Higher Education In India, CSE Notes, IAS

1. Higher Education
Amit Kumar Anand
www.amitkanand.com
September 26, 2016
1 Overview
• Education is one of the critical elements
of the national development. It is a pow-
erful tool to build knowledge-based soci-
ety of the 21st century.
• Improvement of access along with eq-
uity and excellence. Enhancing the rel-
evance of higher education through cur-
riculum reforms, vocationalisation, infor-
mation technology, networking and dis-
tance education.
• In order to reap benefits of this demo-
graphic dividend; access through expan-
sion, equity through inclusion and quality
are major concerns of the higher educa-
tion sector.
• Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in Higher
Education (18-23 year): 13.5% (2007)
– World average: 24%
– Developing countries: 18%
– Developed countries: 58%
• Three pillars of higher education: Access,
Equity and Excellence.
2 Challenges in Tertiary Ed-
ucation
• Globalisation has affected higher educa-
tion: internationalization, student mobil-
ity.
• New institutions with new modes of op-
eration, leveraging ICT forcing existing
institutions to change their modes of op-
eration. e.g. MOOCs
• Danger of growing digital divide between
and within nations.
• Quality assurance.
• Public funding unable to keep pace with
rising costs of higher education.
• Traditionally, education has been seen
as a public good, contributing to soci-
ety through educating citizens, improv-
ing human capital, and boosting eco-
nomic development. There is an increas-
ing pressure to view higher education as
private good, largely benefiting individu-
als, with the implication that academic
institutions, and their students, should
pay a significant part of the cost of higher
education.
3 Need for continued support
to higher education by gov-
ernment
• Existence of externalities from ter-
tiary education: higher productivity,
progress in the agriculture, health and
environment sectors, higher skill levels in
the labor force are mainly due to innova-
tions resultant from research in universi-
ties.
• Equity issues: Providing access to mer-
itorious but economically disadvantaged
groups.
• Supportive role of tertiary educa-
tion in the education system as a
whole: Qualified teachers and school
leaders, curriculum design, research on
teaching and learning.
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2. 4 Strengths of Indian Higher
Education
• Well established educational institutions:
IISc, IITs and IIMs reputed all over the
world.
• Young population: over 670 million in
age group 15-64 years.
• Robust economic growth
• Availability of resource in the market:
adequate funds available in market, pri-
vate sector opening new institutions.
• Alert civic society.
• Large number of alumni organizations:
PanIIT
5 Weakness of Indian Higher
Education
• Shortage of faculty.
• Existence of large number of regulators
and fragmentation of higher education:
13 regulatory bodies. Multiple agen-
cies increase inefficiency, breed corrup-
tion and malpractices.
• Regional imbalances.
• Inadequate infrastructure facilities.
• Low emphasis on research and disconnect
between Universities and Research labo-
ratories.
• Inadequate response to PPP.
6 Opportunities in Indian
Higher Education
• Young working population.
• Sharp decline in dependency ratio.
• Vast scope for expansion of tertiary edu-
cation.
• India is emerging as global hub in educa-
tion.
7 Threats/Challenges
• Commercialization of higher education:
Enormous tuition fees.
• Deterioration of quality of education.
• Economic and Socio-cultural factors:
lack of opportunities, status of women,
disparity in society, rural-urban divide.
8 Improving Quality of Re-
search
• Outcome based research financing.
• Liberal research grant.
• Incubation centers with enough money
for innovative research.
• Collaboration with R&D in industry -
Research parks in central educational in-
stitutions, especially IITs.
• Industry academia collaboration promot-
ing intellectual property.
• Inter-disciplinary research.
• Investment in R&D to be enhanced.
9 Governance reforms
• Independent quality assurance frame-
work.
• Creating single overarching authority.
• Autonomy of institutions.
• Permitting foreign education providers.
• National and State Educational Tri-
bunals to deliver speedy justice to all lit-
igations arising in the higher education
sector.
• Capitation fees and misleading advertise-
ments to be punished.
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3. 10 Vocational Education
• Market based design of courses.
• Progression pathways.
• Vocational framework with reliable ac-
creditation mechanism. National Voca-
tional Education Qualifications Frame-
work (NVEQF).
• Structural unemployment to be ad-
dressed by policy interventions.
• NOS for all trades.
11 Schemes
11.1 IMPacting Research INnova-
tion and Technology (IM-
PRINT)
• First-of-its-kind Pan-IIT and IISc joint
initiative to address major engineering
challenges that the country must address
and champion to enable, empower and
embolden the nation for inclusive growth
and self-reliance.
• Ten technology domains as grand en-
gineering challenges have been thought
of. The ten domains that represent the
most important areas for the country
along with their coordinating institutes
are given below:
1. Healthcare Technology: IIT Kharagpur
2. Computer Technology: IIT Kharagpur
3. Advance Materials: IIT Kanpur
4. Water Resources: IIT Kanpur
5. Sustainable Habitat: IIT Roorkee
6. Security and Defense: IIT Madras
7. Manufacturing Technology: IIT Madras
8. Nano-technology Hardware: IIT Bombay
9. Environment and Climate: IISc, Banga-
lore
10. Energy Security: IIT Bombay
11.2 National Institutional Ranking
Framework (NIRF)
• Methodology to rank institutions across
the country.
• The parameters broadly cover “Teach-
ing, Learning and Resources,” “Research
and Professional Practices,” “Graduation
Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,”
and “Perception”.
11.3 Global Initiative of Academic
Network (GIAN)
• Bring reputed international faculty in the
Indian academic institutes.
• Provide opportunity to our faculty to
learn and share knowledge and teaching
skills in cutting edge areas.
• Provide opportunity to our students to
seek knowledge and experience from re-
puted International faculty.
• Create avenue for possible collaborative
research with the international faculty
• Increase international students in the
academic Institutes.
• Opportunity for the students of different
Institutes/Universities to interact and
learn subjects in niche areas through col-
laborative learning process.
• Provide opportunity for the technical
persons from Indian Industry to improve
understandings and update their knowl-
edge in relevant areas.
• Motivate the best international experts
in the world to work on problems related
to India.
• Develop high quality course material in
niche areas, both through video and print
that can be used by a larger body of stu-
dents and teachers.
• To document and develop new pedagogic
methods in emerging topics of national
and international interest.
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4. 11.4 Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha
Abhiyan (RUSA)
• CSS providing strategic funding to eligi-
ble state higher educational institutions.
• Funding to states would be made on the
basis of critical appraisal of State Higher
Education Plans.
• Promoting autonomy in State Universi-
ties and improving governance in institu-
tions.
• Institutional restructuring & reforms.
• Ensure adequate availability of quality
faculty,capacity building at all levels of
employment.
• Research, innovation and quality im-
provement.
• Expand the institutional base by creat-
ing additional capacity in existing insti-
tutions and establishing new institutions,
in order to achieve enrolment targets.
• Correct regional imbalances.
• Improve equity in higher education
by providing adequate opportunities of
higher education to SC/STs and socially
and educationally backward classes; pro-
mote inclusion of women, minorities, and
differently abled persons.
• Vocationalisation of Higher Education.
11.5 National Research Professor-
ship
• Honour distinguished academics and
scholars in recognition of their contribu-
tion to knowledge.
• Attained the age of 65 years and have
made outstanding contributions in their
respective fields and are still capable of
productive research.
11.6 Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya
National Mission on Teachers
and Teaching (PMMNMTT)
• Address comprehensively all issues re-
lated to teachers, teaching, teacher
preparation and professional develop-
ment.
• Ensure supply of qualified teachers, at-
tracting talent into teaching profession
and raising the quality of teaching in
schools and colleges.
• Building a strong professional cadre of
teachers by setting performance stan-
dards and creating top class institutional
facilities for innovative teaching and pro-
fessional development of teachers.
11.7 National Scheme of Appren-
ticeship Training
• Practical training to graduate engineers,
diploma holders (Technicians) and 10+2
Vocational pass outs in about 10,000 in-
dustrial establishments/ organizations.
• Fulfill/match, any gap, in practi-
cal/hands on experience.
• Enhance technical skills for suitability in
job absorption.
• Apprenticeship period 1 year, paid
stipend.
11.8 National Programme for Tech-
nology Enhanced Learning
(NPTEL)
• Promoting distance education and web
based learning.
• Enhance quality engineering education
in the country by developing curriculum
based video courses and web based e-
courses.
• Prepared by 7 old IITs and IISc.
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