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Journalism of Courage
Most major changes have roots in some crisis. It required a huge financial crisis in mid-1991 to deregulate imports and exports and dismantle the licence raj, thereby ushering in an era of economic reforms. In 2006 we again have a crisis of sorts. There was nation-wide agitation mainly against, but also for the numerical-based quotas in central higher education institutions. The crisis almost went out of control; it required the Supreme Court8217;s intervention.
An oversight committee has been appointed to draw up a plan for implementation of the quotas. Three out of the five groups tasked to provide inputs have submitted their reports. Huge investments are recommended. The groups on IITs and IIMs have suggested phased implementation. Some genuine concerns have been raised.
The systemic problems of higher education in India have been analysed in a recent study ICRIER WP No. 180. Some of these problems, such as the unwieldy affiliating system, inflexible academic structure, uneven capacity across various subjects, eroding autonomy of academia, and low level of public funding are well-known. Many other concerns such as dysfunctional regulation, the inconsequentila accreditation system, absence of performance incentives and unjust funding policies are little known.
Higher education in India comprises nearly 18,000 institutions. The majority of them are affiliated colleges that enrol 90 per cent students at undergraduate level and 66 per cent at the post-graduate level. India has the highest number of higher education institutions in the world 8212; almost four times that in US and entire Europe and more than seven times the number in China. Many of the Indian institutions are non-viable, understaffed and ill-equipped; two-thirds do not even satisfy the minimum norms of the UGC. All this makes the system highly fragmented, scattered and difficult to manage. There is a strong case for consolidation.
The distribution of capacity across subject areas and at different levels is uneven. For instance, facilities for post-graduate education in medicine are grossly inadequate. While there is heavy demand for some courses, for many others there are no takers.
Public funding for higher education is small and unfairly distributed. Nearly one-third institutions do not get any government funds at all. Of the remaining, about half get some funding from central government, with only a handful of central institutions that cater to less than two per cent of the students getting 85 per cent of central funds; bulk of the higher education system depend on the state governments, most of them facing financial crunch. Pumping government funds in relatively better funded central institutions to accommodate additional quotas will further skew the public funding of higher education.
Faced with financial crisis, all institutions other than central institutions, and state institutions in Bihar and UP, have raised their tuition fees. Higher education in India is now increasingly expensive, beyond the reach of the poor. While the federal government in the US spends nearly 80 billion on higher education annually mostly in the form of students based financial support, India has allocated only about 3 million in 2005/06 for its flagship merit-cum-means scholarship scheme.
The growth of private higher education that contributed in large part to expansion of capacity for higher education in India over the last two decades has been chaotic and unplanned. Regulatory environment despite entry barriers failed to maintain standards. Not surprisingly, the system continues to produce graduates that are unemployable. The standards of academic research are low and declining.
A comprehensive review of higher education is required. In the present crisis, we have a chance to bring about a knowledge revolution through comprehensive reforms in higher education. Let this opportunity not be wasted.
The writer is Fulbright scholar on higher education from India
