HIGHER EDUCATION
Quality
Universities and Colleges: A New and Forward-looking Vision for India’s
1. Higher
Education System
Higher education plays an extremely important role in
promoting human as well as societal well-being and in developing India as
envisioned in its Constitution - a democratic, just, socially conscious,
cultured, and humane nation upholding liberty, equality, fraternity, and
justice for all.
Higher education significantly contributes towards sustainable
livelihoods and economic development of the nation. As India moves towards
becoming a knowledge economy and society, more and more young Indians are
likely to aspire for higher education.
1.1. Given the 21st century requirements, quality higher education
must aim to develop good, thoughtful, well-rounded, and creative individuals.
It must enable an individual to study one or more specialized areas of interest
at a deep level, and also develop character, ethical and constitutional values,
intellectual curiosity, scientific temper, creativity, spirit of service, and
21st century capabilities across a range of disciplines including sciences,
social sciences, arts, humanities, languages, as well as professional,
technical, and vocational subjects. A quality higher education must enable
personal accomplishment and enlightenment, constructive public engagement, and productive
contribution to the society. It must prepare students for more meaningful and
satisfying lives and work roles and enable economic independence.
1.2. For the purpose of developing holistic individuals, it
is essential that an identified set of skills and values will be incorporated
at each stage of learning, from pre-school to higher education.
1.3. At the societal level, higher education must enable the
development of an enlightened, socially conscious, knowledgeable, and skilled
nation that can find and implement robust solutions to its own problems. Higher
education must form the basis for knowledge creation and innovation thereby contributing
to a growing national economy. The purpose of quality higher education is,
therefore, more than the creation of greater opportunities for individual
employment. It represents the key to more vibrant, socially engaged,
cooperative communities and a happier, cohesive, cultured, productive,
innovative, progressive, and prosperous nation.
2.
Some of the major problems currently faced by the higher education system in
India include:
(a) a
severely fragmented higher educational ecosystem;
(b) less
emphasis on the development of cognitive skills and learning outcomes;
(c) a rigid
separation of disciplines, with early specialization and streaming of students
into
narrow areas
of study;
(d) limited
access particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with few HEIs
that
teach in
local languages
(e) limited
teacher and institutional autonomy;
(f)
inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of
faculty and
institutional
leaders;
(g) lesser
emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and lack of competitive
peer reviewed research funding across disciplines;
(h)
suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs;
(i) an
ineffective regulatory system; and
(j) large
affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate education.
For More information regarding latest education policy of India, visit https://www.education.gov.in/
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