Prime Minister Narendra Modi's close Muslim aide Zafar Sareshwala, who took over as the chancellor of the Moulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), is keen to link the institution to industry.
The priorities of the 52-year-old Gujarati industrialist include linking the Hyderabad-based MANUU with the corporate sector, ensuring regular campus recruitment, more research work and tie-ups with universities around the world.
"I want to make sure that this university imparts education which is employable. We don't want 'factories' which create unemployable graduates," Sareshwala told IANS in an interview.
He said the Modi government sent him here to do something for Muslims in the education sector.
Unfazed by criticism from various quarters over his appointment, the CEO and managing director of Parsoli Corporation Ltd. silently began his work after assuming charge.
Impressed by the positive atmosphere at the campus and the determination of the faculty to deliver, the businessman shared his ideas with the university officials and a group of intellectuals, making it clear that he means serious business.
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Looking for an active role as the chancellor, Sareshwala is of the view that MANUU should strike a balance between promotion of Urdu, which is its aim, and employability of its students by making them proficient in English.
"My first priority is to see if the university's big platform is working to its full potential and if not, why not. What are the solutions? Are these solutions possible at the level of the university or it needs some more attention?" he said.
"My feeling is that this university needs collaboration with universities around the world. This is the way things are happening around the world," he said while underlining the need for faculty and students' exchange programmes.
"I will try and connect the university with industry and the corporate. Any university is known by the research it does and how many research papers you publish. The research connects you with the corporates," he said.
As many students with a madrassa background come to the university , Sareshwala feels they should become proficient in English for better prospects.
"Proficiency of English is fundamental for growth. There is no way out. You may like it or not. English is lingua franca. Now we are living in a globalised world where horizons are much broader.
"I have no problem if you learn engineering in Urdu but you should be proficient in your field. Engineering is first and foremost but you also need to be proficient in English and local languages," said Sareshwala, who is himself a mechanical engineering graduate.
An expert in Islamic finance and banking, he believes this sector also needs scholars proficient in English and also in financial world, financial terminology and financial instruments.
Sareshwala's appointment as chancellor has grabbed the attention of all. It is being seen as an attempt by Modi to reach out to the Muslim community through his trusted aide.
His visit to MANUU to assume charge came a few days after Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi visited the campus.
Speaking at the 17th foundation day of the university, Naqvi said it has a key role to play in the educational and economic empowerment mission of the Modi government.
He said that with 10 centres in various parts of the country, MANUU can help in setting up Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and polytechnics in minority-dominated areas.
A central university established in 1998 by an act of parliament to promote and develop the Urdu language and impart vocational and technical education in Urdu through conventional and distance modes, MANUU is already running three ITIs and three polytechnic colleges.
The main campus of the university is located on a sprawling campus of over 200 acres in Gachibowli. Its students and teaching and non-teaching staff come from various parts of the country.
(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in <mailto:m.shafeeq@ians.in>)