The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India accorded
permission to the Ramakrishna Mission to start a deemed [to be] university
(under University Grants Commission Act) named Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda
Educational and Research Institute by a Gazette Notification dated 5 January
2005. Later, by another Notification of the UGC, the university was renamed as
‘Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University’. The formal inauguration of the
university took place on 4 July 2005, Swami Vivekananda’s Mahasamadhi day. The
first convocation of the university was held on 2 September 2006 at its first
Specialised Faculty Centre at Coimbatore.
Swami Vivekananda envisioned that Belur Math would be a centre of great
harmony and synthesis, not only of all religious beliefs and traditions, but
also of arts and sciences and the various branches of knowledge, both secular
and spiritual. It would be the centre of great spiritual and cultural awakening.
Aims and Objectives – The Vision:
The present university is intended to
actualize Swami Vivekananda’s fundamental educational ideas of imparting life
building, man-making and character-building education by combining the best
elements of the East and the West. The aim of the institute is to provide
opportunities for education and research in the disciplines of arts sciences and
spiritual studies. Value education will therefore be an essential component in
all the courses.
Administrative Aspects:
The University will be an international university
that could operate through and from any of the branch-centres of Ramakrishna
Mission in India and abroad. It is a cluster of institutions, all of them
belonging to branches of Ramakrishna Mission, with headquarters at Belur Math
The Major Thrust Areas:
To start with, four major thrust areas were chosen
because these have received little emphasis in any of the other conventional
universities in India. They are thus the gap areas in which the present
university would operate.
- Disability Management and Special Education
- Integrated Rural Development including Tribal Development
- Indian Cultural & Spiritual Heritage and Value Education
- Disaster Management including Relief and Rehabilitation.
Specialized Faculty Centres:
For each of these thrust areas selected centres
of the Ramakrishna Mission, called Specialized Faculty Centre, were short listed
to harness their past experience and expertise. Till date, following Faculties
have been started and are offering courses in related areas.
A. DISABILITY MANAGEMENT AND SPECIAL EDUCATION
International Human Resource Development Centre (IHRDC) for the Disabled at
the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, became the first
faculty of University namely Faculty of Disability Management and Special
Education (FDMSE). The centre was already involved in training Special Education
professionals at the national and international levels.
B. INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT
The University Grants Commission approved the following Faculty Centers as
‘Off Campus’ centers of the RKMVU for offering courses in rural and tribal
development: a. Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Morabadi Ranchi, Jharkhand: A
Faculty of ‘Integrated Rural and Tribal Development’ (IRTD) was started and it
is offering a five year integrated MSc Course IRTD and one year Post Graduate
Diploma in ‘Agro-based Bio-technology”. b. Ramakrishna Mission Loka Siksha
Parishad, Narendrapur, West Bengal: On 25 September 2006, a Faculty for
Integrated Rural Development and Management (IRDM) at Narendrapur Centre,
Kolkota, was inaugurated by the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math &
Mission. The Faculty is offering a two year MSc Course in IRDM and one year Post
Graduate Diploma in “Agro-based Bio-technology”.
C. INDIAN SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE AND VALUE EDUCATION
To sensitize and expose the youth of India to the great ideas embedded in our
hoary heritage, a series of course called ‘Integral Self Development’ (Susamanvita
Atma-vikas) were planned. The first of these courses, a diploma on ‘Holistic
Living with an Elevated Mind’, was inaugurated on 9 December 2005 by Rev.
President Maharaj of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. The Ramakrishna Institute
of Moral and Spiritual Education, Mysore, Karnataka, has been entrusted to start
a separate faculty to cater to such subjects.
D. VIVEKANANDA RESEARCH CENTRE AND VIVEKANANDA SCHOOL OF FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE
AND PHILOSOPHY
Vivekananda Research Centre for fundamental science and philosophy is located
in Swami Vivekanandas ancestral house in Kolkata to conduct research on various
aspects of Indian culture and philosophy, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda thought,
Vedanta vis-à-vis modern science, consciousness studies and some areas of
fundamental science. Among the fundamental sciences, contemplated topics are
theoretical physics, pure mathematics and theoretical computer science, to start
with. The formal inauguration of the ‘Vivekananda School of Fundamental Science
and Philosophy’ and ‘Vivekananda Research Centre’ was held at the Vivekananda
ancestral house on 4 July 2005. Later, the University Grants Commission approved
the Vivekananda Research Centre for doctoral and post-doctoral research in
Mathematical Sciences, Philosophy, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda thought,
Consciousness Studies, etc.
System of Credit Accumulation: The deemed university offers courses through
credit accumulation system thereby enabling the students to learn the courses at
their own pace. The award of credits for theory and practical hours are decided
by the academic council and the boards of studies of the respective Faculties
constituted by the university.
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