Bhubaneswar: Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies (NCDS) has successfully hosted Kalinga Lecture 2020 “Towards Reforming Education in India” delivered by Professor R. Radhakrishna, Chairman, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad. The session was Chaired by Professor Asoka Kumar Das, Vice Chairman, Odisha State Higher Education Council, and moderated by Professor Srijit Mishra, Director, NCDS. The lecture was broadcast live in its YouTube channel and Facebook page viewed by 100+ participants. Professor Radhakrishna, in his lecture, scrutinized the performance of the entire gamut of the education sector of India. It also made a comparison of India’s performance with that of other BRICS countries. The lecture focused on governance structure, quality and educational inequality besides discussing the issues relating to increasing prominence of privatization at all levels and its consequences on efficiency and equity. Thus, it stressed the importance of “more education” including high level technical knowledge and skill formation. It also pointed out the impact of Covid-19 on the education sector in India. It identified the emerging challenges in higher education and suggested reforms for achieving efficiency with equity that is required for building a better society. Professor Asoka Das stressed the need to balance freedom or autonomy with regulation and gave examples of Mo School and Mo College from Odisha that has community participation, an aspect highlighted in the lecture. Prof Shibalal Meher introduced the participants to the theme and welcomed the dignitaries and Dr Rashmi Mishra gave the vote of thanks. The technical support for the lecture was provided by Odisha Library Academy, in particular, Dr. Bibhuti Sahoo of IIT Bhubaneswar and others, as also staff of NCDS.
A video of the lecture is available at the official YouTube channel of NCDS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQf5m9pR5AY) and a write is available in the publications page (http://ncds.nic.in/?q=node/523) of its website.
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