the challenges of indian higher education in the...

International Journal of Arts and Sciences 3(7): 400 - 430 (2010)

CD-ROM. ISSN: 1944-6934 © InternationalJournal.org

400

The Challenges of Indian Higher Education in the Globalised Economy and the Measures for Revamping Kalai Selvi Thirumal, Vinayaka Mission University, India Abstract: The power of globalisation is so potent that no country could prevent its participation in it. Though the process has been swift in other industries in India, the education industry till recently was responding with great caution due to a reason solid. The reason is that the role of education is to construct a society where the development and progress takes place in true sense. The term Quality has different connotation in different nations considering the challenges and needs of the society dwells in and the moral and spiritual values that rule the society. This paper deals with the pressing role of higher education in India in the light of foreign universities entering India. The paper further highlights on the role of government of India, industry and academia in promoting quality education and also suggests the areas for colloboration. While the light is thrown on the benefits of globalization in education industry it also tries to look at the possible challenges Indian educational industry would face. The need for improved assessment system for universities and individual students, partnerships for a meaningful education to compete in the free market and to establish a human society is discussed. During the discussion the broader areas neglected so far are in the assessment process are also indicated. The various parties that need to partner in improving the quality of education are also suggested and the role of industry in training the faculty members (the trainers) to make the students job -ready is highlighted. The paper also reminds the forgotten role of academia and the global society in improving education and building a better society while appreciating the unique richness of tradition and culture of every nation on the global map Keywords: Co Teaching, Customised Teaching Exercise (CTE), Knowledge Sharing Forum (KSF), Technology Impediment 1.1. Introduction Education and health industry stand as the fulcrum for any society. The tapestry of the society is woven inside class rooms. The prosperity of the society lies in the quality of the students come out the universities in the society. In the wake of globalization and modernisation it is significant for every country to reciprocate to the pace of knowledge and technology driven economy. Development of a country does not only mean economic development. The economic development alone will not bring peace and prosperity in any society. If the economic development is not supported by human development the world will become place of wealth amassment with no peace. It is also the moral duty of the economically developed nations to uplift the downtrodden counterparts in the other parts of the world in true spirits. Also the current trend of the



401

rich becoming the rich and the poor becoming poor has to be viewed seriously to bring the entire global society into the fold of development-both the economic and human. 2.1Globalisation and Higher Education:

2.1.1 The opportunities and challenges:

The impact of globalisation is potent and it is felt in all sectors and education sector is no exception to it. While globalisation throws profuse opportunities the same tosses challenges which need serious attention. Studying in quality educational institutions with quality infrastructure, facilities and expertise, exploiting the economic, political and other opportunities across the globe, acquiring sensitivity and empathy towards the cultures and lifestyle to be successful global citizens are some of the opportunities. When the country borders are rapidly fading and a university campus has students from various country origins, choosing the disciplines (for the kind of careers emerging), framing curriculum for the same (based on the needs of the society they live in), teaching and learning methodologies, researches focus, the international trends focus, handling of relocation issues, life style issues, student unrest issues due to diversities are some of the challenges serious the universities need to address and the role of the government is imperative here. The number of students leaving their country borders was negligible before two decades. Around 2 million were studying outside their home country in 2003 states the International Finance Corporation (Higher Education- Free degrees to fly- Economist, February 26th- March 4th, 2005, pp63-65). The higher education market grows by 7% every year after 1990 and the annual income by the fees of students from abroad is estimated as $30 billion. Many private organizations have entered recently into the business of education as it is lucrative. Many universities blatantly solicit students from abroad as the fees they pay are higher than the students from native country.

The days are gone when the students reach out the universities for their education. Now the universities market intensely with different strategies to attract students across the globe. The fresh challenge is the change of perception of students on the educational institutions. The students coming from across the geographical and political borders are more like customers. The US, UK and Australian universities are opening up campuses in countries such as Middle East, Singapore and China. Some of the universities also franchise their services with no direct involvement.

2.1.2 Higher education, WTO and GATS:

The argument that prevails is that education is a public good while the WTO Secretariat claims that higher education is similar to consumption directly benefiting the consumer. In the third Summit of Latin American and Iberian Universities held in April 2002 it was



402

declared that education is a ‘Public good’. It was also decided not to make any commitment on the issue to WTO. In September 1998 the Secretariat of WTO has mentioned that education is a private consumption item and the price is freely decided by the educational institutions. The Most Favoured nation concept adopted by WTO has binding on all the members of WTO. This indicates that if subsidy is given to a country the same can be claimed by all the member countries. More than 140 countries approved the GATS the forerunner of WTO. The National Treatment principle indicates the option to offer level plain field for both the foreign and domestic players. To be more clear the foreign universities operating inside a nation can demand a subsidy as a native player demands. Services sector dominates in the global economy and it is education sector that imparts the needed skill, knowledge the education sector is much sought after. The education sector is under the aegis of GATS which is opposed by many as the academic needs of the different societies are different. It is also opposed as the same cannot be treated at par with the commodity. “Globalization can also lead to poor quality of education due to marketing of fraudulent marketing of degrees or other credentials world wide. In 1991 the US government organized a meeting in Washington with OECD and World Bank and the globalization of education was discussed. The same emphasized on peace, equity and sustainability while focusing on market. In 1998, between 5th and 9th of October UNESCO held a world Conference on “Higher education in the Twenty-First Century: Vision and Action” and adopted an action plan for higher education. The major theme was that education must serve the interest of the sustainable development and help to build a better society.

The GATS encompasses four modes of services: They are the following

Mode 1: Cross border delivery: delivery of education services from territory of one member to another member (Internet, distance education, tele-education etc.)

Mode 2: Consumption abroad: Consumption of service abroad by the citizens of the member country which during which the students move from one country to another (foreign students in Indian universities)

Mode 3: Commercial presence of service supplier of a member country on the territory of another member: Establishment of local branch campuses or subsidiaries by foreign universities in foreign countries, course offerings by domestic private universities, leading to degrees at foreign universities (Twinning arrangements, franchising etc)



403

Mode 4: Movement of natural persons: Temporary movement of teachers, lecturers, and education personnel from one member country to another member country to provide education services overseas.

Any barrier in the free flow in the above modes is referred as “non-tariff barrier”. The objective of free trade is to remove these barriers in order to make liberalization more meaningful. In education sector the barriers are exchange controls, government controls, non-recognition of degrees of one country in another country, use of subsidies and resources and the nationality requirements of the faculty members. Only 40 countries have agreed to the fullest provisions of GATS so far.

2.1.3. Education and IT revolution

Today’s world is marked by severe competition and quick technological change. The key for prosperous economy we need knowledgeable, technically skilled man power which would be able to produce value added products which are competitive in the global market. The enterprises also need to be adaptive and flexible in adopting new technologies and product products that innovative and competitive in the global market. To responsibility of meeting this end lies in the educational institutions.

Universities that are modern have their own websites and right from the admission process, exams and results announcement, on-line tutoring, downloading of assignments etc take place through on line which is a major break through of the century and the impact of the same on the education industry is powerful. In a globalised set up internet increases the efficiency of the administrative processes as well. Faculty members also make their course materials on line which can be downloaded by the students. The faculty members and students also can be connected through mail.

The academicians and students need not spend hours together taking down notes in the library and the materials are readily available with various search engines. The on line libraries do not require any big infrastructure and the same increases accessibility and decreases response time. Wider range of information is available from across the world and the time for access is time needed for a press of a button. The leader in e-education is United States. The largest number of on-line students enrolled is in Phoenix University. It was the first university to offer on-line education and now the internet is vital to it s teaching (Survey- Higher education in Economist September 10th-16th, 2005, after page 50). E- Learning is doing well in the west apart of the globe. In UK in shopping malls Learning Centers have been set up. Tuitions are being



404

offered at UK at 15 to 25 pounds per hour by over 280 tutors .E-tutoring is catching up in India as well. English, Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology tuitions are being offered at Bangalore by a company by name

2.1.4. Higher Education in India and economic reforms The impact of the economic reforms on higher education: In the development of knowledge economy it is the highly competent and specialized human capital that determines the growth of any country. The countries with good universities which produce the suitable manpower for the knowledge revolution across the globe will emerge as the fittest. The challenges for the developing countries are more and they need to catch up bringing in the required reforms in their educational system. India is very much a part of the globalization process since 1991.Due to the economic reforms the public expenditure on education has shrunk. The structural reforms, the investments in social sector suffer in all the developing nations and India is no exception to it. It is failure on the part of the policy framers that partaking in the economy driven by technology and knowledge to ensure the quality manpower by investing for education. The infusion of investment in higher education is at dismal state. The macro economic reforms have left slashing down the budget for education. The government has shifted its resources for universal primary education from higher education. The tenth plan says “since budget resources are limited, and such resources are available, need to be allocated in expanding primary education, it is important to recognize that the universities must make greater efforts to supplement resources from the government” (Government of India 2001, 2002-2007)

The role of government in higher education:

In country like India the participation of the central government is significant, considering the dire need of promoting the higher education in the country. Unfortunately the trend is reverse. Recently the focus on primary education has slashed down the budget for higher education further. The enrolment ratio for higher education in India is very minimal. With the diverting of the resources for the primary education the support of the federal government has gone abysmal. While the process of universalizing the primary education and increasing literacy rates is essential for a sturdy foundation any country, the need for higher education is emphasized for eventual progress of a nation in the highly competitive globalised world. The undesirable effects of economic reforms has lead to consideration of various revenue raising options such as philanthropy for endowments, funds through consultancy, books,



405

research publications and other publications, full cost recovery of other fees such as for boarding and mess, participation of private sector and raising the tuition fee. With the existing situation the mandatory role of government in promoting higher education is essential. Also the private participation is essential. In such a situation of market participations the prospect for participation of meritorious student from lower economy class will be undermined. Areas such as research and incubation centers require gestation periods to reap the benefits and the same is indispensable in a globalised world. The private investors may not be interested in such areas and hence public funding is required. Nevertheless the private funding also needs to be encouraged. In case of private funding the focus on social benefits may be less and hence the involvement of public funding is mandatory.

Cost recovery: There have been methods considered for the cost recovery in the universities. Student fees- Government India has formed many committees to scrutinize the mobilization of resources for the Central universities (UGC 1993- under the Chairmanship of Justice K. Punnaiya) and Technical education (AICTE-1994- Chairman- Dr .D. Swaminadhan). Committees were formed by UGC to further probe into the recommendations of Punnaya Committee on unit cost of higher education (UGC 1997 Chairman- Dr. M.V. Pylee). Committees were also formed to formulate the revision of fees structure (UGC 2000- Chairman-Dr. Muhammar-Ur-Ruhman) and to review the norms of maintenance grants for Delhi colleges (UGC, 1999- Chairman- Dr. Ananthakrishnan). All the committees observed that one of the major resources is the students fees and recommended for the revision of the same. Hostel and mess fee: Recommendations are made to recover the recurring cost and to meet the part of the capital cost over a period of time (UGC, 1993; 1999; 2000) Other fees: Fees such as admission and examination it is advised to recover the recurring cost of the operations. Laboratory, library, sports and other costs shall be recovered by revision of the same (UGC 1999; 2000) and the development cost shall be recovered at break even. It is also recommended to revise the municipal, civil and recover (1993; 1999; 2000) Other sources of income: The other sources include sale of university press publications, research work, consultancy, rent of university building, space, land etc. Of late the government of India encourages the universities to recover the fullest cost. Student loan programmes: For the poor meritorious students to have access to higher education over 80 countries have instituted student loan programmes which covers tuition fees and maintenance cost. The same demands collateral security which restricts the poor students to go for higher education.



406

2.2 Higher education across the globe:

2.2.1.The US paradigm: The US is the largest exporter of higher educational services in the world. The fifteen million students enrolled in American universities include half a million of the foreign nationals. About two thirds of the high school graduates enroll for higher education within one year which is an impressing rate. Majority of the students in the country enroll in the public universities and colleges while one fifth of the students enroll in private colleges. The percentage of private funds before two decades earlier was close to 25% and now it has increased to 35%. In 1980 the state funding for the higher education was 45% and it has now declined to 33%. The public institutions which were getting two thirds of the funds from the government now are getting only half of the funds. The tuition fees also have increased. Professor David D.Dill of University of North Carolina (Department of public policy) has stated that there have been two significant breakthroughs in the universities. One is the technology of internet which brought a transformation in the universities in USA. This has enabled cross border courses through distance education. The other one is the deregulation of higher education by the US government and adopting of market based policies designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the universities. The row over the funding is over now. The US is the largest university system which is supported private funds. The universities and colleges compete in the education market. They compete for the grants, qualified and efficient faculty members, good students and the tuition fees. The competition also triggers excellence through competition for talented faculty resources, improving the infrastructure and lab facilities, knowledge resources availability inside the campus, improving the teaching methodologies etc. SAT and ACT admissions tests were introduces as early as 1943 and the same brought uniformity in the admission processes among the universities. The admission tests and the National Merit Scholarship programmes introduced encourage the flow of information between the students and the universities. The Tuition reciprocity Agreement between states also helps the students to study in the other state public colleges with the fees of their own states. There is no control on universities for the tuition fees and the universities offer financial assistance to attract the meritorious students. For the students of the US the government has come out with programmes and two are noteworthy- Pell Grant programme and Federally Insured Student Loan system. The eligibility for the first programme is based on income and tax information and the maximum grant is $4050 per annum. There prevails no clarity in interpretation of income if it is parents’ income or students’ income. The overall performance of the programme is good. The second programme is the most welcomed one as it offers total access to the higher education with minimum interference of the government. Any one who meets the government criteria is offered the fund. In 2003 the scheme provided US$ 103.6 billion in



407

loans and grants. The subsidy was $22.7 billion and the remaining was the loan offered to the students.

2.2.2. Higher Education in Europe

In Europe there are around 4000 higher education institutions with over 19 million students and 1.5 million staff. Though some of the European Universities are amongst the best in the world the resources are not utilized in the full. European universities also lack funding and efficient management to match the aspirations. The major problem prevalent in the system is funding and efficient management. Another major concern is the lack updating of curriculum in tune with the current trends. The Government and the higher education institutions are analyzing for ways to create better conditions for universities. The European Commission has published a modernization agenda for universities and is part of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs. The main fields of reform are 1) Curricular reform, 2) Governance reform and 3) Funding reform.

The Curricular reform is the three cycle system for bachelors, masters and doctoral degree. It competence based learning with flexible learning paths. University autonomy, strategic partnerships with enterprise, quality assurance will be the primary agenda for the Governance reform. The Funding reform focuses on creating diversified fund sources which will further improve the performance of the universities, enhance access and efficiency and promote equity. In addition to the conventional sources such as tuition fees, grants and loans the other sources are contemplated. Curricular reforms are also promoted through the Bologna Process (19th June 1999). 46 countries take part in the Bologna Process towards establishing the European Higher education by 2010.

Thomas Estermann from European Universities Association told EU observer that there have been significant developments in the area of higher education in Europe. Latvia is a country of 2.2 million people suffering a worse economic crisis in the European Union with 18% economic contraction the last year. It has faced severe budget cuts for the 34 education institutions. Further there is a threat that there will be 50% cutback to the planned budget for higher education this year.

Lithania, Hungary, Italy and Poland are also facing budget cuts. In Austria due to the crisis the promised made for the hike in budget is forgotten. Irish universities also had a slash of 6 percent in funding for higher studies last year and further a 10 percent of cut down is expected this year. The Nordic countries are asked to do with the same amount of funds. France has increased its public funding while Spain has siphoned more funds into scholarships. Germany has formed economic stimulus packages and UK has formulated 71 million Euro worth “Economic Challenge Investment fund”. While England is facing cuts over 500 million Euro for the 2010-11 academic year a statement from Higher Education Funding Council for England says.



408

Jo Ritzen in his upcoming book A Chance for European Universities. Says that the finance needs to be rebalanced so that the cuts can be met by private sources of funds. He looks at the crisis as an opportunity for Europe. He also warns that private funding should not completely replace public funding as the same is essential for researches and innovations which need long gestation period. Andreas Schleicher (an education advisor at the OECD) expresses his concern that European governments could reap big economic benefits if they devoted themselves to education-related spending, As far as higher education is concerned 2010 is a key year for Europe as reforms and funding in Europe's higher education institutions are high on the European agenda this year. A public hearing on "Europe's Universities - Challenges and responses” is held by the European Parliament’s Education Committee.

2.2.3. The Australian Case

The vocational training also needs to be another arm for higher education which provides the skilled manpower input to the country. There are 39 public and 4 private universities in Australian higher education system, while there are 87 public and 4432 private providers of vocational education. The government spends $6billion on the public universities and a $3-5 in public vocational training. The Australian National Training Authority and Australian Vice Chancellors Committee have developed with 35 universities under their aegis a credit transfer arrangements of TAFE qualifications in 13 broad domains of study.

The Minister of Education announced the 2010- 11 Capital Development Pool (CDP) worth $71.5 million, on 15th October 2009, the funding is for the infrastructural development of the Australian universities. It will support introduce courses of national importance and improve student learning and other amenities. 23 grants have been sanctioned through the CDP for 2010-11. The time line for all the projects is next two years and the universities are expected to be given additional facilities or an upgradation.

The Capital Development Pool grants funds for the development of the buildings or capital infrastructure for student amenities or new campuses. It also focuses on the rebuilding or restoration of campus facilities and priorities for individual institutions.

The Capital Development Pool is above the Government’s record $5.7 billion investment in Higher Education over four years as part of its post Bradley Review reforms.

2.2.4. China:

Of late China is also becoming attractive destination for higher education. There has been transformation in tertiary education in China which has lead to devotion of new resources to higher education. The 10th and 11th five year plans of China emphasize on the country’s commitment towards improving the quality of higher education through new



409

ideas and intellectual property. Just 3.4 million students were enrolled in colleges and universities in china. After a massive call from them President Jiang Zemin for higher education the enrollment increased by 165 percent. The higher education enrollment raised in China precipitously by about 50 percent between 2000 and 2004.

The trend shows that there will be significantly more Ph.D. engineers and scientists in China in 2010 than in the United States, as China as the engineers coming out of Chinese universities are three times that of USA per year. By 2010 90% of all Ph.D. physical scientists and engineers in the world will be Asians living in Asia commented R.E. Smalley, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist from Rice University..

2.3 The pressing role of Higher education

Prof. Dr. Konrad Osterwalder, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Rector of the United Nations University in his article “The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting Sustainable Development” has said that promoting sustainable development must be an important aspect of the educational agenda at all levels

He also has said “In all of this, Higher Education Institutions play a crucial role. Clearly, the research agenda should be influenced – but not dictated – by striving for sustainability with the goal of inventing new methods to deal with all the big problems such as climate change, pollution, energy, hunger, infectious diseases, biodiversity, etc. Systematically thinking about justice and ethics, peace and good governance, not only about ecology, but also about economy might contribute in a substantial way to the establishment of a sustainable way of life. But the most important contribution is in education offered by institutions. Whatever particular subject is being taught, the question whether and how it may influence development towards sustainability must always be asked and discussed”

Amany Saleh, Ph.D,. Marcia Lamkin, Ed. D and David Cox, Ed. D.,( Volume 4 - Issue 3, Feb 12, 2007 - 3:02:21 PM) in the e-article titled “The Role of Higher Education in America: A Spa or a Smörgåsbord” comment “Once upon a time, higher education was seen as a public good that brought value to our society. Now, higher education is perceived as a personal investment in which the public has limited interest” (2003, 2). Society as a whole, parents, and students expect a return on their investment in higher education that is quantifiable, standard, and measured in terms of values which are incongruent with those originally envisioned for such institutions.

In the same article it is criticised that (Lewis 2003) American universities are spending funds on student unions to entice prospective students but overlook to build libraries and academic buildings. For example, Kay McClenny, University of Texas at Austin, stated that such a trend is like walking “into a shiny, new supermarket. [It has] all the wheels and gadgets of a new wonderful place, but the meat is spoiled and the milk is sour. You got to attend to the fundamentals” (Merrow 2005).



410

2.3.1. Creating a quality workforce to support current business and industry

Though the academicians express their concern over the heavy curriculum in the universities, the fact remains that employability of major percentage of students passing out of universities suffers. As far as the higher education is concerned India is the third largest only next to China and USA. In terms of enrolment which was over one crore five lakhs in 2005-06. India is the largest higher education system in the world with 17,973 institutions. There are 348 universities and 17,625 colleges. This includes 63 unaided deemed universities with 60,000 students and 7,650 unaided private colleges with enrolment of 31, 50,000 students (People democracy, Consultation paper on trade in Education services, Higher education in India and GATS: A Disastrous proposal -Vol XXX, No 44, Oct 29th, 2006, Vijender Sharma)

A recent McKinsey-NASSCOM study says that “the total global off shoring market is approximately US 300 billion dollars, of which US 110 billion dollars will be off shored by 2010. India is expected to garner at least 50% of the market, generating direct employment to 2.3 million people and indirect employment for 6.5 million. Quality manpower is required for such jobs and the onus on the shoulders of the Indian universities. The report also says that only 25% of engineering graduates, 15% of the finance and accounting professionals and 10% from the other courses are eligible for employment in multinational companies.

Purple Leap of talent management institute had done a research on “Employability Skill Index” across 95 colleges, among 9000 students in Andhra Pradesh, India. The study included 600 students from 15 engineering colleges. The result shows that 36% of the students fail on most of the skills required for employment such as communication, technical skills and problem solving. Only 7% were found to be employable. For the IT industry more than 60% of the students do not meet the employability criteria on technical skills for the IT industry. The employers deem that even the (30+ %) students who do meet the Technical Skills criteria are still not ‘ready-to-deploy’. Even after employing these students the companies need to spend heavily on the technical skill training.

2.3.2. Take meaningful role in national developmental initiatives

Universities need to partake in the national construction and development by understanding its origin, the traditional and cultural ethos, current challenges and the prospective needs and opportunities.

In one of his addresses President Kiran Karnik of NASSCOM has remarked, that the IT industry is not getting people with right skills. He also threw light on the increasing potential for engineering services and synergizing the same with the IT. India is aiming at capturing 15 percent share of world market by 2010, which was 54 billion dollar in 2005,



411

With the reputation for software established India is definitely an attractive destination. The Indian software business is so large that there is remarkable scope for many years to come. If the country aims to capture more market with a $50 billion it has to employ over one million employees.

Bioinformatics is yet another area emerging as one of the dynamic fields in the area of biological research and the biotech business has the potential to generate annual revenues of $5 billion and a million skilled jobs by 2020. The other industries have high potential are Banking, Finance and Insurance.

The IT industries growth in India is highly impressing generating employment. While feeling glad about it the socio cultural impact is of serious concern. Primarily, when the Indians work for the western clients the time of work in India is totally changed. All the IT, ITES and BPOs function at night which has brought acute biological, social and cultural changes in India. The employees who have been used to work at day are suddenly shifted to night work and the adapting to this change by the biological systems appears to be difficult for most of the employees. The biological disorders caused by the same are enormous. As the remunerations given by these industries are very attractive majority of the youth in India are attracted by the industry. Most of the engineering colleges also deem placing their students in IT industry is a coveted feat and the students also prefer colleges which place their students in the IT industry. Even in the marriage market the IT groom is sold faster than others.

The qualification required by BPO sector is just school final and hence many of the students attracted by a salary $350 per month at the age of 16 do not go for graduation and higher studies. More over degrees available through distance education by many universities make their job easy. But the quality of the degrees offered by many of the universities is substandard and the knowledge and the skill acquired through distance education will keep the students much away from competition with the students who come from regular streams of reputed universities.

The same has also much damaged the social system. Spouses working in two shifts spend time in the family once or twice in a month or even that becomes the rate affair now. This has lead to broken marriages and men and women living as singles after marriage have become quite common. This adversely affects the children whom we believe are the architects of future society.

As most of these IT companies are located in cities there is major dislocation of youth from various towns and villages to the cities. All keep away from their parents and meeting their parents or other kith and kin become a rare affair in their lives. The families and the youth employed in the cities experience high stress due to the same which was not the case a decade before. In near future the youth will become so immune to the stress and parting the families will become the trend. Old age home services will grow and the family system will completely disintegrate.



412

The onus is on the shoulder of universities to shape the aspirations of the students and guide them on the various options in their careers and offer courses banking upon the opportunities in the wake of globalization while preserving the social and cultural integrity of the society.

2.3.3. Propagate research to Create knowledge societies

The impact of university in an individual’s life is very potent. The culture and values the students imbue from the university campuses will have strong impact in shaping the interests and objectives in their lives. All the universities need to have research culture and the researchers need to be motivated highly. The universities need to design and implement research programmes which will fulfill the needs of the end users and offer solutions to the social, political and economic problems. Multidisciplinary researches have to be promoted which entails collaboration of researchers of various disciplines.

Social researches aid the policy makers, educationalists and other stake holders. The same requires tremendous social interest and commitment. The universities role in inculcating the interest in students in social researches is significant.

Industrialized nations spend about 3.8% of their GDP for research and development. Brazils spend around 0.91% of its GDP and China. 0.69%. While India’s spending is 1.2%.Though there are grants given by the HRD ministry and other governing bodies for quality research the private participation at present is at very minimal level. Some companies have opened up their research centers in a few reputed university campuses. There has to be massive participation of the private sector in promoting researches in the university campuses.

The knowledge of the contemporary society is characterized by fast paced growth, complexity and obsolescence. The knowledge explodes both quantitatively and qualitatively. While the knowledge in the existing discipline increases, new disciplines evolve from which the sub disciplines explode. Universities now have a serious view on their responsibly to create knowledge creation and sharing culture at their campuses.

A few universities known for their excellence do a reasonably good job in this area. Other universities need to follow suit. For instance “King Saud University (KSU)”, has initiated development programs, for the promotion of its knowledge at the national level. The framework integrates the knowledge activities of knowledge creation, dissemination, and consumption, into a “knowledge circle (KC)” that can prop up sustainable development. The university mulls over the activation of the circle to be associated with the domains of “strategy, technology, organization, people and environment (STOPE)”.



413

2.3.4. Higher Education has to enlighten the politicians, industrial leaders and

the public the problems pertinent.

The universities need to act as the think tank to solve the political, industrial and social problems. The universities role is so significant in all these areas and the impact will be potent. Universities are the places where autonomy of thinking, conducive environment for research and development, free and fearless expression of innovative ideas, social sensitivity and strong values and ethics need to be promoted. The universities need to stimulate the thought processes, courageous expression of new ideas, leadership and social empathy which are already vibrant in this age group.

In an article “The Role of Higher Education in Transforming Nuclear Weapons Policy” (Thursday, March 26, 2009) it is stated that Mr. Cirincione (President, The Ploughshares Fund) had pointed out that the universities have to play a significant role in the nuclear weapons policy, disarmament and non proliferation. He had also lauded the contribution of faculty members George Shultz and Bill Perry of Stanford University who had convened an ongoing discussion on “Steps toward a world free of nuclear weapons” under the heading of “Reykjavik Revisited,” recalling the summit meeting between then U.S. President Ronald Reagon and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev in October 1986. Mr. Cirincione pointed out that “this whole movement was hatched at a university.”

Also the universities need to collaborate with the industries to draw attention on the problems and issues pertinent to the industries. Of late the universities have realised their relevant role in intellectual contribution to industry. While the industry gains from the academic robust theories the academia benefits from the industrial wisdom. On the third of January 2010 in DOHA, QATAR - Leaders in the banking sector came together for Carnegie Club roundtable discussion on “Software in the Enterprise” at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. The discussion focused on the important role that IT and software play in an organization. The Carnegie Club is a platform for industry executives and university faculty with an objective to have insights on new trends and challenges in practices of management science.

Stanford is one of the sought-after universities in by the students and scholars across the world. The university also attracts companies for academic and industry pursuit. The School of engineering is y associated with Indian IT giants such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys Technologies on strategic research projects in the area of developing next-generation solutions in data privacy and transportation.

Blacksburg, Va. – To prop up of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, the U.S. Department of State has granted over $1 million to a university-industry team led by the Center for Advanced Separation Technologies at Virginia Tech

http://nukesonablog.blogspot.com/2009/03/role-of-higher-education-in.html�



414

to help India boost energy production and trim down carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by developing and testing advanced technologies for cleaning coal.

Primary and secondary education does a considerable job in instilling the moral and ethical values in the students. Unfortunately the majority of the colleges and universities almost have forgotten their role in this respect. In the wake of competition among the universities their focus is mainly on producing good results and places the students in the companies with heavy packages, as these two criteria are deemed essential for the rating of their colleges by the controlling bodies.

In this rat race the fundamental role of the universities in making a society worthy for peaceful living is forgotten by most of the universities. During primary and secondary education there is curriculum for Moral Science which included best stories from the reputed literature of the country and abroad, biographies of achievers, incidents of fine values, exercises designed etc. This definitely makes a strong dent in the young minds and they imbue values which would guide them life long. There is no such curriculum for graduates and higher education. In the globalised scenario universities need to prepare gloabalised citizens. Every country has its own heritage and social and cultural richness. Hence the curriculum of the Moral science in the universities need to have stories from the literature of the various countries, biographies of global leaders, incidents that teach good values from across the globe, exercises designed to promote values and ethics etc. The controlling and governing bodies also include the same as one of the evaluating criteria during their assessment.

While the technology improves the life of people the “Human aspect” should not be forgotten. If the researches, technology, economic growth and globalization alleviate poverty and pain of the population across the world, we move ahead in the right direction. The concern is that the rich become richer and poor become poor while we study the pattern across the world. The cultural and traditional richness of the globe is forgotten in the name of modernization and technology growth. In the wake of modern technologies worse examples are imitated very quickly corroding the richness of the global culture and tradition.

Let the universities teach the fundamental facts of life that Wealth Creation is needed for raising the people below poverty line, to give education to the children and youth who cannot afford to enter educational institutions, to establish physically and mentally healthy society and to share with other who is deprived of it. Power is essential to raise the segment of humanity from the darkness of ignorance and pain they dwell in, be at the side of truth, to suppress the vile and promote the good.



415

3.1Government Control on Higher Education in India The $ 100 Billion Education Industry stands as one of the world’s largest and is growing very fast. India is as one of the world's largest buyers of education services with a target population of over 445 million (between age group of 5-24 years) and the same is projected to swell approximately 486 million by 2025. This figure is far greater than the collective target population of China (354 million) & USA (91 million) in the same year. Total expenditure of the industry is 100 billion US dollars per annum. Universities can be established in India under the legislation of the state or by obtaining Deemed university status. In the Chattisgarh case the Supreme Court has given verdict that each university has to conform to the UGC norms but also to be created by legislation, thus making the process of setting up university a cumbersome process.

Kapil Sibal, The head of Human Resource Department (HRD) of India has recently announced derecognition of 44 Deemed universities across the country. A petition had been filed by the minister in the Supreme Court along with the UPA government. The move had been initiated on the basis of Tandon Committee report (UGC and NAAC are also involved) The Supreme count stayed this move on 25th of January 2010 and the government and UGC are questioned on how these universities were given status. The hearing on the 8th of 2010 March had been adjourned to April 13th 2010. Though the above initiative have been justified by the name of educational reform the move is unjustifiable. The basis on which these universities were given university status is questioned. The regulations need to be researched before getting onto paper with appropriate structure. A university is monitored by various governing bodies such as UGC (University Grants commission), AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education), MCI (Medical council of India), DEC (Distance education council), BCI (Bar Council of India), (PCI) Pharmacy Council of India, NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation council) etc. The complaint of the Chancellors of universities recently derecognized is that there is wide inconsistency in the scores on the same parameter, given by different controlling bodies of the central government. For instance if a UGC has given least score for certain parameter, the AICTE has given highest for the same. Such assessment scores would bewilder the authorities of the universities and would leave them with no direction while they take initiative to improve on the scores low. Such flaws cannot be generalized. Nevertheless the concerted effort of all the control bodies and coordination by the HRD ministry is mandatory. The HRD ministry needs to coordinate with all the bodies. An apex committee with the representatives from various regulatory bodies has to arrive at the assessment criteria and monitor the assessment of all the controlling bodies. In case of disparities the apex committee has to visit personally and make the evaluation.



416

3.2 Evaluation and Assessment system Assessment for the Universities and colleges and the students: All the colleges and universities need to create awareness among the faculty members and the students on the various assessment parameters, which do not happen in many cases. The performance parameter on which they are evaluated should be known to them so that they try to improve their performance in those lines. This will automatically improve the performance of colleges and universities in the expected line. The Assessment system designed and implemented by the Indian government is pretty good. Nevertheless the scores could be revised considering the need for shaping students as successful global citizens. The following is the assessment system of National Assessment and Accreditation Board. Criteria University Autonomous

college Affiliated/constituent college

I.Curricular aspects 150 (15%) 100 (10%) 50 (5%) II. Teaching-Learning & Evaluation

250 (25%) 350 (35%) 450 (45%)

III. Research, Consultancy and extension

200 (20%) 150 (15%) 100 (10%)

IV.Infrastructure and Learning resources

100 (10%) 100 (10%) 100 (10%)

V.Student support and progression

100 (10%) 100 (10%) 100 (10%)

VI.Governance and Leadership 150 (15%) 150 (15%) 150 (15%) VIIInnovative practices 50 (5%) 50 (5%) 50 (5%) Total score 1000 1000 1000 (NAAC- Government of India web site)

If the maximum score for each parameter is observed it is noted that “Teaching Learning and Evaluation” parameter is given a highest score of 450 and “Governance and Leadership” is given 150, where as “Research, Consultancy and Extension” is given 100, “Student support and progression” is given 100 and “Innovation practices” is given 50. For discussion the case of Affiliated/Constituent College is taken. With the outburst internet and e-learning the sources of learning have profusely multiplied, the students’ dependence on the faculty inside class room has tremendously declined. Hence the score could be reduced to 300 from 450. Where as globalization and knowledge economy entail intensive research and innovation. Only researches intensive culture fostered at the



417

university campuses will instill in the students the sense of curiosity, thirst for knowledge and finding solutions for the problems on hand and facing the economy and society. The Extension activities at the university campuses give great experience in identifying the problem, analyzing the same and finding solutions for the same with hands on experience. The same also instills in the students social sensitivity. Hence the score could be increased to 200 from 100. Innovation is another key word in the globalised economy where many resources are insufficient and we are left to effectively manage with the resources or find alternative means and methods. Hence the score for the same needs to be increased to 100 from 50. “Student support and progression” is yet another area to be focused by the universities. Before a decade the trend of education is different. With the current situation there are various sources in the campus, at home and in outside environment to distract a student and cause enough stress. Hence the score could be 100 instead of 50. For governance and leadership the score of 100 is adequate as everything else is fine, the credit is to “Governance and Leadership”. Assessment sheet for Accreditation by the NAAC. India Section II: CRITERION WISE ANALYSIS

Observations (Strengths and/or Weaknesses) on Key-Aspects

2.1 Curricular Aspects:

2.1.1 Curricular Design & Development: 2.1.2 Academic Flexibility 2.1.3 Feedback on Curriculum 2.1.4 Curriculum update 2.1.5 Best Practices in Curricular Aspects (If any):

2.2 Teaching-Learning & Evaluation:

2.2.1 Admission Process and Student Profile

2.2.2 Catering to the Diverse Needs 2.2.3 Teaching-Learning Process 2.2.4 Teacher Quality 2.2.5 Evaluation Process and Reforms 2.2.6 Best Practices in Teaching-Learning and Evaluation (If any):

2.3 Research, Consultancy & Extension:

2.3.1 Promotion of Research 2.3.2 Research and Publications Output:



418

2.3.3 Consultancy:

2.3.4 Extension Activities:

2.3.5 Collaborations:

2.3.6 Best Practices in Research, Consultancy & Extension (If any):

.4 Infrastructure and Learning Resources:

2.4.1 Physical Facilities for Learning:

2.4.2 Maintenance of Infrastructure 2.4.3 Library as a Learning Resources

2.4.4 ICT as Learning Resources 2.4.5 Other Facilities 2.4.6 Best Practices in the development of Infrastructure and Learning Resources (If any):

2.5 Student Support and Progression:

2.5.1 Student Progression 2.5.2 Student Support:

2.5.3 Student Activities 2.5.4 Best Practices in Student Support and Progression (If any):

2.6 Governance and Leadership

2.6.2 Organizational Arrangements 2.6.3 Strategy Development and Deployment

2.6.4 Human Resource Management 2.6.5 Financial Management and Resource Mobilization

2.6.6 Best Practices in Governance and Leadership (If any):



419

2.7 Innovative Practices:

2.7.1 Internal Quality Assurance System 2.7.2 Inclusive Practices:

2.7.3 Stakeholder Relationships Section III: OVERALL ANALYSIS 3.1 Institutional Strengths:

3.2 Institutional Weaknesses 3.3 Institutional Opportunities:

3.4 Institutional Challenges:

(NAAC- Government of India web site) . If the assessment chart includes sports specifically the universities will seriously consider the same and sports will be promoted to elevate out position in the global arena. 3.2.1. Assessment for the students: The following are the major criterion for assessing the students in majority of the universities and colleges in India while the IITs, IIMs and a few other universities and institutions of excellence do follow a good system for student assessment.

1. Written examination (semester or non-semester pattern) 2. Practical examination and 3. Project work and Viva voce

If the students need to be prepared for the global competition they need to be assessed individually on the following criteria.

1. Summer Internship performance appraisal from the industry guide on stated parameters

2. Projects (Number and quality) done during the period of evaluation 3. Leadership in student activities 4. Initiatives in knowledge sharing 5. Researches and the contribution to the end user through the researches undertaken 6. No of consultancies given 7. No. of extension activities done 8. Professional skills 9. Soft skills and 10. Participation in sports

Only when the students are measured on above parameters, the need for involving in the activities mentioned and developing the skills required for the competitive world will be developed. Until we are too much oriented to the examining the curricular knowledge we



420

will be unable to produce global citizens with the required skills and attitude. Sports is one area where India suffers pathetically in the global competition and hence the spirit for the same could be instilled in the university and college campuses. Unfortunately most of the Indian universities send out students with lack of leadership ability. The root of the issue lies with the faculty members. The same will be discussed under the heading “Challenges and Issues”. 3.3 Quality of higher education

Only 40% and 38% come under 2(f) and 12 (b) among the 14000 colleges under the aegis of UGC. These institutions satisfy some minimum educational norms. This indicates that above 61% (about 85000 colleges) do no have the expected quality. The Accredited colleges comprise of only 20% of the total colleges (14,000 colleges). Most of the colleges are without permanent affiliation and are self financed. All the colleges need to be brought under the fold of quality assessment to ensure the quality standards of these institutions. The quality of higher education lies in the designing and execution of the evaluation system of the students, faculty members and the educational institutions. The curriculum design has to address the need of the time, the country and the trends of the world. Involving the experts in the areas across the universities and industries multidisciplinary curriculum has to be designed. Right now the universities and colleges aim at fulfilling the minimum norms expected by the controlling bodies. Hence the current assessment system has to be improved in the light of the global and local needs. The faculty is yet another area of concern. In India teaching in primary, secondary and higher secondary schools require a professional training degree (B.Ed & M.Ed.). The teachers have to under go a formal training course for a year (B.Ed.) or two (M.Ed.) to be qualified teachers. But for faculty members teaching graduate and post graduate students enter fresh after their degrees with no such training. Most of the teachers find it difficult to handle students with industrial experience. In the last decade the educational institutions offering graduate and post graduate courses have multiplied profusely and it is difficult to get quality teachers. There has to be a serious initiative on the part of the policy makers to training the teachers of the colleges and universities. The faculty partaking in the trainings also do for the certificate which would earn credit for their promotions but not in true sense. Hence one or year training course with a formal degree has to be introduced and made mandatory in the future. For the existing faculty a brief period of training by the government during the vacations could be organized the acquiring of the certificates need to be made mandatory. The universities have to leverage the IT for improving the technology in the area of curriculum delivery, evaluation and assessment, knowledge resources, partnering with the



421

other universities of excellence, industry, stakeholders and the public at large. The technology has a crucial role in the governance as well. Infrastructure, facilities and knowledge resources are the other areas in enhancing the quality in higher education. The Tandon committee report which has triggered the derecognition of 44 universities states that many universities do not have even the fundamental infrastructure and facilities.

3.4 Challenges in higher education The following are the challenges higher education faces in the era of globalization. 3.4.1. Globalisation:

The process of permitting the foreign universities inside India is in the anvil. In such case India being a potential market for education many of the foreign universities of excellence will enter the country. This will pose a real challenge for the Indian universities and colleges in attracting quality students and quality faculty members. The foreign universities rich knowledge resources and have best leveraged the technology will pose a threat as most of the Indian universities are at preliminary stage in harnessing IT in their campuses The Access and Equity also will be a prominent problem. Only 20% of the students form the Core of the growing Knowledge Economy. The rest belong to the periphery hanging and struggling to climb up due to the economic background. With the entry of global Schools of Excellence in to India the fees charged will be exorbitant and entering such institutions is going to remain only dream for this segment of students. The gap between these two economic groups will widen further and in this clamor the hymn on Inclusiveness will go unheard. Approximately about two-third youth of India live in rural areas. The two major problems of the rural youth is lack of knowledge in English and IT, where as the universities entering Indian would demand both. India is now slowly coming out of the hegemony of caste system by the reservation regulations for SC and ST. The reservations system has brought these cases out of long years of drudgery and slavery. The Indian government has to negotiate with the foreign universities and arrive at an agreement to keep the accessibility of education by these castes. India is a country with robust moral and spiritual values. Many universities and colleges played crucial role in honing the moral and spiritual dimensions in the youth. Of late this aspect is being relegated to back seat by most of the universities and the students are deprived of the strength they draw from discourse on the same. Once the foreign universities come there may be steep change of spiritual and moral values among the



422

students. Even the western countries are plagues now with modernization and an abrupt decline in the moral and spiritual values forgetting their traditional richness. India is one of the countries which still embrace its traditional values robust. If the students of both the countries partnering are able to appreciate the richness in the spiritualism of each other it is healthy and excellent. If globalization brings a mutual understanding of the best values in each country and there evolves a new set of values which is the blend of the Best from Everywhere, the same will build a wonderful world for every one to live in. 3.4.2. Shortage of qualified and quality faculty members:

The proliferation universities is not in tandem with the number of existing qualified faculty members. As the demand for the faculty is very high the universities are forced not to expect high quality of the faculty members which in turn affect the quality of inputs to the students. Also the attrition rate of the faculty members is very high due to increasing number of institutions and retention is a challenge for the universities. Many of the institutions have faculty who are not able to fulfill the minimum norms of the regulatory bodies and the universities are left with poor faculty resources. Due to high demand there is least interest on the part of the faculty in self development. Universities are pressed to give high compensation to attract good talents. There has been tremendous change in the attitude of the faculty members as well. Though education is deemed a commodity by GATT, no individual would refute the fact that the faculty members have moral binding to devote themselves to the profession as the education industry deals with minds – the minds that are going to make the future better world to live in. Unfortunately there has been noticeable decline in the devotion of the faculty members to the students. This is due to various reasons. Primarily due to the recent demands from the regulatory bodies many faculty members are forced to do their PhDs, take up researches, offer consultancies and publish papers. The self improvement drive leaves them with less time with the students. And also the faculty members never like before stick up to one job now. The dual employment and multiple sources of earning opportunities in the cities have much diverted their focus. Yet another reason is the attitude of the students towards the faculty members. Now a day the tradition of respecting the Guru does not prevail much in the university campuses. They are more like customers demanding best services for the money they pay. This also has snapped the “Affiliation” bond between the teachers and students. Nevertheless if the faculty members do understand their responsibility of making the minds of the youth and play their role deftly the attitude of the students towards the teachers will be reversed. The training course for the university faculty must be made mandatory where this aspect is much emphasized. The teaching methodology by the faculty members even in colleges affiliated with Anna University is primarily through lecture, the most disinteresting method if the faculty is not fully equipped. Most of the classes turn out to be boredom. The faculty while



423

planning the curriculum delivery needs to design the methodology of delivery which is done with excellence in Universities like ICFAI in India. ICFAI follows effective methods like Case study, Role Play, Simulation, Group Discussion, JAM (Just A Minute), Skit, Curriculum through Cartoons and Movies, Debate and other exercises Customised (CTE- Customised Teaching Exercise) for individual topics (Eg.Write a story for one page with 4 characters given to students- Topic - Perception)specific for the topics. This is deemed as time consuming exercise and the faculty resort to the good old method of lecture. 3.4.3. Creation of research and innovation culture: "The real success of the knowledge economy would depend on the quality of wealth and not the quantity. And quality can only be achieved by having people who have an orientation towards research and innovation," Sibal said while speaking at a session on ‘Changing face of Indian Education System’ organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO). The faculty factor has very high impact in creation of research culture. As the faculties are inclined to take up good researches they do not possess the acumen and experience to guide the students. The funds for the research are primarily from the government now. The private participation is abysmal. The corporate and other private entities have to come forward to fund the universities to promote researches as it is the backbone for the development of any nation. 3.4.4. Attracting the graduates and post graduates into academia:

Teaching is considered as less lustrous job in India. The role of academia in the current trend is highly demanding and the same has turned out to be a highly stressful job lately. With the explosion of IT and media the sources of information and knowledge have enlarged amazingly. The students with more acquaintance with technology are more challenging for the faculty who are no so familiar with the same due to their complacency. Yet another factor is that the career options now are never like before and people choose careers that would best suit their interest. People no do not want to get attached to one organization and be bound by the rigid rules and regulations and take up their own enterprises. Many consultancies are coming up and it is interesting to find more freelancers now in the market. The compensation also plays crucial role. The compensations in the other industries are more attractive than the education industry. Naturally graduates and post graduates are attracted to such industries.



424

The society has also a significant role to play. There is a proverb in India that says that “People who have no other options left out choose Teaching and Police jobs”. This also prevents to take up teaching by the graduates and postgraduates in India. 3.4.5. Barriers in utilizing IT in education:

E- Governance is also at very tender stage in many of the universities. Even the policy makers at the universities have “Technology Impediment” in their minds and hesitate to take advantage of IT. Lot of awareness is being created by the IT solutions providers and changes are observed in universities Though India’s IT experience is rich the educational institutions still are alien to it. The earlier generation of senior teachers who had no knowledge of IT find it difficult to reap the benefit of IT inside the campus. There was also reluctance on the part of the faculty members to learn. Recently there is convivial change n the mindset of teachers and IT finds its significant place in curriculum delivery, assignment management, examination results and guidance to students.

3.4.6. Thinning of financial support to higher education from the government:

Budget 2010-11 has planned yet another increase for education: An additional 38.2% for higher education is proposed.. The higher education budget has gone up from last year’s Rs.7, 952 crore to Rs10,996 in 2010-11. It almost a 38.2% increase. Though there is increase it is not in tandem with the increase in enrolment for higher education. On one hand the government the government slashed down the funds for higher education and on other hand its regulations and processes are more stringent and cumbersome which make many of the private players enter higher education. The government while ensuring quality has to be a promoter of private investment and give free hand to play effective role by the private institutions. Though Kapil sibal claims that the derecognition of 44 universities is in view of improving quality, the initiative highly discouraged the private players. And also the Ministry has announced up to 3 years imprisonment for Chancellor the universities that collect capitation fees. With the constant decline of allocation of funds for education the institutions are left with collecting the capitation fees to manage the exorbitant expenses. If the capitation fee is too high which prevents meritorious students to enter, the same has to be curbed and action needs to be stringent. The government also must encourage the corporates to support the education industry and the corporates that do need to be recognized and rewarded. Corporates also can be



425

encouraged to start their own educational institutions as – TATA, Birla, Nirma, HCL Technologies and few others have done. Universities also can be public limited companies to manage the shortage of funds.

3.4.7. Industry institute interaction:

Except a few institutions of excellence the interaction with industry is poor in most of the universities and colleges. The interaction with the industry in most of the universities is for the IIP cell sessions at the university campuses, inviting leaders from the industry as the guest, for publicity and placement. The participation is not in true sense in framing curriculum. The leaders from the industry lend their names and the universities have them in their list to declare to fulfill the regulatory norms. The updating of the curriculum does not take into cognition the evolving trends inside the country and across the globe, the needs and the opportunities. Some topics in the curriculum do not have relevance in the present context. While the industry could reap the benefit through the Executive programmes and Consultancy, the faculty could have short term employment in the industry to have hands on experience. The faculty members teach the curriculum framed years before with no updating of the current trends in the industry. Most of the institutions have faculty with no industry experience and even if they are able to attract people with industry experience they are only retired ones with less knowledge in the current trends and weak knowledge in the theory. The universities could design Co-Teaching modules where a practitioner from the industry and a faculty with sound knowledge in the theory can handled the classroom sessions together. Both would complement each other during the sessions and provide meaningful inputs to the students. Also the projects demand by even Anna university for two years MBA course is two (one major and one minor). The students can acquire their degrees just by completing two projects. The practical aspect where the students get hands on experience and get their professional and soft skills honed is at the abysmal level. When the industry’s cooperation is excellent there is lethargy on the part of academia in this aspect. Social researches can be done in collaboration which can offer sound solutions to the problems that are prevalent in the economy, industry and society at large. Joint events with a social cause also need to be organized. 3.4.8. The brain drain:

With all the investment in the university education, the students who acquired a graduate and post graduate professional degree in India looks for greener pastures in terms of



426

remuneration and dislocate to foreign countries without offering the benefit of his education to his nation. Though this had been a serious issue before two decades now has declined after liberalization era. The government has reservations in certain areas such as education is now planning up the market for the foreign universities as well. And with the Global village constantly shrinking, the concept “National” may fade away in due course and the concept of “Continental” will have a firm hold. 4.1 The commitment of the Government: Education is an industry which is less lucrative. Moreover the government has moral binding in promoting education as it decides the development of the country. While inviting the private partnership, the Indian government should still hold the reins keeping in mind the current gap in all the segments of the population due to economic status, caste and community, language and religion. In the open market competition the underprivileged will be pushed back while the survival of the fittest will survive. The law of the jungle will prevail in the society. The government while enhancing the quality and ensuring the inclusiveness, has to permit more private partners to enter to promote excellence in education. The government has to change its role of Regulator to Enhancer. Faculty training is another area where government has to play potent role. Government has to design and offer courses and degrees for training the faculties of universities. It should be mandatory to take up teaching career in universities. The Assessment criteria for the universities and for the individual students ought to be improved in the light of the current needs. The corporates involved in promoting education have to be recognized and rewarded in an effective manner which would further encourage more corporate in the industry to participate. 4.2 Dire need for partnerships and networking The universities have to partner seriously with the universities in training the faculty members and the students other than the consultancy, researches, Knowledge Sharing Forums (KSF), conferences, symposiums, sponsorships and endowments.. Currently there is some level of participation in student training. But after recruitment the companies siphon heavy amount for training the students recruited from the university campuses to make them job ready.



427

Infosys has set up Rs260 crore corporate training center in 270 acres at Mysore which trains around 12,000 fresh recruits from the university campuses. Similarly the other companies also spend heavy amount of money in training before making the students job-ready. The companies have to go for “Backward integration”. The companies have to have their own trainers at the university campuses from where they recruit primarily and train the students from the first year of their courses. This will much save the cost and time of training at the company training centers. A step further the companies have to train the trainers- the faculty members. A trainee’s excellence lies in the trainer’s excellence. The faculty member with remote association with the industry may not be much aware of the industry expectation. Hence it is imperative for the faculties possess the skills the companies expect from the students, to further train the students. The universities need to partner among themselves to share the best practices and knowledge and resources. Though there is temporary association of the faculty members in various forums there is no permanent network forum. The initiative of ICFAI National College in networking with 22 colleges under a forum Cognoscenti in promoting excellence in Management Education is highly appreciated. The universities also have to network with the NGOs, other service organization and public in the country to help them in researches to offer solutions to the problems prevailing in the society. The knowledge creating organizations have to be networked to be abreast with the latest knowledge in the disciplines in which the universities offer courses. Technology solution providers also need to be partnered to harness the technology in education. Partnering with the policy makers of the country also get valuable feedback from academia through researches. Partnering with all the stake holders improves the relationship, leads to proper understanding of the problems on either side and receive feed back for promoting excellence 4.3 The obligation of Academia It is high time for academia to understand their responsible role and extend warm hands of alliance with the industry leaving behind the complacency. In the wake of universities from the neighboring countries entering India it is pertinent to become qualified and quality faculty members to sustain in the industry.



428

Having chosen the profession the faculty members have to understand that the devotion on their part is dire essential to hone the students with good knowledge in the discipline, professional skills, soft skills, life skills and attitude. The academia need to have deep insights in the current trends and the expected trends and promote multidisciplinary courses and researches. The same entails understanding of the uniqueness’ of each discipline and person. The academia across the borders has to get into network for a unanimous effort to produce employment worthy students and better community to live in. The knowledge and insights gained have to be shared. The solution for a problem not within the country cant be got from the neighbouring country. The same will enhance the better understanding of the county specific and society specific values, culture and the problems, which will lead to mutual understanding and respect. The academia has to partner with the Quality ensueing organization and consultancies for a constant research on continuous improvement of quality in education. 4.4 The global accountability: The occurrence of movement of people and resources across the borders is the natural law. No nation can stand in isolation. It is the bounden duty of the global society to see that their downtrodden fellow men are uplifted. No educational institution in any part of the world should produce individuals who do not have sensitivity towards the fellow men in poverty and pain. No university in any part of the world should produce graduates who are insensitive to the problems of the global society. No university in the world should produce students who do not know the purpose of Wealth and Power. All the policy makers across the world, the business leaders across the world and the educational institutions have the responsibility to make a world a place peaceful for living.

5.1. Conclusion:

The trend that drives the world now is gloabalisation. Alexander by 336 B.C contemplated about bringing the world under one roof and he succeeded to an extent recording his name as “Alexander the Great”. The idea of globalization became so potent during his period itself and has gradually has reached a stage where all the countries are caught in the wheel of globalization. Whether a country likes or not one has to be part of it. While every generation of man wants to create a better society unknowingly we tend widen the gap between the privileged and underprivileged across the globe becomes wider and wider. For the flourishing of the global society health and education industries need to be robust- primarily the educational institutions. Hence ensuring quality in education by the assessments, researches and collaborations is essential. The educational



429

institutions entering other countries need to assimilate the quality parameters of the host country and deliver the educational services. The quality parameters are again determined by the challenges and needs of the time in which the society dwells.

References http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/CCSR/mobile/research/ap Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Challenges of globalization on higher education – Apeeja Stya

Research Foundation, New Delhi. http://aserf.org.in/presentations/globalization.pdf

Surbhi Bhatia (2010) Innovation and research to steer India’s knowledge economy, TNN, Feb 15, 2010, 08.46am IST

Higher education in India, issues, concerns and new directions- University Grant commission, New Delhi December 2003

Sukhadeo throat( 2006) Higher education in India- emerging issues related to Access, Inclusiveness and Quality-, UGC, New Delhi, Nov 24, 2006

Technical Education quality Improvement programme (TEQIP)- Phase II,Deaprtment of Higher education, Ministry of Human Resource Development , New Delhi

Sanat Kaul (2008) Higher education in India; seizing the opportunity, Indian council for research on international economic relations, May 2006 July 2008

Education Budget 2009-10- India, August 2009

http://unesdoc.unesco.org

www.velammal.org

www.iimk.ac.in

www.seameo.org

http://www.icrier.org

ugc.ac.in

naacindia.org



430

enwikipedia.org

http://www.education.nic.in

www.amrita.edu

www.srm.ac.in aicte.ernet.in

the challenges of indian higher education in the...

Documents