<p> Congress leader Shashi Tharoor</p> — Congress leader Shashi Tharoor

Ahmedabad, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said universities in India are facing challenges of over-regulation and underfunding, besides threats to the “freedom of academic expression.”

The MP from Kerala was speaking at a gathering at St Xavier’s College here on the subject ‘The Idea of a University’. Some of the problems he highlighted included “slashing of state support for the universities, reduced allocation for research and innovation, the quality of output being produced, over bureaucratisation of the academia and over-regulation of campuses.” “We are by and large over-regulated and under-resourced. And of course the growing threats to the freedom of academic expression. A problem clearly afflicts all the universities across India. All of these are likely to be spiked considerably, if we are not able to find answers to these challenges today,” said Tharoor. The former Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development said India can not afford to produce graduates with “closed minds” who consider others “anti-nationals” for having a different view. “We need people with well-formed minds. Many see diversity as a problem. I believe that a university must protect this idea of diversity. Universities should welcome dissent as well as diverse views on the campus. Students should be taught peaceful coexistence,” said Tharoor.

He stressed that universities should never disallow peaceful protest on campus as it is necessary for students’ growth. The Congress leader also said India focussed on equity, that is ensuring education for all, and expansion of educational institutes, but paid less attention to two key factors – employability and excellence.