Education of an Ambassador: Reflections on Higher Education Reform in Kerala

Author: TP Sreenivasan
Publisher: Konark Publishers Pt Ltd
(Pp 266, ISBN 9789322008895, Rs 800)

Education of an Ambassador is the story of how a former ambassador, TP Sreenivasan, who was called upon to make an effort to fashion a ‘Higher Education 2.0’ for Kerala, ended up educating himself on the hindrances to heralding changes in the system. The resistance to change came in the form of ideological battles, turf wars, bureaucratic lethargy and sheer indifference. The author recounts his experiments with reform passionately and explains his frustrations vividly, but without rancour.

The author gives the salient aspects of the reform proposals contained in the sixteen reports he submitted to the Government in the expectation that future reformers will start where he left off and they will not have to show the other cheek to intolerant elements and enemies of change as he had to do throughout his journey of reform of higher education.

Written in an interesting manner, the book showcases the roadmap to modernity and elaborates how the state can emerge as the centre for higher education, a power house of knowledge and a globally competitive entity.

– Vasu V