57 Chapter 3 INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION: ISSUES Society is to be reformed; education has to reach everyone-high and low, because individuals are the very constituents of society. The sense of dignity rises in man when he becomes conscious of his inner spirit, and that is the very purpose of education. -- Swami Vivekananda Higher education is rooted in the civilization of India. In ancient India education was largely based on religion and social institutions. “Ancient Indian education is to be understood as being ultimately the outcome of the theory of knowledge as part of the corresponding scheme of life and values. The scheme takes full account of the fact that life includes death and the two form the whole truth. This gives a particular angle of vision, a sense of perspective and proportion in which the material and the moral, the physical and spiritual. Education must aid in this self- fulfillment, and not in the acquisition of mere objective knowledge.” 1 Nowadays, higher education is not only confined to the development of the individuals physically, mentally, intellectually and spiritually, but it is also a means to provide them with necessary skills for their well being as well as for the socio- economic development of the society at large. According to oxford dictionary “Education means to give intellectual and moral training; education translates itself into a systematic instruction, development of character or mental power.” India has the third largest system on higher education in the world after the United States and China. 2 In distance mode, India has occupied first place in the world having around 3.5 million 1 www.hinduwisdom.info/Education _in_Ancient_India.htm 2 “India Country Summary of Higher education,” www.ignou .ac.in. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
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57
Chapter 3
INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION: ISSUES
Society is to be reformed; education has to reach everyone-high and low, because
individuals are the very constituents of society. The sense of dignity rises in man when
he becomes conscious of his inner spirit, and that is the very purpose of education.
-- Swami Vivekananda
Higher education is rooted in the civilization of India. In ancient India
education was largely based on religion and social institutions. “Ancient Indian
education is to be understood as being ultimately the outcome of the theory of
knowledge as part of the corresponding scheme of life and values. The scheme takes
full account of the fact that life includes death and the two form the whole truth. This
gives a particular angle of vision, a sense of perspective and proportion in which the
material and the moral, the physical and spiritual. Education must aid in this self-
fulfillment, and not in the acquisition of mere objective knowledge.” 1
Nowadays, higher education is not only confined to the development of the
individuals physically, mentally, intellectually and spiritually, but it is also a means to
provide them with necessary skills for their well being as well as for the socio-
economic development of the society at large. According to oxford dictionary
“Education means to give intellectual and moral training; education translates itself into
a systematic instruction, development of character or mental power.” India has the third
largest system on higher education in the world after the United States and China.2 In
distance mode, India has occupied first place in the world having around 3.5 million
1 www.hinduwisdom.info/Education _in_Ancient_India.htm 2 “India Country Summary of Higher education,” www.ignou .ac.in. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
moizzi was well known all over the North. Delhi had the largest number of
these institutions. Some similar colleges were also located at Jaunpur, Lahore
and Bidar. A madrasa also existed in Gwalior during the reign of Babar. The 18th
century witnessed the rise of more institutions, and a new functional
curriculum known as Dars-e-Nizami was introduced.8
In India, the growth of university education was very slow during the pre-
independence period. After the establishment of the three modern universities in
1857, it took 30 years to set up the fourth university – the University of Allahabad –
and nearly another 30 years for the fifth and the sixth universities (the University of
Mysore and the Banaras Hindu University) to come up. At the time of independence,
there were 20 universities and about 500 colleges, with an enrolment of less than 1.5
lakh. In contrast, the growth of higher education during the post independence period
has been remarkable.
Thereafter, India’s higher education system has become one of the largest in
the world, helping the nation in building the third largest reservoir of scientific and
technological manpower. With rapid growth in numbers, the higher education system
was transformed from an extremely elitist and restricted system, as inherited from the
colonial period, to a highly democratized one. The system can no longer be described
as elitist as nearly 40 per cent of higher education students are women, while another
good proportion belongs to the weaker socio-economic strata of society.
Higher Education: Goals and Objectives
Higher Education plays a significant role in the life of a nation. The character
and quality of the people greatly depend on the education that is imparted to them at
different levels. Knowledge and wisdom have always been regarded as the highest
8 Ibid.,
61
virtues of man. Since the origin of human civilization, the path of enlightenment and
truth have been advocated by saints and seers. It has enjoyed the sanctity of the holy
texts and the sermons of those who have been treated with respect and held in high
esteem by their disciples and followers. Multiple models of education and varied
approaches to education have been emerging since antiquity. Although it is difficult to
think of any consensus on this issue, efforts can be made to understand the various
points of view in order to evolve a strategy in line with the commonly agreed
objective of human welfare and its relevance to the needs of the changing times.9
Consequently, the impact of globalization has wide ranging potential to
influence all sectors of development. Besides its impact on the pace and pattern of
economic development, it also casts its shadow on the system of education. A global
education is one that provides knowledge and understanding of culture, language,
geography and global perspectives to understand the world through the eyes of others
and teaches them how their actions can affect, and be affected by people throughout
the world.
With over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies recruiting from campuses
regularly the government now plans to establish India as a brand in the higher
education sector and grab the attention of global education community under these
circumstances. India offers a friendly environment, cultural diversity and best value
for money option to students from SAARC, Middle East and South East Asia.
According to the data available, while India has the potential to afford about 50,000
Foreign students in next few years, presently only about 10,000 are studying in
India.10
9 Kamalakar G., edited, “Developments in Education in India Pre-Independence to Post-
Independence Period,” Ishika Publishing House, Jaipur, India 2014. 10 http://planningcommission.gov.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/cit/wgrep_dit.pdf
62
In the 21st century, higher education is very important for the development of
social, economical, and technological fields of India. India has to give importance for
the higher education to compete with the other countries. “Higher education has made
a significant contribution to economic development, social progress and political
democracy in independent India. But there is serious cause for concern at this
juncture. The proportion of our population, in the relevant age group, that enters the
world of higher education is about 7 per cent. The opportunities for higher education
in terms of the number of places in universities are simply not adequate in relation to
our needs. Large segments of our population just do not have access to higher
education. What is more, the quality of higher education in most of our universities
leaves much to be desired.”11
Universities are the places for knowledge and creativity to achieve social,
economical and political development. “Universities perform a critical role in an
economy and society. They create knowledge. They impart knowledge. And they
disseminate knowledge. Universities must be flexible, innovative and creative. They
must be able to attract the best talent whether teachers or students. They must have the
ability to compete and motivate to excel. In India we cannot even contemplate a
transformation of our higher education system without reforming our existing
universities.”12
For enhancing the human capacity, there is a need to promote higher education
for better utilization of human resources. Particularly, the central and state
governments have the responsibility encourage of higher education. “As far as the
higher education is concerned, it should be linked with the development of human
11 National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation 2006- 2009, Government of India,
p.62. 12 Ibid., p.67.
63
resources and formation of human capital. In the present situation, it is observed that
alleviation of poverty, giving the right direction to the youth etc. can be ensured
through developing proper manpower planning which will enhance the scope of
employability of our human resources.”13
In this context, one has to recollect what President of India A. P. J. Abdul
Kalam, has said at the convocation address to the Jiwaji University, Gwalior, on 10th
August 2004. He said:
"India has a population of one billion people. Out of this one billion, 540
million people are below the age of 25 years, which is our national strength. We have
natural resources. Also we have a roadmap for transforming India into a developed
nation by the year 2020. Ignited minds of 540 million youth will definitely transform
India into a developed country by the year 2020."
The commission such as The Radhakrishna Commission and Kothari
Commission appointed by GOI were also emphasized on the need for the
development of higher education, and better utilization of human resources. “Higher
Education is a very important sector for the growth and development of human
resources which can take responsibility for social, economic and scientific
development of the country. The University Education Commission (1948-49), under
the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishna, gave the foundations of the future of Indian
Higher Education. The report of the Education Commission (1964-66) under the
Chairmanship of Dr. D.S. Kothari symbolized the symbiotic relationship between
13 Ritimoni Bordoloi, “Accessibility and Equity: A Challenge for Higher Education in India,”
Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, Vol.3, No.4, 2012, p.70.
64
education and national development. A lot of thought has since been generated
towards the emerging concerns of higher education in India.”14
Subsequently, the National Policy on Education-1968 based on these
fundamental ideas was adopted. The National Policy on Education was drafted. After
deliberations by a Task Force, a Programme of Action', forging the nuts and bolts of
the scheme, was also adopted in August 1986. As stated above, the New Policy
covered the entire gamut of education from the pre-primary to the research stage. It
conceived education as a tool of personal development as well as an investment in
corporate, national development. This vast sweep and philosophy is contained in four
short paras of the section entitled 'The Essence and Role of Education'. They are (a) in
our national perception education is essentially for all. This is fundamental to our all-
round development, material and spiritual; (b) Education has an acculturating role. It
refines sensitivities and perceptions that contribute to national cohesion, a scientific
temper and independence of mind and spirit thus, furthering the goals of socialism,
secularism and democracy enshrined in our constitution; (c) Education develops
manpower for different levels of the economy. It is also the substrata on which
research and development flourish, being the ultimate guarantee of national self-
reliance; (d) in sum, education is a unique investment in the present and the future.
This cardinal principle is the key to the National Policy on Education.
After the National Policy on Education, there are several policies that are
recommended by various committees made for implementation in the field of higher
education. The Yashpal Committee and the National knowledge Commission (NKC)
have dealt with various issues affecting the higher education system in the country
and both have suggested definite answers to improve the working of institutional as
14 “Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education,” 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-17,
University of Grants Commission. New Delhi, 2011, p.8.
65
well as policy reforms and the establishment of an overarching regulatory body.
National Commission on Higher Education and Research, which would subsume the
functions of existing regulatory institutions like University Grants’ Commission
(UGC) and All India Council for Technical education. (AICTE).
In addition, other reforms suggested are curbing malpractices to the entry of
foreign education providers. Based on the recommendations and suggestions of the
YCR and NKC the central government has initiated the process (i) for establishment
of educational tribunal (ii) to provide for prohibition of certain unfair practices in
technical and medical educational institutions and universities (iii) to provide for
mandatory accreditation of higher educational institutions and to create a regulatory
authority for the purpose and (iv) to provide for regulation of entry and operation of a
Task Force constituted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. They also
developed a framework for the establishment of National Commission for Higher
Education and Research. This framework is in public domain for wider consultation
and discussion before a final version takes shape.
In recent times, the liberalization policies have been opening the doors for
private partnership in Indian higher education. “Liberalization of higher education
services in India should not be viewed from the point of view of generating revenues
but as a strategy to promote the quality of its own higher education system. Further,
attracting students from outside for postgraduate study and research opportunities in
India will be able to fuel innovation and enterprise in the higher education system.” 15
The higher education and research bill, 2011 is one of the most significant
enactments by the Indian Parliament. To promote knowledge and innovation through
continuous learning and research, new approaches for the betterment of the society
15 Pawan Agarwal, “Higher Education Policy,” Economic and Political Weekly, November
11, 2006, Pp.45-46
66
are encouraged. “To promote autonomy of higher educational institutions and
universities for free pursuit of knowledge and innovation and to provide for
comprehensive and integrated growth of higher education and research keeping in
view the global standards of educational and research practices and for that purpose to
establish the National Commission for Higher Education and Research to facilitate
determination, co-ordination, maintenance and continued enhancement of standards of
higher education and research including university education, vocational, technical,
professional and medical education other than agricultural education and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.”16
However, the 12th year plan has started many plans and activities regarding the
higher education. Quality education and the giving equal access to all the members in
the higher education are the parts of this program. The plan document observed that
“Higher education in India is passing through a phase of unprecedented expansion,
marked by an explosion in the volume of students, a substantial expansion in the
number of institutions and a quantum jump in the level of public funding”.
“The enormity of the challenge of providing equal opportunities for quality
higher education to ever-growing number of students is also a historic opportunity for
correcting sectoral and social imbalances, reinvigorating institutions, crossing
international benchmarks of excellence and extending the frontiers of knowledge. The
12th FYP shall focus on utilizing this historic opportunity of expansion for deepening
excellence and achieving equal access to quality higher education.”17
The Nation Knowledge Commission says that the 12th Five Year Plan aims to
encouraging public and private partnership in Indian higher education. It states that
16 “The Higher Education and Research Bill,” 2011, Bill No. LX of 2011, p.1. 17 “Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education,” 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-17,
University of Grants Commission. New Delhi, 2011, p.1.
67
“In achieving the goals and objectives of the 12th FYP in higher education, there have
been certain constraints and opportunities which need to be identified so that
strategies could be evolved not only for addressing them but also to leverage the
opportunities. Some of the constraints have a bearing on the expectations of the
education sector from other Ministries and the States, including the private sector”. 18
Higher education has give the right direction for the weaker sections and down
trodden people of India.
Governmental and Non-Governmental sectors have also been playing very
significant role to support the Higher Education system in India. 19 The basic idea of
higher education is to promote and support rural and urban students to initiate into
innovative activities related to socio-economic development of the nation. The
partnership between the governmental sectors and private sectors is also more
important in taking the higher education to the door steps of the under-privileged. In
this regard the 12th plan document states:
“The vision of higher education in India is to realize the country's human resource
potential to its fullest with equity and inclusion. This essentially means the need to
provide greater opportunities of access to higher education with equity to all eligible,
and in particular, to the vulnerable sections of the society. Expansion of access by
supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, supporting State
Governments and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) / Civil Society to
supplement public efforts are needed to aim at removing regional and other
imbalances that exists at present. Policies and programmes for strengthening
18 National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation 2006- 2009, Government of India,
p.63. 19 “Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education,” 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012-17,
University of Grants Commission. New Delhi, 2011, p.8.
68
research and innovations have to be initiated and institutions, public or private, will
have to be encouraged, to engage in stretching the frontiers of knowledge.” 20
The higher education will contribute to all dimensions of development to
fulfill the gap between the developed nations and developing nations. The UGC is the
best institute to promote and support the higher education system in India.21 Seven
types of new educational advancement courses have been listed out under the higher
education and research bill, 2011 with the support of the UGC. However, the
inclusion of creative centers, schools in universities, promotion of PG courses, and
extra.22
India has entered in to the twenty-first century with unprecedented demand for
higher education: general as well as professional. Instead of meeting this demand for
higher education and ensuring further growth the Central Government at the Centre
and UGC have resorted to several measures with faster speed of actions under the
dictates of the World Bank and as a part of ongoing negotiations with WTO on trade
in services. Raising of fees, autonomy to institutions with practically no controls but
wide ranging powers to managements, funding linked mandatory assessment and
accreditation, and students’ loan scheme are some of the decisions taken on the eve of
the turn of the century for massive privatization and commercialization of higher
education.23
According to the National Knowledge Commission, knowledge is very
prominent for the educational development and all round societal development. In
20Ibid.,p.63. 21 Jandhyala B G Tilak, “The Kothari Commission and Financing of Education,” Economic
and Political Weekly, March 10, 2007, p.878. 22 Ibid., p.879. 23 Government of India, “Higher Education in India and GATS: An Opportunity,” A
Consultation Paper, Department of Commerce, September. 2006,
69
India, which can be called as young country, knowledge can be treated as human
capital and as the basic pillar for the development of the creative works and
innovative works of the 550 millions of youth. “Knowledge has been recognized as
the key driving force in the 21st century and India's ability to emerge as a globally
competitive player will substantially depend on its knowledge resources.
To foster generational change, a systemic transformation is required that
seeks to address the concerns of the entire knowledge spectrum. This massive
endeavor involves creating a roadmap for reform of the knowledge sector that focuses
on enhancing access to knowledge, fundamentally improving education systems and
their delivery, re-shaping the research, development and innovation structures, and
harnessing knowledge applications for generating better services. Such a knowledge
revolution that seeks to build capacity and generate quality will enable our country to
empower its human capital - including the 550 million below the age of 25. Our
unique demographic dividend offers a tremendous opportunity as well as a daunting
challenge which requires creative strategies for a new knowledge oriented
paradigm.”24
Higher Education- Role of Universities
The higher education system in India has grown in a remarkable way; the
system has many issues of concern at present like marketing, financing and human
resource management including access. Thus, access, equity, accountability and
quality should form the guiding principles. These issues are important for the country,
as it is engaged in the use of higher education as a powerful tool to build an excited
edge-based information society of the 21st Century.
24 National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation 2006- 2009, Government of India,
p.3.
70
India has more than 700 universities; it has to develop an educational system
from the gross roots level. In the process it has to face “The challenges that confront
her. It needs a massive expansion of opportunities for higher education, to 1500
universities nationwide, that would enable India to attain a gross enrolment ratio of at
least 15 per cent by 2015. It is just as important, to raise the average quality of higher
education in every sphere. At the same time, it is essential to create institutions that
are exemplars of excellence at par with the best in the world. In the pursuit of these
objectives, providing people with access to higher education in a socially inclusive
manner is imperative. The realisation of these objectives, combined with access,
would not only develop the skills and capabilities we need for the economy but would
also help transform India into a knowledge economy and society.” 25
A large number of students enrolled in universities and colleges situated in
townships and tehsil are first generation learners. These students could go to
institutions of higher education because of the subsidy given to higher education and
the prevalent fee structure. But this is also a fact that only about 7-8% of the students
in the age group of 17-23 years could afford to go to universities and colleges. They
could not bear even the so-called “paltry fees” which the government wants to
increase several folds. More than 88% of all students are enrolled at undergraduate
level. 26
The total enrolment of over one crore students appears to be large in absolute
numbers, but the enrolment of students in the age group of 17 to 23 years was about 7
percent in 2003-04. This ratio is less than the average of lower middle income
25 “National Knowledge Commission, Report to the Nation 2006- 2009,” Government of
India, p.66. 26AnithaDevi,s. and satyanarayana,G. Eds 2011. “Challenges of higher education in India”
BSP Publications Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad.
71
countries in the world. Various studies have pointed out that no country could become
an economically advanced country, if the enrolment ratio in higher education is less
than 20 percent.
Women students constitute about 40 percent of all students, enrolment of
Scheduled Caste students is only 11.3 percent and that of Scheduled Tribe students is
3.6 percent. These ratios are far less than their corresponding ratios in total
population. The women belonging to Scheduled Castes and Tribes living in rural
areas are the most disadvantaged and on the whole, both in rural and urban areas,
scheduled populations are much behind others. There were 4, 56,742 teachers in
2003-04, which meant the number of students per teacher has risen from 12.6 in 1965-
66 to 21.8 in 2003-04. As a percentage of the GDP, the government expenditure on
higher education was 0.46 in 1990-91 which decreased to 0.37 in 2003-04. It is
shocking to note that expenditure per student has declined from Rs. 7,676 (in 1993-94
prices) in 1990-91 to Rs. 5,522 in 2002-03. This amounted to a decline by about 28
percent in just twelve years.27
By reducing the subsidy and financial support to the institutions of higher
education and with a big rise in annual charges, the students from the lower middle
class, weaker and less privileged classes would be denied access to higher education.
Therefore, a decrease in the enrolment from even such a low figure of 7-8%, which is
less than the average of other developing countries in Asia, to a lower value would be
inevitable. In order to strengthen national intelligence, to increase contacts with the
scientific and intellectual community of the world, and to increase capabilities and
upgrade knowledge for further development, our country has no option but to
27 Harpreet Kaur and R.K.suri, “Reservation in India: Recent Perspectives in Higher
Education” published by Pentagon Press, New Delhi, 2009.
72
strengthen its public higher education system. In any case these key issues cannot be
delegated to private institutions.28
Higher education in India has to meet many challenges in different forms from
time to time. To meet the changing needs of the country, people, industry and to
produce genuine human capital the Indian government has appointed a number of
commissions. They are and their recommendations are as follows.
Education Commissions and Committees in India
Since independence the Government of India has appointed a number of
commissions and committees to examine various aspects of education and suggest
measures to adjust education to the changing needs of the country and to meet the
aspiration of the people. The continuing rise of challenges and opportunities made the
commissions and committees to scrutinize India’s national education system from
time to time.
The most notable commissions are University Education Commission (1948-
49) headed by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan appointed to examine and report on the
Indian University Education and suggest improvements and changes to suit India’s
needs; the Secondary Education Commission (1952) headed by L.S. Mudaliar to
examine the existing secondary education and suggest measures for its reorganization
and improvement; and the Education Commission headed by a well known scientist
Dr. D.S. Kothari.
28 www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/pub/report/12.pdf
73
Radhakrishnan Commission (1948)
The Commission’s main task was to study the then problems existing at the
University level and suggest measures to meet the future requirements of the Indian
University Education. The essential challenge faced by the Commission was to make
a balance in reorienting the educational systems between economic development and
attainment of values to ensure democracy in the country. The Commission in its
report29 recommended that the country’s higher education be built on the foundations
of the Indian history, culture and philosophy and to achieve a right balance between
material and spiritual life. It also emphasized on the need for quality teachers and
new methods of teaching; advocated mother tongue as medium of instruction; and
pleaded for better admission procedures and recruitment of teachers on merit basis30.
Radhakrishnan Commission also recommended various measures on the need
of technicians and skills required for them to operate various industries. To achieve
this, it recommended on the need of setting up of a large number of vocational
institutes, preferably one in each district, giving training in as many occupations as
possible.
L.S. Mudaliar Commission (1952)
The main task of the Commission was to examine the problems of secondary
education in India and suggest measures in improving it. The Commission largely
succeeded in its effort in defining the scope of secondary education and
29 See Subash C. Kashyap, ed., National Policy Studies, New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company Limited., 1990, P. 59 and J.C. Aggarwal, Education Policy in India,
1992: Retrospect and Prospect, New Delhi: Shirpa, 1995, P.3.
Quality deficiency: India has the distinction of having the largest number of
institutions for higher education in the world, but a majority of them are
understaffed and ill-equipped.
1. Faculty shortage- As per the FICCI-E&Y 2014-15 report, 45% of the
positions for professors, 51% positions for readers, and 53% positions for
lecturers were vacant in Indian universities in 2007- 08.According to statistics
from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, the student to teacher ratio
in an average higher education institution is 26:1, compared to the norm of 15:1. It
is also quite adverse in comparison to national and international benchmarks. This
ratio is 11:1 for the Indian Institutes of Management. According to The Princeton
Review, it is 7:1 for Harvard University and 5:1 for Stanford University51.
2. Deficient physical infrastructure-A study of infrastructure quality of
1471 colleges and 111 universities by UGC revealed that 73% of colleges and
68% of universities fall under medium or low quality.52
3. Poor academic standards - The system is plagued with outdated
curricula and ill-equipped libraries. As per the FICCI-E&Y report, the number of
books per student in the library of an average higher education institution in India
is just 9 compared with 53 at IIT Bombay and 810 at Harvard University.53
4. Unaccredited institutions - As of March 2011, only 161 universities
and 4,371 colleges had been accredited by the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC).
51 http://blog.ficci.com/_press_release/higher-education-india/ 52 Binay Kumar Pathak., “Critical Look at the Narayana Murthy Recommendations on Higher
Education,” Economic and Political Weekly, January 18, 2014, Vol. xlix No. 3, p.72 53 http://www.business-standard.com/article/management/employability-of-graduates-big-
concern-says-ficci-ey-report-114111301099_1.html
98
5. Employability - Currently, around 500,000 engineering students graduate
from the Indian engineering colleges. This is estimated to cross one million in
three to four years from now. While the numbers are impressive, the quality of
these graduates is not. According to NASSCOM, only 25% of the pool of
graduates available for IT/ITES industry is readily employable. Similar challenges
are faced across other disciplines and industries, including public institutions.
Quantity mismatch: The need for higher education is ever increasing. Student
enrolment has shown a steady increase from 8.4 million in 2000-01 to 14.6 million as
of 2009-10. With increasing focus on primary and secondary education and a
projected fall in the drop-out rates, the demand for higher education is estimated to
increase at a compounded rate of 11-12% till 2022 and will require an additional
capacity of about 26 million seats over the next decade. This would result in increased
demand for institutions to educate and make employable the vast number of students
who would join the system in the next 15 years. While scaling up to meet increasing
future demand, the Indian institutions of higher education have to be made attractive
for students by bringing them at par with global standards to generate a higher
number of competent and employable graduates.54.
Funding gaps: The government spends 3% of GDP on higher education. This is
only 19% of the total spend on education. The current outlay from the government
will not be sufficient to meet the requirements.55 As pointed out by the National
Knowledge Commission, there is need for greater public investment, diversifying
sources of financing and stimulating private investments as a means of extending
educational opportunities in higher education.
The committee suggested that involvement of corporate sector in field of
higher education is the only way to solve the above stated problem of higher
education. 56
According to the committee globally, the corporate sector has played an
important role in higher education institutions. In India too, the corporate sector can
play a significant role in addressing these issues by bringing in financial resources,
providing research support and collaboration opportunities, helping in faculty
development, supporting students through scholarships and offering opportunities to
complement learning through internships. The engagement models for the corporate
sector can be several – from being a passive provider of capital to the most active in
terms of directly owning and running an institution.
As an end stakeholder, the corporate sector also could play a key role in
activities beyond institutional aspects.57 The committee suggested following ways to
execute the recommendations in order the solve the problems of higher education;-
A. Recommendations towards creating and enabling conditions to make
the higher education system robust and useful to attract investments.
56 Eldho Mathews, Biju A Chittuparamban, Sharvari Joshi, Payal Dey., Engaging the
Corporate Sector Narayana Murthy Committee Recommendations on Higher Education,.
Economic and Political Weekly, July 20, 2013, Vol, xlviii, No. Pp.41. 57 Binay Kumar Pathak, “Critical Look at the Narayana Murthy Recommendations on Higher
Education,” Economic & Political Weekly, January 18, 2014 Vol. xlix 72, No. 3.
100
1. Autonomy – in financial, regulatory, academic and administrative aspects.
2. Resources – ensuring availability of land, infrastructure and connectivity.
3. Fiscal incentives- to encourage investments and attracting funding.
4. Enabling environment- (such as visas) for free movement of faculty and students
to promote collaboration with world-class institutions abroad.
5. Freedom to accredit- with global accreditation agencies to put Indian institutions
on par with the best.
6. Access to funds- through scholarships to enable students to pursue their
chosen fields of study .
B. Recommendations towards corporate participation in improving quality by
enhancing research focus and faculty development.
Enhancing research focus - through dedicated funding for research,
sponsored doctoral programs, and part-time Masters and PhD programs .
Faculty development – by increasing the talent pool of faculty from corporate
world (working and retired), faculty development programs, and sponsorships of
visits by expert faculty.58
C. Specific recommendations towards creation of new infrastructure through
corporate investments in higher education.
1. Setting up of new facilities by the corporate sector in existing universities and
higher education institutions either as Centers of Excellence or in the form of
technology parks.
58 Committee on Corporate Participation in Higher Education Report of Narayana Murthy
Committee Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi 2012, p.3.
101
2. Setting up of new universities and higher education institutions.
3. Developing new knowledge clusters / hubs.
An Evaluation of the Narayan Murthy Recommendation:-
The recommendations directly favors the commercialization or privatization of higher
education system. It also prepares the background for entry of foreign educational
institution. While this committee is concerned about the poor quality of higher
education, its recommendations appear to treat higher educational institutions like
factories. In other words it treats higher education as a commodity and institutions as
profit making industry. It simply supports the Ambani-Birla group recommendation
which first time openly supported the involvement of corporate sectors in higher
education in India. Their impacts on higher education system are following:-
1. Access and Equity: – as we know in India financial constraints is one of the
biggest hurdles in access to higher education in India. The high fees of private
universities may worse the problem of access to higher education. On the other hand,
private providers will not address the social impediments and reservation policies for
the disadvantaged groups, it will work against the objectives of inclusive higher
education. However the committee accepted the provision of scholarships and
educational loans, it can’t address the issue of equity in access to higher education59.
2. Excellence: - the Narayan Murthy Committee (NMC) laments the poor quality of
higher education and prescribes self regulation, choice of agency of accreditation and
autonomy for the new institutions to be world class. If an institution chooses an
accreditation agency, it suggests self interest elements creeping into the process which
59 Committee on Corporate Participation in Higher Education Report of NR Narayana Murthy
Committee Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi, 2012, p.4.
102
can jeopardize the whole purpose. NMC proposes to create a market of higher
education with private universities and PPP universities with almost no regulation and
full autonomy. 60
Such type of higher education system would not be confined to pursuit of excellence
but would work for cost recovery and profiteering for existence in the market.
The Narayana Murthy Committee finally concludes with these words:
“Mobilizing an additional 5,500 faculty members is another significant targeted
outcome. This should be done through a mix of international recruitment (about one-
third of the total), development and improvement in the quality of domestic PhDs, and
involvement of leading practitioners from the Indian industry. The Committee has
also recommended the setting up of ‘The Indian Corporate Higher Education
Scholarship’ and ‘The Indian Corporate R&D Fund”. NMC recommendations might
serve the purpose of achieving expansion in absolute terms but it does not give serious
consideration to the objective of equity. While NMC seems to be dreaming of a utopia
for achieving excellence, its recommendations appear to treat higher educational
institutions like factories.
The above discussion points out that Commissions and Committees have been
appointed from time to time to examine issues that have been arising in higher
education sector and to make recommendations to find solutions to address them. But
the commission’s recommendation remained only on paper and they were never taken
60 Marketisation of higher education seeks to provide producers’ autonomy along with
consumers’ sovereignty. Producers are supposed to have four kinds of freedom or autonomy-
entry, product specification and quality, resource utilization and determination of price
(Jongbloed 2004; Chattopadhyay 2013). These can be traced to the NMC recommendations as
simplification of rules to create new universities (entry), product specification and quality
(autonomy to choose inputs – students and teachers, agency for accreditation and freedom
from regulation), resource utilization (autonomy in alternative uses of land and other
resources) and autonomy to determine fees.
103
seriously. It is argued most of them never became part of policy adapted by
government. This may be due to policy paralysis or whatever reforms introduced from
time to time; they are the result of social, political and economic pressures from
different groups or may be due to political expediency on the part of political class.
And partly it may be due to education being included in the concurrent list. This
resulted in states playing a major role in the field of higher education as most of the
higher learning institutions are under the control and management of states. Thus one
finds a lot of variation in standards. Though regulatory bodies of higher education
exists at the national level, their actions are recommendatory in nature. In addition to
these, in course of time higher education has come to be managed by different types
of institutions as a result of new rules and norms enacted under the impact of
economic reforms in India. The new institutions are functioning and performing their
role in the field of Higher Education along with the institutions there have been on the
field for decades.
Types of universities and other institution of higher learning in India
Types of universities and institutions imparting higher education India are as
follows:
1. Universities under the control of central government (Central University)
2. Universities under the control of State government (State Universities)