Prof. Raghuram G Rajan, Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Government of India delivered the fourth Kuruvila Jacob Oration. Every year an annual function is held with a renowned personality being invited to address the audience on current educational issues. The First Kuruvila Jacob Memorial oration was delivered by Shri Kapil Sibal, the then Hon’ble Union Minister [HRD], the second oration by Dr. C.N.R Rao, National Research Professor and third by Mr Anil Sadgopal, educationist.
According to Mr. Rajan, there is the presence of quantity but the lack of quality in colleges. In order to build a higher education system in India, it is time to measure the output of students, he opined. Students are hurt by the present education system and are faced with the lack of good career options. Students not getting into the right jobs, or not getting into one altogether. This, he stated, could be corrected with a mechanism of testing the students’ knowledge of the subject and skills acquired as they pass out of the respective colleges, which should be treated as an input for the accreditation process of the institution.
The importance of education lies not only in contributing to the Services sector in India but also the holistic development of the Nation- its culture and ethics. India needs three types of institutions for a wholesome education system- educational institutions, teacher training institutions and idea generating institutions (which come up with patents, new technology, ideas with respect to literature, culture, etc.), he said.
The culture of an institution depends greatly on its founding fathers. A simple yet profound instance from the life of Dr. Kuruvila Jacob, as told by Mr. Rajan, where the former drops off his own students to a matinee show one day and punishes them for the same, the next day. The Professor’s method of rewarding his students for their honesty and also punishing them for their act of bunking class speaks volumes of his passion for educating students in the right manner, said Mr. Rajan.
About Kuruvila Jacob Initiative..:
Kuruvila Jacob was the Headmaster of Madras Christian College High School, Chennai, from 1931 to 1962. Appointed as headmaster at the young age of 27, he embarked on his life’s work with a vision that education did not mean scholastic achievement alone, but all-round development of the student. He was recognized as a leading educationist and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1971.
To honour this great man on his birth centenary in 2004, a substantial body of his students and alumni of Madras Christian College High School launched the Kuruvila Jacob Initiative for Promoting Excellence in School Education on 3rd August 2004. The initiative is managed by the Kuruvila Jacob Memorial Educational Trust comprising the old students of Mr.Kuruvila Jacob, all of them hailing from Madras Christian College High School.
For more information please Contact Ms. Beena Gopinath, KJI: 98414 18443.
Mr. Satyan Bhatt, Prism PR: 98400 85411, info@prism-india.com
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