Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Educational Leadership and Institutional Vision: A Qualitative Study

Author

Md Sajjad Hossain Ansari, Ataur Hossain, Muktipada Sinha

Abstract

 Education plays a vital role in promoting institutional excellence, intellectual growth, and national development through effective academic leadership and governance. Among the distinguished Indian educationists, Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee occupies a significant place as a visionary academic administrator whose contributions to higher education extend beyond his political legacy. Despite his important role in university administration, his educational leadership and institutional vision have received comparatively limited scholarly attention. The present study critically examines Dr. Mukherjee's educational leadership and institutional vision and evaluates their relevance to contemporary higher education in India. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on historical and documentary analysis. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, including speeches, educational writings, university records, biographies, scholarly publications, and policy documents. The findings indicate that Mukherjee advocated academic excellence, institutional autonomy, ethical governance, curriculum modernization, research promotion, teacher development, student welfare, and multilingual education as essential pillars of university development. His educational philosophy emphasized the integration of intellectual excellence with cultural values, social responsibility, and national progress. The study further reveals significant conceptual similarities between his educational vision and the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, particularly in relation to multidisciplinary education, institutional autonomy, quality assurance, and educational leadership. The study concludes that Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee should be recognized not only as a national leader but also as a visionary educationist whose educational philosophy continues to provide valuable insights for strengthening higher education and educational governance in contemporary India. 

Keywords

Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Educational Leadership, Institutional Vision, Higher Education, University Governance, Educational Philosophy, NEP 2020, Institutional Autonomy, Academic Excellence.

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