India has the highest percentage of youth in the world. Only 10% of the University-age population is enrolled in the colleges. India accounts for 13% of the total 100 million people enrolled for higher education all over the world. But, significant quality problems exist in our higher education system. According to Mckinsey report, it is said that about 75% of the Engineering Graduates are too poorly educated to function effectively in economy without additional on the job training.
There are many factors which make the Education sector complex to reform. Most effective Universities have Self Governance and autonomy. This feature is absent in Indian Higher education system. Political interference with Academic decisions plays the spoilsport in making of a better institution. There is a significant degree of corruption in academic appointments. India faces significant challenges in funding. It spends about 0.37% of GDP on Higher Education. UGC (centrally funded institution) allots some funding to top notch universities but the remaining does not get sufficient funding. Some are dependant on state govts. Many are unaided. So, there is no real scope of research in most of the colleges.
India has a widely respected specialized institutions like IIT’s, IIM’s, IIIT’s. Govt has recently declared that it will establish 8 IIT’s, 7 IIM’s, and 30 research oriented central universities, 10 NIT’s, 2 IISc’s and 1000 Polytechnic institutes. Current Govt plans to establish number of research oriented universities will not serve the purpose unless the traditional universities take a reformed path. It is actually comparatively easy to turn these traditional universities to global standards than to build from scratch. It is shame that none of our universities are in the top 100 universities. Although IIT’s are having international standards, they are just technical institutions. They are not universities.
Our Universities and colleges are lacking Doctoral scholars. As a matter of fact according to the statistics, since 1970, 70 to 80% of the doctoral and highly educated Indians who had their education in the west got settled and never returned to their homeland. Govt should think of a policy for the returning scholars. They should be taken care properly. With their inputs, the country will prosper at a faster rate.
Knowledge commission has given some recommendations in 2006 to the govt in improving the condition of the higher education. So, with proper strategy, good policy, insulation from political bodies, eradicating corruption, proper funding and proper restructuring of the existing traditional universities and providing opportunities to the Indian Brainpower who are working for some other countries by offering high salaries and benefits to them, the system can be improved to large extent.
- Optimistic Indian
There are many factors which make the Education sector complex to reform. Most effective Universities have Self Governance and autonomy. This feature is absent in Indian Higher education system. Political interference with Academic decisions plays the spoilsport in making of a better institution. There is a significant degree of corruption in academic appointments. India faces significant challenges in funding. It spends about 0.37% of GDP on Higher Education. UGC (centrally funded institution) allots some funding to top notch universities but the remaining does not get sufficient funding. Some are dependant on state govts. Many are unaided. So, there is no real scope of research in most of the colleges.
India has a widely respected specialized institutions like IIT’s, IIM’s, IIIT’s. Govt has recently declared that it will establish 8 IIT’s, 7 IIM’s, and 30 research oriented central universities, 10 NIT’s, 2 IISc’s and 1000 Polytechnic institutes. Current Govt plans to establish number of research oriented universities will not serve the purpose unless the traditional universities take a reformed path. It is actually comparatively easy to turn these traditional universities to global standards than to build from scratch. It is shame that none of our universities are in the top 100 universities. Although IIT’s are having international standards, they are just technical institutions. They are not universities.
Our Universities and colleges are lacking Doctoral scholars. As a matter of fact according to the statistics, since 1970, 70 to 80% of the doctoral and highly educated Indians who had their education in the west got settled and never returned to their homeland. Govt should think of a policy for the returning scholars. They should be taken care properly. With their inputs, the country will prosper at a faster rate.
Knowledge commission has given some recommendations in 2006 to the govt in improving the condition of the higher education. So, with proper strategy, good policy, insulation from political bodies, eradicating corruption, proper funding and proper restructuring of the existing traditional universities and providing opportunities to the Indian Brainpower who are working for some other countries by offering high salaries and benefits to them, the system can be improved to large extent.
- Optimistic Indian
WOW!!!Another Co-Incidence. The UGC has made it mandatory for universities to go for academic and administrative reforms.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2009/06/15/stories/2009061550350600.htm