A case for open academic spaces As students are penalised for independent thinking, universities and colleges are losing their spirit

A case for open academic spaces

As students are penalised for independent thinking, universities and colleges are losing their spirit

The task of a modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.

– C.S. Lewis 

Chronicles of Narnia

Let this prescription resonate loud and clear in all the educational institutions of the country. Colleges and universities must regain the spirit they lost ever since they turned into degree-production units.

With the proliferation of professional educational institutions, the concept of colleges underwent a radical change from a sarvakalashala to an extended school system with closed academic spaces, where students are often penalised for independent thinking: forget about thinking aloud. 

The severest exposition of this syndrome was the banning of student politics from some colleges and universities based on the naive argument that universities and colleges are spaces for learning. Of course, they are. But learning is much more than what lies within the lines of textbooks and what is learnt in enclosed classrooms. Higher educational institutions today have become more important in shaping one’s career and much less in shaping one’s character.

Mandatory attendance to the tune of 25 per cent to 50 per cent or more is a norm in most of the universities today. The attendance norm is tied to eligibility to write examinations. Attendance is also a major criterion that determines a student’s internal evaluation marks or grades. 

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