Dr. Amartya Sen Said Bureaucratic hurdles delaying Nalanda University !

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Friday blamed “bureaucratic barrier” as a major hurdle for the delay in starting of the Nalanda University, which is being established in Bihar, close to the ancient historic institution of learning.

“The reason for delay is the bureaucratic control. We are having some problem in getting the sanctioned funds released but we should be able to deal with it,” Professor Sen, who also chairs the Governing Board of the University, said.

Explanations for bureaucratic queries take a lot of time, he said, while speaking at an open session on “Nalanda University: A 21{+s}{+t} Century University: (Re) Calling the Past'' here.

Dismissing a growing perception that the University was in trouble and that the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, had disassociated himself from it as the first Visitor, Professor Sen said the delay was only because of bureaucratic hurdles, which could be partly due to ignorance, and Mr. Kalam had disassociated himself only because he had stepped down as the President, in which capacity he held the position of the Visitor also.

“We wanted him to continue as the Visitor but he wrote to us saying that would be inappropriate since the new President had taken over,” he explained.

Describing Nalanda as the university of “Bihar, India, Asia and the globe,” the Nobel laureate said admissions would start as soon as the funds were released to enable appointment of the faculty.

Quoting Mr. Kalam, whom he met earlier in the day, Professor Sen said he (Mr. Kalam) felt that research in India was difficult because of bureaucratic control, though some of the institutions like the Indian Institutes of technology (IITs) were very good basic training centres.

“There should be no bureaucratic control over education and the institutions should get freedom and autonomy as in the American universities,” Professor Sen said. He said a lot of money was being spent on higher education in India, which should have been spent on school education, but not much was being achieved.

He expressed unhappiness that India was not represented in the top 200 institutes of the world, though several Asian institutes had found place in the survey conducted by the Times group. “The important thing to recognise is the standard of education and the relevance of what is being taught,” he said, adding this would be followed strictly in Nalanda.

Professor Saugata Sen, member of the Governing Board, said even though the Indian institutions did not seem to be doing well at a global level, there was enormous individual talent. “So something was missing which failed to translate individual talent to administrative ability,” he said, adding that most good researchers were in institutes and hence unable to benefit the young students. There is a need to strike a balance between research and teaching.
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Vision for a new Nalanda International University !!

Nalanda international University, the world's oldest centre of higher learning, is being re-established through an Asian initiative, involving India, China, Singapore, Japan and Thailand. Amartya Sen, Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, is chairman of the Interim Governing Board of Nalanda University. Professor Sen, the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, believes that Nalanda stands for the passion of propagating knowledge and understanding. It was a residential university, and at its peak had 10,000 students from many countries, especially China, Korea, Japan, and Turkey, studying various subjects. Professor Sen responds to Shreeya Sinha's questions about the project ahead of a lecture he will give at the Asia Society in New York on September 22. Excerpts:

What was the original ethos behind Nalanda University?

Old Nalanda as an educational institution was fully dedicated to the pursuit of learning. It was committed to educational excellence. Indeed, because it was largely successful in achieving and maintaining excellence that Nalanda attracted foreign students — from China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere. The institution was Buddhist in terms of its foundation, but Nalanda's teaching and research were not confined to Buddhist studies. Indeed it was well-known also for what it offered in secular subjects such as health care, linguistics, and astronomy. Nalanda received patronage from Hindu kings (such as the Guptas) as well as from Buddhist kings (such as the Palas of Bengal). It was not, in any sense, a specifically Buddhist institution, but it was in the general Buddhist tradition of focussing on knowledge and understanding as ways of solving problems that pester humanity. It was also a “modern” institution — modern in relation to its time — in offering education that went well beyond religion, and included science (such as astronomy) and the pursuit of practically useful arts (such as public health care).

What is your vision for its future?

Ever since I saw Nalanda for the first time as a child, I was completely bowled over by the vision it offered to humanity. I dreamt of bringing the great institution back to life, some day. As I continued to visit Nalanda through my teenage years, the idea of an outstanding centre for higher education at the great centre of ancient Indian civilisation, in Bihar, gripped me more and more. When Chief Minister Nitish Kumar approached me about helping them build a new institution near the old site, I was impressed to see how close his own vision was to what I had hoped would happen one day. I hope to see that dream being realised — at least the initial stages of it — before long. The fact that Bihar also has a lot of economic problems, including persistent poverty, makes it even more necessary for the new Nalanda to offer educational opportunities for the useful arts (such as information technology, environmental studies and management), without undermining the more abstract investigations.

How was the Vice-Chancellor chosen? What qualifications were the Nalanda Mentor Group looking for?

The post of Vice-Chancellor is meant to be open to any of the member-countries of the East Asia Summit, even though for the first Vice-Chancellor, the Nalanda Mentor Group had a preference for an Indian academic, with the practical ability to do things, to get the project moving. The four primary considerations that the selection committee had, on the basis of the deliberations of the Mentor Group, were: (1) academic excellence, (2) administrative ability, (3) interest in — and commitment to — the Nalanda university project, and (4) willingness to be based on the new campus in Nalanda to build an intellectual community there from scratch, and be fully involved with Bihar's problems and concerns.

Members of the selection committee talked with at least 20 people, sought their advice and also checked their own interest in being considered for the position, including living in Nalanda, as and when it becomes a functioning reality. From time to time, reports on these consultations somehow got leaked in Indian newspapers (even though the consultations and ascertaining of interest in being a resident Vice-Chancellor have sometimes been confused, in these reports, as “offers” having been made to this person or that). On the basis of all the information it had, the selection committee decided that the best feasible appointment would be Dr. Gopa Sabharwal, but it was willing to accept the possibility of appointing some other person from a list of three it gave to the Government of India. Dr. Sabharwal's academic qualifications are excellent (one of our advisers on the academic side was Professor Andre Beteille, a world-renowned sociologist); her administrative ability is well established; she is totally committed to the Nalanda project; and her involvement with Bihar and willingness to be based in Nalanda contrasted sharply with some others who could have been considered for the position. The Nalanda Mentor Group, which was authorised to make the selection, listed three names, including that of Dr. Sabharwal, but the government could have appointed any one of the three. The government offered Dr. Sabharwal the position of being Vice-Chancellor Designate, to be followed by being Vice-Chancellor as the legal formalities of the university are sorted out. The Mentor Group was very happy that she agreed to take on this job when she was approached.

I understand that in some parts of the media questions have been raised about whether someone who was not a “full professor” should have been chosen to be the Vice-Chancellor. I suppose an obsession with rank and status in our stratified society makes some people inclined to judge a person not by his or her qualities — and particular qualifications for a very specific job — but by the person's position in the social hierarchy.

Has the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Gopa Sabharwal, started functioning, and what steps is she taking to get this big project off the ground?

Dr. Sabharwal has made an excellent beginning in setting up the campus, with the help of the Bihar government (which has been impeccably cooperative), and also in planning the legal, administrative and academic arrangements. The first two faculties to be started will be environmental studies and historical studies, to be followed by others such as information technology and international relations. The work on setting up these faculties is very much on the way. Nalanda University, under Dr. Sabharwal's leadership, has also established reciprocal relations with the Nalanda-Srivijaya Centre in Singapore and the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and, at an informal level, with the Peking University in China, through Professor Wang Bangwei of that University who, as an active member of the Mentor Group, has been involved in the planning of Nalanda. There will be a partnership with Korean and Japanese universities as also with leading American universities. These possibilities are now being explored. The making of the architectural plans for the campus and the buildings is in high gear right now, along with securing and looking after the land that the Bihar government has given to the university.

Unfortunately, Dr. Sabharwal still remains “Vice-Chancellor Designate” rather than being the actual Vice-Chancellor, because of administrative delays at the level of the Government of India, and this does hamper Dr. Sabharwal's ability to discharge her duties even more efficiently. The Board of the Nalanda University very much hopes that these delays would soon come to an end, which would help her do her job with even greater speed. The Nalanda University Act was passed in Parliament last November (in line with the recommendations of the Mentor Group), and it is anticipated that the administrative delays at the governmental level would soon cease.

How will the university be financially viable?

At the moment the bulk of the expenses are being met by the Government of India, through the Planning Commission, which is also helping in sorting out the administrative hurdles. There have been promises of contributions from abroad, both from governmental and non-governmental sources (from China, Singapore, Australia, Laos and elsewhere). But there is a long way to go in firming up the financial base of the university.
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Nalanda University will take time to grow: Amartya Sen !!

The grand vision of resurrecting the ancient international glories of Nalanda University may take some time to fulfil as ambitions are being tailored to current financial limitations, admitted Amartya Sen, chairman of the Nalanda Mentor Group.

The Group concluded its two-day meeting here on Tuesday, having worked on a blueprint to set up the international venture. The first big step toward making the dream a reality is likely to be taken this week, when the Nalanda University Bill, approved by the Union Cabinet last month, is introduced in Parliament.

However, Dr. Sen admitted that the University would be starting relatively small — and the growth could be relatively slow. “The building work will begin as soon as the Bill passes…I should imagine that within a couple of years, there will be buildings and we will begin faculty appointments. You must understand that a university takes a long time to establish.”

He pointed out that it was unclear when the ancient university was started, with a section of historians saying that it probably began life as a local institution in the 4th century and grew to an international stature in the 5th century. Its heyday came only in the 7th century.

Money — or the lack of it — is part of the reason for the slow growth envisaged. Answering a question of the international nature of the student body, Dr. Sen said that while the University was committed to a globally diverse population, it would be “feasible when the funding comes up.”

Similarly, when asked about the lack of science courses in an institution that was renowned for its mathematicians and astronomers in ancient days, Dr. Sen pointed out that the study of science required expensive equipment in modern days.

“It is much more expensive than setting up literature or business schools. The feasibility question did influence the choice of subjects,” said Dr. Sen, adding that the Bill allowed for the addition of new schools later. “If we were to raise more money, could we start a new School of Mathematics or Astronomy? Of course, yes.”

In fact, his repeated phrase was “in the fullness of time,” curbing the impatience of questioners demanding a deadline for the project.

The only money currently available is the Rs.50 crore, allocated by the Planning Commission as an endowment fund in the form of special grant for the commencement of activities. However, the Bill puts the estimated cost of establishing the University at Rs.1,005 crore. Funds are being welcomed from private donors, as well as the governments of the east Asia region, which have initiated the project in the first place.

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International funding sought for Nalanda University: Amartya Sen !!

International funding will be sought for the proposed revival of the ancient Nalanda University, a global centre for learning, and Singapore Buddhist organisations have already offered donations for the construction of a world-class library.
“We will go for international fund raising,” Amartya Sen, chairman of Nalanda Mentors Group and Nobel economics prize winner, told reporters here Tuesday.

“The Singapore Buddhist community is making an important gesture to finance library,” Sen added. They have reportedly offered around $5-10 million (Singapore dollars) to finance the institution.

Sen said they were open to funding from both public and private organisations as well as religious institutions.

Pegged as a symbol of global cooperation in education, the Nalanda University, proposed to be set up in Bihar near the site where an ancient university flourished centuries ago, will have schools on Buddhist studies, philosophy and comparative literature, historical studies and ecology and environmental studies.

The Nalanda Mentors Group, constituted in 2007 and chaired by Sen, has been giving a concrete structure to the plan to revive the educational institution, which had attracted students from across the world in ancient times.

The mentors group held extensive two-day meetings here that was also attended by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

George Yeo, visiting Singapore foreign minister and member of mentor group, said that he hoped “that by East Asia summit, the bill will be passed and work will begin”.

He was referring to the proposed legislation to be tabled during the current parliament session which will govern the operations of the university.

Amartya Sen also introduced the new vice-chancellor designate for the university, Gopa Sabharwal, a sociology professor in Lady Shri Ram college.

“This is an exciting task and a huge responsibility. The primary task is to translate vision of Nalanda Mentors Group,” said Sabharwal.

Asked if Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was associated with the project, Sen said: “No religious activist is involved in the process. This does not mean that they are out of the frame.”

Source: International funding sought for Nalanda University: Amartya Sen