CHENNAI: Drawing a firm line between democratic dissent and vandalism, academic leaders at the 14th edition of the ThinkEdu Conclave declared that campuses must nurture debate and disagreement, but vandalism and violence cannot be tolerated.
In a conversation with Thangam Meganathan, chairperson, Rajalakshmi Group of Institutions, on the theme "Building new universities: Campuses of quality leadership", Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, maintained firmly that destruction of public property will not be tolerated.
She noted that public universities are funded by taxpayers and that each student receives a substantial public subsidy of Rs 10 to Rs 12 lakh and they have to be aware of the consequences of vandalism. “Democracy and freedom bring responsibility,” she said, adding that discipline must come from within.
According to her, while a small percentage of students may engage in disruptive activities, the majority come to study and should not suffer due to campus unrest. Terming JNU as the fountainhead of intellectual terrorism, Pandit stressed that a disruptive fringe should not define the academic majority. She added that discipline must anchor freedom.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Former Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, Sunaina Singh, highlighted that unfettered freedom has no constitutional basis. She stated that institutions must have clearly defined disciplinary processes. “Any form of goondaism must not be allowed on campuses,” she said.
However, she added that governance is not merely about controlling negative elements but about strengthening academic frameworks, and emphasised on "man-making education,”. She urged institutions to focus on ethical grounding, cognitive maturity, and holistic development rather than mere rule enforcement, ensuring universities build responsible citizens.
"Our policies and education system has to be agile and adaptable in the changing world. We live in a multipolar world today, which is changing so fast and we need to keep pace with it," said Singh. stressing on the need to keep on introducing tight-knit new courses to keep students interested and engaged.
Both of them underlined the broader challenges facing public universities. With many state institutions financially strained, they called for exploring public-private partnerships instead of relying solely on government funding. In the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI), they added, universities must refine and remodel teaching processes, train faculty continuously, introduce relevant courses, and make students cognitively mature co-creators of knowledge.
Both of them also called for collaboration between sectors and openness to foreign universities, allowing India to exchange best practices and strengthen its global academic standing.
