The Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University Prof Kandarpa Kumar Deka has adorned a number of posts — right from being a lecturer and a registrar to his present position. In an interview with Subhalakshmi Gogoi, he talks about education and challenges of being an administrator. 
 Seated in his office, Prof Deka cuts a dashing figure in his safari suit. The soft-spoken person starts off by talking about his growing up years. He draws the picture of an idyllic childhood in the rural environs of Nalbari district as he thumbs through the postcards of the past. A smile plays on the lips of the head of Dibrugarh University as he describes his obsession with fishing as a schoolboy.
Growing Up Years:
Born to Late Ratneswar Deka and Late Rajobala Deka in 1953 at Borbori in Nalbari district, the young boy grew up with his elder brother and two sisters. He did his early schooling at Borbori itself and passed out his matriculation from Borbhag High School. The Vice Chancellor recalls being brought up by his grandmother after losing his mother at a very young age. “My father did not remarry and devoted his life to bring us up,” he adds. Prof Deka says that having spent a lot of time with his grandmother, he absorbed her values and moral code. “We were made aware of our responsibility towards society and taught to be disciplined.”
All was not smooth sailing for the family. When financial hardships stared at them, his brother, Late Kailash Chandra Deka, went into business to provide for the family, instead of pursuing his higher education. However, childhood was one big joyride for the little Kandarpa. “I had a carefree childhood. When my family was facing financial constraints, my brother stepped in and went on to do very well in his business. So, I never had to face any struggle.”
Prof Deka’s childhood memories chiefly revolve round his preoccupation as a young boy -—- finding holes teaming with fish. “Rather than concentrating on what was being taught in the class, I used to keep wondering where I and two other friends would fish that day. The sheer joy of fishing surpassed anything.” His love for fish was legendary in the village and a meal without fish was unimaginable for him. Whenever any villager had a good catch, a piece of it would be kept aside and delivered to young Kandarpa.
Nature had other joys to share with the growing boy and his friends. “My friends and I used to herd the cattle by the bank of Pagoldiya River. While the animals grazed on the bank, we swam and frolicked around in the waters. We used to look forward for the Basanti Puja. A group of us would sing songs to wayfarers for money. The money would go into buying sweets. We used to buy a knife so that we could cut raw mangoes.” 
Born into a family of educators, the Vice-Chancellor of Dibrugarh University recalls that the conversation at home used to revolve round building and nurturing educational institutions. “My family members were well respected in the area for their philanthropic works. In fact, my uncle devoted his life to build up Borbori ME School and Borbori High School.” On hindsight, it seems natural that he took to the teaching profession. However, Prof Deka professes that he never had any high ambition of becoming a trail blazer as a growing up boy. As a teenager, he thought he would teach in one of the schools set up by his family.
Awakening:
College brought him to Guwahati to pursue B Sc with Zoology honours at Arya Vidyapith College. His casual attitude towards education persisted. It was only when he went to do his post-graduation in Agricultural Botany at Gauhati University that it dawned on him that education was serious business. Prof Deka credits his friends for helping him finally understand that he had to study hard. “My friends in Gauhati University were very studious and it was natural that I also took up my studies seriously.” After getting into the groove, there was no stopping him. A post-graduate degree in education and a doctorate followed. Prof Deka then went on to do his post doctoral research at Kiev in the then USSR and presently Ukraine. In the meantime, he also took a diploma in Russian language. If you praise him for his academic achievements, Prof Deka makes light of it and, in his typical unassuming manner, prefers to talk about how he used to work in the family fields during his holidays.
Prof Deka’s professional life started with the job of a lecturer in agricultural science at Dibrugarh Polytechnic and then HRH the Prince of Wales Institute of Engineering and Technology at Jorhat. After spending twelve years teaching in the Jorhat institute, he joined the Department of Education in Dibrugarh University as a lecturer. In the meantime, the young teacher added the degrees of B Ed and M Ed to his kitty. According to him, his long stint in teaching was a satisfying one. Prof Deka says, “I was a good teacher and well loved by students. Teaching remains my first love. The beaming faces of my students in my classes used to give me pleasure. I still miss teaching.”
From Teaching to Administration:
When the talk veers to his shift from academics to administration, a tale of a reluctant teacher facing the challenges of running an institution full on unfolds. Prof Deka says that he was not very keen about becoming the Academic Registrar but the then Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Mukunda Madhab Sarma, convinced him to take up the post. “I was not very keen about taking up the job but Dr Mukunda Madhab Sarma thought I would be able to perform my duties well.” He must have done a pretty good job at it that he ended up heading the university. But, the Vice-Chancellor is pretty blasé about his achievement. “I think I would have been as happy being a simple school teacher.”
Becoming the administrator has meant quite a few sacrifices. As a teacher, Prof Deka had time to indulge in gardening. “Even as a university student, I used to work in the fields when I was home for my holidays.” He talks about how he grew vegetables and planted fruit trees in the professor’s quarter he was staying before he became the Vice-Chancellor. “I planted 29 varieties of fruit plants in my garden. I used to grow vegetables and once managed to get a produce of 2 quintals of potatoes.” His book writing is now a thing of the past. “I have written a few books. I hardly have any time to devote to writing now.” Prof Deka has authored six books and written numerous articles. For now, time is in short supply for the administrator, who finds his hours being taken up by meetings and making decisions.
Breakthrough:
When the talk zeroes in on the present healthy financial status of the university, the Vice Chancellor says that things have changed for the better but there was still room for improvement. When he took over charge as the Registrar in 1999, the financial status of the university was not healthy. It had a deficit of more than Rs 530 lakh. Prof Deka got down to work out ways in order to generate resources so as to make up the shortfall. In a dramatic turnaround, not only did the deficit disappear within three years, the university had funds to the tune of Rs 890.26 lakh surplus in 2005-06.
Prod him about how he managed to bring back Dibrugarh University back to its feet financially, Prof Deka will tell you that he cannot take the sole credit for it. “The credit for this goes to no single individual but to the university as a whole.” It began with the decision of taking up severe austerity measures. Since he puts the money where his mouth is, he shows reused envelopes with its address pasted over. Various avenues were explored to increase resource generation. The university also leased out vacant plots of land for cultivation of vegetables and flowers. There were negotiations with the banks where the institution used to put its money in current account for higher interests. “Our income from bank interest was high as Rs 75 lakh. We also took advantage of the various schemes of the State government and UGC to generate more income.” However, the head of Dibrugarh University is not satisfied. “While it is true that our financial position is better, there is much more to be done.” He certainly does not believe in doing things in half measures.
As for his dreams for Dibrugarh University, the Vice Chancellor has ambitious plans for it. There is no stopping when he starts talking about his grand plans of opening more professional and technical courses. Thanks to the recent developments, students have a wider range of subjects to choose from. Interested students can chose to pursue a degree in geography and performing Arts. There are more in the pipeline. “We are trying to open petroleum engineering, computer engineering and electronics and communication engineering.” The administrator is hard at work to ensure that these courses are thrown open from the next academic session. “We are also introducing basic courses in subjects like Hindi and Philosophy from next year.” Plans are afoot to open more courses in pharmaceutical science. Rapid construction is going on to accommodate the classes.
Take on Education:
 When the present state of education comes under discussion, Prof Deka is quick to express his disillusionment. Achievers who excel just in academics do not cut the mustard with him. The educationist finds little to crow about in the present education system. “The quality of education has gone down. It is true that there are more graduates but the improvement has been just in the marksheets. But a degree does not necessarily mean that the holder is knowledgeable,” he says. “The competitiveness is so high.”
The Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University does not lay the blame solely at the feet of the students. He blames the changing social mores. “I was a mediocre student but I was well loved by all as I used to take part in all activities.” Prof Deka says it is not the same for the present generation. “People pay importance to the students who have shown good results. Recognition is now based on the kind of marks you fetch.”  For this educationist, education is the all round development of a personality and just not limited to text books. He thinks students must be encouraged to participate in debates, quiz competitions, seminars and discussions.
Prof KK Deka thinks there is much to be said about the sense of work among the Asomiya people. Recalling an encounter at Kiev while he was doing his post doctorate, he said that he happened to ask the 11-year old son of his supervisor about what he wanted to become. The boy said he wanted to be a tractor driver. The post doctoral student was taken much aback. He thought that it was such a come down for a son of internationally reputed person to become a driver. But his supervisor did not think anything amiss with his son’s aim. “We lack that sense of respect for work. It is so necessary to have that regard for work.”
The Vice Chancellor finds his time taken up more by devising ways to implement various schemes and decision-making. Time constraint keeps him away from gardening and writing. How does the head of the institution relax? “I relax by working. When things get monotonous, I chat with teachers and that is enough to get back to the swing. Whenever possible, I try to attend poetry reading evenings.”
Prof Deka has his retirement plans in place. He plans to take up from where he left after being appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Dibrugarh University. “I will always be involved in academic work. I also plan to go back to writing books.”
In the personal front, Prof KK Deka has been married to famous poet and lyricist, Prof Karabi Deka Hazarika. It was while pursuing their PhDs as Junior Research Fellows that the two met. Love blossomed and they married in a simple ceremony without any ostentation in 1980. “We had a social marriage and spent just Rs 7000 for it. I gave just one set of clothes and a ring as jurun to my wife.” The couple has two sons, Kaustabh Kumar Deka and Krishanu Kumar Deka. The elder is pursuing his M.Phil at Jawaharlal Nehru University while the younger is doing his degree in animation in Malaysia.