Prof. M. K. Bhat
Higher education in India today stands on cross roads; on one side there is falling quality and on the other side those responsible to arrest this depletion have lost their focus. There seems no proper planning with them to arrest the falling standard of the institutes despite the warming of service market .The expectations of people are quite high but universities are busy manufacturing degrees without any practical usage and moreover the lack of control and coordination at different levels is worsening the system.
This gets clear from the recent Delhi University imbroglio which has given an indifferent message in the academic world and people have developed apprehension regarding 1) institutional freedom 2) role of regulators and 3) fate of students .The episode has made majority to believe that education system in India works to the whims and fancies of those who are in Shastri Bhawan. They have started to suspect the intensions regarding developing industry usability of students or making them compatible with the changing needs of the society.
Delhi University, started with much fanfare, appreciated by UGC at various functions but the latter’s U turn with the change of guard in Shastri Bhawan made the spineless attitude of UGC clear to one and all. On the one hand it maintains that universities are free to decide the duration of a program but on the other hand it left no stone unturned to scuttle the four year degree program of Delhi University. The same attitude was almost visible when the previous minister had taken his job in the Shastri Bhawan. The propriety of almost 200 universities was questioned but the things calmed down in due course of time.
It is not only UGC but Delhi university executives too should have gone through nitty-gritty before coming out with things from oblivion. They should have obtained proper permission from the competent authorities before starting the new course. The biggest sufferer in this whole drama of experimentation and rejections are students who fail to get things which could shape their lives. This adhoc approach of all the concerned people makes mockery of the third largest education system in the world .There is no serious thought given to the things before launching them and the regulators come into action only after public protests. This has resulted over the years in an education system which neither caters to market needs nor carries social values.
The higher education in India is losing its scope in the eyes of students .Those who can afford, feel compelled to go outside India for their studies and those who cannot have to bear the brunt of substandard education. The ex flow of funds from the country is increasing every year.
Indian students spend more than 40$ bn annually for their education abroad. Smaller countries than us are turning into education hubs for the quality of their institutions. It may not be out of context to mention here that not a single Indian university stands in the list of top 200 universities of the world.
With the increase in the enrolment of students and widening of institutional network by private unaided institutions and establishment of new institutions by government the need for control to maintain the minimum level is being highly felt.
The enrolment ratio of nearly 20% is quite low when compared to other countries but in case of India it has more than doubled in the last decade. India added nearly 20000 colleges in a decade .The number increased from12806 in 2000-01 to 33023 in 2010-11.There are today 674 universities in India out of which 183 are private universities. In 2001 private unaided institutions made up 42.6% of higher education institutions and 32.8% of the students studied in them by 2006 the share of private institutions went to 63.2% and their student share was 51.5%. It is good so far as it has widened the reach of higher education but the lack of control has lead to duplicity and minting of money has turned their sole intension. The time is not far away when the fate of established institutions of higher learning will be like government schools , with qualified teachers but no one ready to study from such institutions except the economically weak .
The governments have relentlessly established new universities/colleges and the supply of institutions in fact has reached to an extent where students are in shortage now. The biggest problem of decline in quality at various levels is hardly taken into consideration. The quantity may help us to get basic business of services and the low human cost may give us a competitive edge in the short run but it can hardly help us to get specialized R&D projects. It is the highly technical pool of scientists/engineers/managers etc who can help India to go ahead in its goal of attaining more by selling human resources in the global market for its economic development.
It sounds strange that India has yet to gear towards quality education when China and many other countries have already started the race for developing quality institutions.
The shortage of faculty, outdated curricula, lack of accountability, poor library, and low application of technology has become the haul mark of Indian education system. The education delivered in the colleges is not only outdated but irrelevant too. The research aptitude is almost lacking in the students, teachers motivation is at its low, politics is getting a fertile ground in university campuses and much time is wasted in politicizing the things without taking interest of students into consideration Routine is preferred over change. Government institutions face lack of accountability and private entrepreneurs have taken it as an easy method of making money by investing too little.
There is high level of disparity in the present system. It works for the urban elite and goes against those who fail to afford good schools/ coaching institutions. The standard of education varies from university to university and even from college to college within a university.
The lack of quality in the majority of institutions has lead to a mad rush at certain institutions. It would be prudent to increase the quality of institutions rather than establishing new ones. There is no universal approach towards the needs of the market or aspirations of people. A graduate neither turns into a good human being nor he attains enough skills to survive on his own.
It becomes imperative for all the concerned to introspect the higher education system for making it effective economically as well as socially. There is a tremendous need for specialized institutions of higher learning. Control and coordination at different levels needs to be incorporated .
There is need of accountability in the government institutions and private ones should not be allowed to make it as a low cost high return business .The university Grants commission shall come out with minimum curricula to be dealt across the country otherwise developing a few institutions and neglecting the majority is Macavilian in itself.
(The author is Deputy Director (MAIMS) Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Delhi)
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