Higher education in India
Context:
- The top 100 universities in the world do not contain any higher education institutions from India. According to Times Higher Education, only one Indian university is among the top 400 universities worldwide (THE).
- Similar to this, all of the other Institutions of National Importance (INIs) in the Academic Ranking of World Institutions (ARWU) are Indian Institutes of Technology, with the exception of one of the most esteemed publicly-funded deemed institutions of the country (IITs).
- According to the 2023 edition of the QS world university ranking, three higher education institutions from India are in the top 200 worldwide. Two other people are listed in the top 400, while three more are featured within the top 30.
International rankings and India:
- The richest institutions possess a vast array of assets. They’re able to achieve this because they demand a lot of autonomy in terms of management, finances, and thought. It is believed that acquiring autonomy is both a necessary and sufficient condition for excellence. Together, they give the organisations they oversee a considerable deal of power. The institution’s top leadership does not perceive any issues with the colleges and schools functioning as a “university within the university.”
- Because they are not subject to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) or the All India Council for Technical Education’s (AICTE) oversight, India’s top institutes typically have greater autonomy and financial resources than normal universities (AICTE). According to the QS rating categories of 521-30, 801-1000 for THE, and 601-700 for ARWU, the university continues to hold the top spot in the country.
Funding for public education:
- All universities are subject to a rather strict regulatory framework because they are all funded by the University Grants Commission. Most of their operations, such as hiring professors, accepting students, and conferring degrees, are governed by UGC rules and AICTE standards. In these circumstances, the regulatory authorities frequently micromanage them.
- Because they are so used to the routine, the majority of them hardly ever assert their freedom. The best universities in the country are also rated based on how well they “follow” legal requirements. Many of them feel at ease publicly claiming to have used the sample curricula, pedagogies, and syllabi provided by the regulatory bodies even though they may only have been indicative.
- A few days before India celebrated its 75th anniversary of independence, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan responded to a discussion in the Lok Sabha by saying that people should give up the idea that institutions should only be supported by the government.
- Higher education in India has already undergone a significant amount of privatization. The self-financing model, which is an incorrect term for institutions that fully recoup their costs, is used by the majority of private higher education institutions. Additionally, there have been significant inroads made by private ideas into public higher education. The drive for increased user fees, cross-subsidization, resource mobilization, cost cutting, and faster cost recovery could exacerbate the trend. The greatest effect would be a sharp rise in tuition and other expenses. For students or their parents to be able to pay for their higher education entirely out of savings or by taking out a bank loan seems completely illogical in the Indian context.
- According to the NEP 2020, enrollment in higher education is anticipated to nearly double by 2035. Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups must take the lead in driving future expansion in higher education because the social and economic elites, the wealthy and well-off, have already attained a gross enrolment ratio of 100%. Would these people be able to cover the entire cost recovery for their higher education institutions?
Norwegian Style:
- International students could enrol in free higher education programmes in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden until recently.
Autonomy needs to be upheld:
- On the other hand, the top universities in the world receive the resources and instruction necessary to do so, as well as regular updates on the importance of their independence. For instance, the European University Association (EUA) has developed a “university autonomy tool” that enables each member university to evaluate its level of autonomy in comparison to other European higher education systems throughout all member countries.
- Indian policymakers are aware of the importance of and the concept of autonomy in higher education. Numerous commissions and committees, including the National Education Policy 2020, have emphasised the independence of higher education. The necessity of institutional autonomy is frequently emphasised in order to achieve the new education strategy’s aim of fundamentally reforming the higher education system.
- In order to promote creativity and innovation in higher education, the NEP identifies a number of requirements that must be met, including institutional autonomy, teacher autonomy, and academic autonomy.
Simple criteria for UGC eligibility for different higher education institutions:
- Higher education institutions may be designated as “Deemed to be Universities” without having to meet the standards set forth for other institutions if they prioritise achieving the country’s strategic objectives or safeguarding Indian culture or languages.
- By establishing a powerful, independent board of administrators with both academic and administrative autonomy, the programme pledges to address it. It claims that the absence of institutional and faculty autonomy is one of the main problems facing higher education.
- It supports a “light but strict” regulatory structure because it thinks the new regulatory framework would encourage an empowering culture. It goes on to say that by relying on a robust certification system, all higher education institutions will eventually achieve total academic and administrative autonomy.
- Sadly, a selective application of the policy based on a helpful reading of the phrase is what is pushing higher education in the opposite direction. Universities in India have been losing their autonomy. After the NEP’s ratification, publication, and gradual implementation two years ago, universities in India were significantly more independent than they are today.
Moving ahead:
- More autonomy and significant funding must be provided over an extended period of time for Indian universities to rank among the top 100 globally.
- It also makes sense to reinstate community and philanthropic funding for higher education in India. To increase philanthropic support for higher education and ensure that top-notch education is accessible to everyone, corporate sponsors, charitable alumni, and members of the general public can collaborate. However, given that the treasury is brimming with cash from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and an increasing number of income tax payers, the government ought to be gracious enough to declare such charitable contributions to the cause of higher education and research tax-free.
Conclusion:
- Higher education institutions in ancient India were just as autonomous as today’s most autonomous universities in terms of academics, administration, and funding. The NEP opposes imposing uniform, standardised laws and standards on institutions of higher education. If admissions policies, teacher hiring, course content, programme management, and other areas are micromanaged, higher education will unavoidably become less excellent.
