Time ripe to modernise our education system

Time ripe to modernise our education system By Manika Ghosh The higher education system in India seems such a paradox. On the one hand, it has a hallowed past, having world class universities like Nalanda and a robust presence in the world of scientific knowledge and philosophical elucidation. Education was seen both as a means to make a living as well as make a life. On the other hand, the present is witness to a colossal growth in numbers with a steady and sure decline in focus and quality. Whether one blames the colonial hangover, regional frictions, deficient leadership, chaotic administration, insufficient regulations, or apathetic faculty. There is no denying the lackadaisical handling and spread of higher education in our country. India has the largest spread of higher education institutions in the world with 740 universities, 39,671 colleges including 46 Central universities 342 state universities, 227 state private universities, 125 deemed to be universities and 39 `institutions of national importance'. India also has the world's third largest student enrolment in higher education. But in absolute terms, she has one of the poorest GER (gross enrolment ratio) hovering around 12-15% compared to 20% in China and around 75% in the US and Australia, prompting the Ministry of Human Resource Development set 30% GER target by 2020 - an ambitious albeit a ludicrous goal. It would mean increase in students' enrollment from the current 18.5 million to around 40 million, requiring additional 10,000 technical institutions, 30,000 colleges and around 500 universities, along with massive infrastructure, staff, funds and administrative machinery. It certainly promises higher accessiblity to aspiring millions but mere enhanced GER does not augur national development or excellence. It is worrisome that we continue to face the ignominy of having failed to produce world class university yet. While no Indian university features among the first 100, a city like Hong Kong has three, ranked at 24, 35 and 46. It is needless to say that for India to surge ahead as a knowledge economy and achieve the aspired development index, quality and excellence in higher education is a matter we can ill afford to ignore. In fact, all stake holders regard the need for ensuring quality in higher education. However, quality is a relative term, compared against a set standard, and therefore often difficult to define. Recently, a three-day 'National Conclave on Academic Quality in Higher Education' was jointly organised by Christ Institute of Management (CIM) and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Christ University Bengaluru at Lavasa, Pune. The conclave provided an invaluable opportunity for free flow of rich ideas among scholars, researchers and administrators. According to Kennedy Andrew Thomas, Director, IQAC, Christ University, "The conclave was a serious attempt at engaging an assembly of experts who have the special authority and power to influence higher education to identify the pivotal issues of Indian higher education. It aimed at synergising conflicting ideas, produce workable solutions and present effective alternatives to the existing policies of Higher Education that could be adopted by institutions for quality enhancement." The deliberations that ensued in this congregation threw light on several bureaucratic malfunctioning, provided important suggestions and questioned the very process of assessing higher education institutions in the country. Some of the major issues brought out as the 'Lavasa Declaration' is worth pondering on. Rating of institutions For one, it was felt that rating of institutions presently undertaken by several accreditation bodies erroneously follow the Western model focussing merely on physical aspects like infrastructure and human resources. These parameters alone cannot be taken as the definitive quality markers for any institution. Indian institutions not only nurture a very diverse kind of demography, the structure of the higher education system is quite unlike that of the West. Therefore, the process of quantifying quality needs to look at the Indian ethos in education coupled with certain socio-eco-political realities. Concerted efforts are required for developing indigenous quality standards. Presently, the curricullum adhered to in almost all our institutions of higher education are prosaic and archiac, reeking of the British era. Ever since the start of the first English education college at Serampore near Calcutta in 1818, millions of Indian youths have been educated in the same fashion. It was reiterated that curricullum should match the changing times and be devised enriching the campus experience of the learners in its entirety including cognitive, emotional, and spiritual domains of learning.