Raising varsity’s standard my priority: Professor AK Rai

LUCKNOW: The newly appointed vice chancellor of Lucknow University, Prof Alok Kumar Rai took charge well past 9 pm here on Monday. Soon after taking charge, Prof Rai made it clear to teachers that his priority was to raise the educational standard of the institution.

“It was a matter of respect and responsibility to become vice chancellor of the university which is into its 100th year. From here on, we will have to go up. There has to be hand-holding with teachers, students and non teaching staff. The existence of the university is only because of the students so their interests will be kept foremost,” said 45-year-old Prof Rai who is the youngest to become V-C of this university in the past 50 years.

“Governor and chancellor Anandiben Patel wants integration of the university to the society because an institution can move forward only when society participation is ensured,” said

Prof Rai after taking charge from SK Shukla who was holding additional charge as VC after SP Singh’s term ended in November.

Earlier, Rai was professor of management at the Institute of Management Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

He said that at present, no state university of Uttar Pradesh figured on the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) top 100 list. “My effort will be to help the university secure a place among the top 100 universities of the country,” said Prof Rai.

He said that given the legacy of the varsity, it was hard to believe that it was not in the NIRF list. “I am going to delve deep into the reasons why it could not bag a place on the list. We will make concerted efforts, with the help of teachers and students, to take this institution to a new height,” said Prof Rai who graduated in science from the Allahabad University and completed his MBA programme from the BHU.