Meal-Ticket Degree

Students attended lectures to gain a degree, which to them represents a passport to employment. The degree is in fact a meal-ticket, and the fervent acceptance of this philosophy puts even our own students to shame. There is little opportunity for general reading or discussion, which should characterise university life. Relations between the students and staff are poor, and there are few who feel that the University should be a true community.

Political independence strengthened this utilitarian philosophy. Emphasis was laid on technology and engineering (example: India's five-year plan). The medieval university ideal became even more distant as a course in the humanities did not lead to employment and comparative security.

Economic and political utilitarianism, significant in the present framework of the Asian universities, are mainly determined by the economic and political needs of the state. The real needs of the human individual are being neglected.