Major Issues: The higher education system in India has grown in a remarkable way, particularly in the post-independence period, to become one of the largest systems of its kind in the world.
However, the system has many issues of concern at present, like financing and management including access, equity and relevance, reorientation of programmes by laying emphasis on health consciousness, values and ethics and quality of higher education together with the assessment of institutions and their accreditation.
These issues are important for the country, as it is now engaged in the use of higher education as a powerful tool to build a knowledge-based information society of the 21st century.
Infrastructure —
India aims to emerge as a knowledge superpower in the world. The goal is still far away even though it has made giant strides in the Information Technology (IT) sector. It has emerged as an attractive outsourcing destination for knowledge-based goods and services in the world, but the skill-shortage and non-availability of quality manpower still remain a challenge. All the regulatory systems have failed to maintain standards in higher education.
The expansion has largely been chaotic and unplanned and has mostly taken place in the realm of private sector and the quality of education provided by them has always remained questionable. The reasons for the current situation are manifold. First of all is the non-existence of uniformity in curriculum and also a common examination system.
Secondly, the curriculum largely focuses on the theoretical aspects of a subject instead of equipping the students with sound practical knowledge. There is also a lack of required funds to create and maintain the infrastructure required to impart quality education. Due to the market forces taking away most of the talented graduates every year, there is an increasing gap between the demand and supply for quality teaching staff and research professionals.
Relevance and Quality :-
A number of measures have been taken for quality improvement. These include the development of infrastructure, curriculum, human resources and research and establishment of centres of excellence and interdisciplinary and inter institutional centres. The scheme of academic staff colleges was started in 1986-87, under which 45 such colleges have been set-up.
These colleges conduct-orientation programmes for training new teachers and also refresher courses in various disciplines for in-service teachers to enable them to update their knowledge. To enrich the quality of higher education, a country-wide classroom programme was launched. Under this scheme, special films on various subjects are prepared and telecast for the benefit of students and teachers. Twenty-one centres have been set up to produce special films, and a large number of video tapes are being produced for transmission on the national TV network. Access and Equity Today the world economy is experiencing an unprecedented change.
New developments in science and technology, media revaluation and inter nationalization of education and the ever-expanding competitive environment are revolutionizing the education scene. A paradigm shift has been noticed in higher education now-a-days, from national education’ to ‘global education’, from one time education for a few’ to ‘life-long education for all’, from ‘teachercentric education’ to ‘learner-centric education. These changes make new demands and pose fresh challenges to the established education systems and practices in the country.
Because of interdependence and integration of world economy in recent years, the Indian higher education system has a new role and a challenge to provide to the nation and the world at large, skilled human power at all levels, having breadth of knowledge and confidence to effectively confront the social and economic realities. It is worth noting that while India has the second largest system of higher education, next only to USA, the total number of students hardly represent 6 per cent of the relevant age group, i.e. 18-23, which is much below the average of developed countries, which is about 47%. Thus, access, equity, accountability and quality should form the four guiding principles, while planning for higher education development in India in the 21st century.
Resources in Higher Education ––
Higher education in India is in deep financial strain, with escalating costs and increasing needs, on the one hand, and shrinking budgetary resources, on the other. The share of higher education in total planned resources increased from 0.71% in the first Five Year Plan to 1.24 per cent in the fourth Five Year Plan. But ever since, it has declined continuously to 0.53% in the seventh Five Year Plan and further down to 0.35% in the eighth Five Year Plan (199297), though the actual expenditure has increased by more than 100 times from Rs. 140 million in the first Five Year Plan to Rs. 15.000 million in the eighth Five Year Plan at current prices, and 6.5 times in terms of real prices.
Thus, although higher education in India is characterized by massive public investment, this investment is still regarded as much below the optimum. Recently, major efforts have been mounted for mobilization of resources and it has been recommended that while the government should make a firm commitment to higher education, institutions of higher education should make efforts to raise their own resources by raising the fee levels, encouraging private donations and by generating revenues through consultancy and other activities. A suggestion has also been mooted for levying an educational cess. It is clearly seen that if higher education has to be maintained and developed further, the government will have to step up measures for encouraging self-reliance while providing a much more massive investment than hitherto.
Globalization —
Worldwide, universities continue to play a very vital and critical role in the development and evolution of societies. Universities educate young minds and create aware and dynamic citizens. But much more than this, universities generate new ideas and encourage innovation. A vibrant democracy like ours, wedded to the ideas of pluralism, secularism and inclusion must have universities, which not only cherish these values but also actively promote and nurture them.
Currently, higher education is drawing tremendous attention in both developing and developed countries. In the developed countries the emphasis is on maintaining their edge in innovation and generation of knowledge. To maintain their competitive superiority, the developed countries are investing heavily in R&D both in the private as well as the public sector.
It is worth noting that even a country like the USA, which remains the leader in Science and Technology, is investing substantially in science education at all levels to encourage its younger generation to take to science as a career so that it can maintain its leading position. These countries with their wealth of resources will also continue to attract the best talent from all over the world to their universities and industry to maintain their competitive edge. This one-way flow of the developing to the developed countries will only increase in the future due to the ageing demography of western societies.
Privatization —
At this point it is desirable to explicate the reasons why we believe that substantial public investments of the kind outlined below are urgently necessary. At our present stage of growth, where there is increasing international pressure for knowledge based, value-added development of major areas like pharmaceuticals, drugs, biotechnology, nanoscience/technology, healthcare, genetics, information/computer technology etc., it is clear that both in terms of numbers and quality, a vast expansion and intensification of higher level education embedded in research is essential.
This situation is different from the felt need for expansion in professional education and training, which has indeed been met in many ways during the past decade or two. The first non-professional degree (viz. B.Sc.) by itself is, unlike professional degrees, of not much value or societal attractiveness unless it is of educationally good quality, obtained in a lively research environment, and is supplemented by a professional edge (e.g., additional skill building that adds to employability) or research experience. We make several suggestions about how to achieve these. Of the large number of such people with a first degree, a small fraction (typically a sixth) goes on to higher degree or research; the remainder, if well trained, add to the knowledge economy in a wide variety of ways.
Given the large numbers, their less defined employability and the long gestation period, it is universal practice to have massive public investments for ensuring their quality so that they effectively contribute to a knowledge economy. Our country has, however, invested much less by international standards. Following the first wave af ration-building the more recent investments have been largely concentrated on relatively small, specialized and primarily research-oriented institutions. At this stage, we need a second wave of nation-building. If we embark on this fully, not only will there be a large number of skilled, well-trained, capable, flexible scientific knowledge workers needed both by our economy and by the world, but there will also be a remarkable flowering of research and development). We must seize this opportunity since otherwise, in the intensely competitive, globalized environment of today: we will at best be spectators, perhaps victims, but not participants.
Emergence of Open and Distance Education :—
The history of distance learning or education through distance mode in India, goes way back when the universities started offering education through distance mode in the name of Correspondence Courses through their Directorate School of Correspondence Education. In those days, the courses in humanities and/or in commerce were offered through correspondence and taken by those, who, owing to various reasons, including limited number of seats in regular courses, employability, problems of access to the institutions of higher learning etc., could not get themselves enrolled in the conventional face-to-face mode ‘in-class’ programmes. In the recent past, the demand for higher education has increased enormously throughout the country because of awareness about the significance of higher education, whereas the system of higher education could not accommodate this ever increasing demand.
Under the circumstances, a number of institutions including deemed universities, private universities, public (government) universities and even other institutions, which are not empowered to award degrees, have started cashing on the situation by offering distance education programmes in a large number of disciplines, ranging from humanities to engineering and management etc., and at different levels (certificate to under graduate and postgraduate degrees). There is always a danger that some of these institutions may become ‘degree mills’ offering substandard/poor quality education, consequently eroding the credibility of degrees and other qualifications awarded through the distance mode. This calls for a far higher degree of co-ordination among the concerned statutory authorities, primarily, UGC, AICTE and IGNOU and its authority, the Distance Education Council (DEC).
Distance mode of education has an important role for:
(i) Providing opportunity of learning to those who do not have direct access to face-to-face teaching, working persons, housewives etc.
(ii) Providing opportunity to working professionals to update their knowledge, enabling them to switchover to new disciplines and professions and enhancing their qualifications for career advancement.
(iii) Exploiting the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process; and
(iv) Achieving the target of 15% of GER by the end of 11th Plan and 20% by the end of 12th Five Year Plan.
In order to discharge the constitutional responsibility of determination and maintenance of the standards in Higher Education, by ensuring coordination among various statutory regulatory authorities as also to ensure the promotion of open and distance education system in the country to meet the aspirations of all cross-sections of people for higher education, the following policy in respect of distance learning is laid down:
In order to ensure proper co-ordination in regulation of standards of higher education in different disciplines through various modes (i.e., face-to-face and distance) as also to ensure credibility of degrees/diploma and certificates awarded by Indian Universities and other Education Institutes, an apex body, namely, National Commission for Higher Education and Research shall be established in line with the recommendations of Prof. Yash Pal Committee National Knowledge Commission. A Standing Committee on Open and Distance Education of the said Commission, shall undertake the job of co-ordination, determination and maintenance of standards of education through the distance mode. Pending establishment of this body:
(i) Only those programmes, which do not involve extensive practical course work, shall be permissible through the distance mode.
(ii) Universities/institutions shall frame ordinances/regulations/rules, as the case may be, spelling out the outline of the programmes to be offered through the distance mode indicating the number of required credits, list of courses with assigned credits, reading references in addition to self-learning material, hours of study, contact classes at study centres, assignments, examination and evaluation process, grading etc.
(iii) DEC of IGNOU shall only assess the competence of university/institute in respect of conducting distance education programmes by a team of experts, whose report shall be placed before the Council of DEC for consideration.
(iv) The approval shall be given only after consideration by Council of DEC and not by Chairperson, DEC. For the purpose, minimum number of mandatory meetings of DEC may be prescribed.
(V) AICTE would be directed under section 20 (1) of AICTE Act, 1987 to ensure accreditation of the programmes in Computer Sciences,
Information Technology and Management purposed to be offered by an institute/ university through the distance mode, by National Board of Accreditation (NBA).
(vi) UGC and AICTE would be directed under Section 20(1) of their respective Acts to frame detailed regulations prescribing standards for various programmes/courses, offered through the distance mode under their mandate,
(vii) No university/institute, except the universities established by or under an Act of Parliament/State Legislature before 1985, shall offer any programme through the distance mode, henceforth, without approval from DEC and accreditation by NBA.
However, the universities/institutions already offering programmes in Humanities, Commerce/Business/Social Sciences/Computer Sciences and Information Technology and Manage-ment, may be allowed to continue, subject to the condition to obtain fresh approval from DEC and accreditation from NBA within one year.
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