Degrees of mediocrity

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council8217;s report on the state of Indian universities and colleges should be a wake-up call for Indian higher education. To put the matter bluntly, close to two-thirds of institutions of Indian higher education are functioning below even the most minimal level of academic acceptability. Even this may be a generous representation. While the abysmal performance of the system has not exactly been a state secret, this report ought to cut through the mendacity and self-deception that has characterised the attitude of the political class to the system.

The system is failing us on every parameter. It is not geared to the cultivation of knowledge or making the economy competitive. The most egregious consequences of this system fall upon the weakest sections of society. It is they who are stuck in third rate public institutions while the more privileged can readily access institutions abroad. The obsessive focus on access has long obscured the real problem: the supply of quality institutions. The UGC should be complimented on facilitating this analysis. But there is a real danger that our establishment will refuse to learn the right lessons from this report. For one thing, the problem is not mainly funding. Given the structural problems of the system, throwing any amount of money will not improve it. This system is not geared to producing accountability or attracting talent. Public education needs systematic governance reform, not handouts. Second, the system needs greater competition so that students have effective choices. This competition requires opening up this sector to all kinds of institutions. It also means giving weaker sections financial support by way of scholarships, so that they can exercise the same choice for the kind of institution they want to go to, rather than be stuck in third rate institutions.

And finally, the public system itself needs to move away from a model that emphasises standardisation, homogenisation and the lowest common denominator. It will have to be emancipated from politics and all extraneous considerations that have ruined the system and deprived millions of the opportunities they deserve.