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Mumbai:
In what can be termed as a timely
boost to the newly appointed Vice Chancellor who vows to take
Aligarh Muslim University to new heights, India Today-Nielson has
put the university on 5th spot in its list of top Indian
universities. This is six places up compared to its position in
2011.
"Known hitherto for violent clashes
between students instead of its academic reputation, Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) seems to be turning a new leaf. It ranks
fifth on the INDIA TODAY-Nielsen list of India's top universities
this year, six places up from 2011", India Today, the leading
Indian weekly said in its latest issues published May 18.
The report claimed, after the
university asked its teachers in 2008 to end the backlog in PhD
submissions; the number of PhDs increased from 220 in 2008 to 500
in 2009.
"We also decided that at least 500
teachers should submit research projects to various national and
international agencies. Besides this, every teacher in the
university was asked to publish at least one research paper a year
in a peer-reviewed journal of international repute," the report
quoted former Registrar Abdul Jaleel as saying.
In 2009, the university also
embarked on a spree of tie-ups, signing MOUs with Wisconsin
University, Cleveland University, Atlanta University, Johns
Hopkins University and New York University, says the India Today
report.
"AMU has been collaborating with the
American Center in New Delhi on the English Access
Micro-scholarship Programme. Each year, the project helps 100
students who come from economically weaker sections of society to
improve their English language skills," the report quoted Jaleel.
The university, which hosts a Unani
Medical College, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, one engineering
college, two polytechnics and 12 faculties, is now on an expansion
spree. In 2011, it set up advanced centres in Urdu and Arabic in
addition to building three new hostels. Besides this, the
university spent Rs.4 crore in upgrading facilities at the Maulana
Azad Library, the report said.
In 2008, to ensure intake of quality
students, the university, for the first time in its history,
decided to hold entrance examinations at four centres- Bhopal,
Kolkata, Kozhikode and Pune. In 2010, Lucknow and Hyderabad were
added to this list. AMU also introduced a series of advanced and
highly innovative courses in 2010 which include MTech in
nanotechnology, PG diploma in biodiversity management and
conservation, a certificate course in wildlife ecology and
management, a certificate course in surgical endoscope techniques
and a postgraduate degree in dental surgery, the report said.
Besides this, the Centre for
Professional Courses has introduced several postgraduate diploma
courses in environmental chemistry, food analysis and biological
laboratory techniques. A new R&D cell has also been set up in the
Department of Engineering Technology. It provides assistance to
more than 30,000 students and 300 staff members through e-resource
systems that provide write-ups for research grants and onsite
database support, it said.
"The university has changed a lot in
the last few years. Teachers have begun to show an interest in
guiding students, which was lacking earlier. For the first time in
years, there is interaction between teachers and students in
class," the reported quoted Mohammed Malik, 21, who is pursuing a
master's degree in journalism.
Applauding Prof PK Abdul Azis who
retired as the AMU VC on January 17, 2012, the report said,
"During Aziz's tenure, AMU effected a remarkable turnaround for a
university plagued by inertia, nepotism and one that had become
the epicenter of a series of controversies as well as political
battles."
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