vice Chancellor on Thursday. In this connection she has disclosed her achievements at the helm of the institution. The university has achieved NAAC A grade during her tenure.

Also, Rural Women Technology park by Department of Science and Technology (DST) was established. The district collector has provided 2 acres of land for the park. This park involves transfer of technology and training to rural women to promote women’s entrepreneurship. United Nations Asian Pacific Training Centre for Information and Community Technology (UN-APCICT) identified SPMVV as training of trainers (TOT) centre for Women and ICT Frontier initiative, the only Centre in India.

DST has sanctioned Rs 5 crore under NIDHI TBI (Technology based incubation) centre. During the VC’s tenure 13 MoUs signed covering areas of development studies, spoken tutorials, Biotechnology, Technology and Skill development and student and faculty exchange programme. Three students from abroad have enrolled into PhD programme in the varsity. Exchange of students with foreign universities like Jigjiga University, Ethiopia is underway, the V-C averred.