SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

'Social responsibility' as a concept, is relatively a new one in the discourses on higher education, though this has been a part of core functions of higher education for a long time, albeit, implicitly. Institutions of higher learning in ancient period were not only renowned teaching institutions, but also were great research institutions, as teachers were involved not just in dissemination of knowledge, but were also actively engaged in production of knowledge; and they had also contributed immensely to the advancement of the society. Ancient institutions like Nalanda and Takshashila are known for their research contributions in science, medicine, astronomy, logic, philosophy, mathematics, grammar, etc., in addition to teaching, and for their teachers' sociopolitical activism. For example, the great teachers of ancient institutions in India include Panini, Charaka, Jeevika, Kautilya and many others who made invaluable contributions to knowledge development as well as social and political emancipation. Kautilya was not only a teacher in Takshashila, but also a great thinker, and contributed to research on public administration, taxation and economic principles and also contributed to social policy. His Artha Sashtra was described by Max Weber as 'one of the greatest political state-craft books of the ancient world'. Kautillya also played a key role in political revolution and social reconstruction. It is likely that the Platonic Academy of founded by Plato, and Aristotle's school-both in Athens in Greece, and other institutions of those times in other parts of the world were also institutions engaged in teaching, research and social progress. Institutions of higher education contributed immensely to sustainable development of societies, improving the quality of life of all citizens. Thus, the ancient institutions performed all the three tasks expected of institutions of higher education-teaching, research and through them the function of social responsibility. But over the years, universities began to be known more as teaching institutions than research institutions. They were not known explicitly as performing the social responsibility function; they were at best regarded as teaching and research institutions, more as teaching institutions. Such a view of universities prevailed for a long period, until the Humboldt model of