HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM-CHALLENGES AND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION FOR

HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM-CHALLENGES AND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION FOR DEVELOPMENT


* INDIA has one of the largest higher education system in the world + witnessed high growth rate in enrollment of students and institution in the last decade.

* Private sector has played an important role in such growth,accounting for 64% of the total number of institutions and 59% of enrollment in the country,as compared to 43% and 33% respectively a decade ago.

* Central government has given thrust to this sector through five year plan +legislative actions.

* Important bills have been introduced ->higher education and research bill+foreign educational institutions bill+ educational tribunal bill to enhance transparency and quality in the sector.

* Inspite of such intervention ,there are loopholes presenting huge challenge= relatively low GER(gross enrollment ratio) + inequality in acces to higher education by community,gender and geography + lack of high quality research and education institutions.

* During the eleventh five year plan ,significant progress was made in this sector.we can see the progress in three different sections:

* ACCESS:

* Improvement in GER (gross enrollment ratio)-rate of enrollment of students in the institution increased.

* Increase in the number of institution->7new iims+8iits+10nits were established

* Increase in private sector participation->Several private HEIs have been established recently with the support of the corporate sector. These include :
Shiv Nadar University (2011)
Azim Premji University (2011)
Jaypee University of Engineering & Technology (2010)
Dr. K.N. Modi University (2010)
O.P. Jindal Global University (2009)


* EQUITY:

* Additional opportunity for minorities /low income families.

1. Government provided 27% reservation for obcs without affecting general quota.

2. Since 2009-10, government started providing full interest subsidy loans during the moratorium period to student having family income less than rs 0.45mn.

* Support for backward areas:

1. More colleges were established in low enrollment districts.

* Quality:

* Overcoming faculty shortage.

2. Retirement age of faculty increased to 65year .

3. Several fellowship +scholarship schemes for m.phill and p.hd were instituted.

* Reforms in curriculam:
Some states adopted semester system .eg-university of delhi->better hands on and increase in efficiency of students ->student productivity increased.

* Infrastructure development :

1. National mission on education through ICT(information and communication technology) launched=>many colleges provided with broadband connectivity +low cost computing cum access device-Akash was developed.

2. Focus on modernization of laboratories ,libraries,faculty and staff development,research,innovation ,networking between the intitutions.

* Strengthening research and development activity.
Several bills were introduced during 11th fyp to improve quality and transparency in higher education:


1. Higher education and research bill,2011->aims at consolidating multiple regulations and improve transparency into single regulator =national commission for higher education and research, in place of UGC & AICTE.

2. Foreign educational institutions bill,2010->aims at regulating the entry and operation of foreign institutes in india.a key legislation to encourage private sector participation in india,given the absence of any regulatory framework for FEIs(foreign educational intitutes)
Challenges continuing to plague the sector:
Indias higer education system faces challenges on three front->expansion+equity+excellance.
Expansion: India lags behind its global peers in terms of enrollment of students.
Equity:

1. There is wide disparity in terms of rural-urban ,gender and communities.

2. Access to higher education for all minority social groups is much lower than the national average.

3. There is greater gap between male and female access to HEIs.females are not getting opportunity to pursue higher education ,because of various social barriers.

4. There is also significant disparity across states.some states like tamil nadu and Karnataka provide huge opportunity whereas bihar ,Jharkhand and northeastern states lack such opportunity.
Excellence:

1. There is lack of research activity and shortage of high quality faculty.

2. Students qualifying from higer education institutes lack the high quality skills,which leads to employability issues.
12th fyp key initiative to address these challenges:

Faculty shortage issue:

1. Overcoming faculty shortage.

2. Undertaking faculty training and development.
Infrastructure and technology issue:

1. Shifting from annual to semester examination system.

2. Four year undergraduate cources in place of three year cources=>to provide holistic education and opportunity for exploration +community services+hands on research.

3. Providing high speed internet speed in the campuses.

4. Better lab facilities and libraries.
Internationalization:

1. Institutional collaboration for teaching and research of indian universities with foreign universities=>student will get opportunity to study some part of their cources in foreign colleges=>will get greater exposure and will contribute to innovation and research.ex-manipal university has collaboration with foreign university.

2. Faculty and students exchange programs with foreign colleges =>highly skilled students from foreign universities will conduct workshop in indian campuses =>our student will get benefited +will contribute to make human resource.
Research and innovation:

1. Establishment of research focused institutions.

2. Boosting entrepreneurhip->develop industry-academia collaboration,create national research parks +develop a culture for protection and management of IPRs(intellectual property rights) in HEIs(higher education institutions).

3. Enhancing innovation capacity ->several inter-intitutional centres would be established in different areas of basic and applied research.

4. Opportunity of getting duel degree =>means students can graduate in two subjects.


* Recently the University Grants Commission of India announced that foreign universities would be allowed to set up in India.

* Opens up huge opportunities for the world's greatest and most influential universities to bring a broad set of programs to the Indian market.

* American universities can play a critical role in this growth=>America's colleges and universities have a variety of programs - for undergraduates, graduates, professionals, part-time students, executives, researchers, online students and distance learners.

* The vast majority of American colleges are non-profit. They were set up by private trusts or by religious groups or as land grant universities, launched with US government funds=>means lower fees will be taken from the students =>larger section of student from all classes can have access to variety of cources.


* America - keen to conduct more research with their Indian colleagues, and build the capacity of Indian universities to conduct research. This is critical as Indian universities currently lag behind their global colleagues in research capacity and discovery.


* India should look at the American community college system, which has made a publicly-subsidised college education available to a great portion of society.


Reference websites-URL: http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Higher_Education_in_India/$File/EY-FICC_Higher_Education_Report_Nov12.pdf
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-24/news/42361262_1_indian-universities-foreign-universities-american-universities
by Kunal Raj