Aiming for new-look varsities

Updated on: Monday, June 22, 2009

If accepted in letter and spirit, the latest report on higher education, commissioned by the Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development in 2008, promises to change the face of this all-important sector. Besides recommending the creation of an all-encompassing Commission for Higher Education and Research — with State Higher Education Councils forming the second tier of the regulatory system — it takes stern positions on controversial yet much-debated issue s such as profiteering by private players, political interference in higher education and the “indiscriminate” according of deemed university status.

The most important addition to the final report submitted by the “Committee to advice on renovation and rejuvenation of higher education in India” is the expansion of its scope to integrate research, institutions and research laboratories with higher education. Hence the idea of a Higher Education Council, as proposed in its interim report released in March 2009, evolved into a larger statutory body titled the National Commission for Higher Education and Research. The 43-page report also includes a detailed draft for according constitutional status to this proposed body.

Observing that the sector hasn’t seen any major reform in the last 40 years, the committee recommends a complete rebuilding of the existing system — with this National Commission as a key to this reform. While academics have largely welcomed this proposed body, which will divest all professional and regulatory bodies such as MCI, UGC and AICTE of their academic functions, they are concerned that an under-regulated system may run into trouble. “While a centralised body is important, regulatory bodies and professional councils play an important role in maintaining existing standards and establishing new ones,” said a UGC official.

Five divisions

Assuring perfect coordination between regulatory agencies will be no mean task. In this key recommendation, very similar to the National Knowledge Commission’s proposal to set up an independent regulatory authority for higher education (IRAHE), the report proposes five divisions to take care of: future directions, accreditation management, funding and development, new institutions, and governance. It dismisses the inspection-based approval method in favour of a “verification and authentication system.”

Apart from being the premier advisory body to the government on policy issues (with six members and a chairperson appointed by the President) and presenting an annual report to Parliament, the commission will “evolve new norms for accrediting universities and thus make it easier for good and serious proposals to enter.” It will work towards “lightening the load of universities” and calls for enhanced funding and attention to State universities.

The committee is extremely critical of the proliferation of deemed universities in the past decade. “In view of the considerable misuse of the provision for deemed university status, the granting of such status should be put on hold till unambiguous and rational guidelines are evolved. Further, existing ones will be given a period of three years to develop as universities and fulfil the prescribed accreditation norms, failing which the status given to them would be withdrawn.”

Notably, it has recommended that no uni-disciplinary university be allowed, and waxes eloquent about the concept of a multi-disciplinary university with undergraduate and postgraduate disciplines, linked to research institutes. A cluster system, where leading research bodies and institutes form clusters with colleges and State universities in their vicinity, has also been favoured.

It observes that between 2000 and 2005, 26 private-sponsored institutions got the deemed university status. Since 2005, the number of private deemed universities has increased to 108. “By a notification of the UGC, it is no longer necessary for them to use the adjective “deemed” and they all call themselves simply universities. In Tamil Nadu alone, the number of private deemed universities has increased from 18 in 2007 to 35 in 2008 and many are in the queue. Though the deemed universities do not have affiliating powers, many of them have a number of campuses spread throughout the country. Recently, the UGC issued a notice, warning students about private universities which run long distance courses.

“Even bodies like the UGC, apart from conferring tags, have not been able to control the rampant profiteering that exists in the private sector. Scores of students are affected by these universities that have mis-used the deemed tag to make money and dupe students,” a committee member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, observes.

Fragmentation

The report identifies loopholes in the higher education scene, and identifies the “fragmentation of knowledge” as the most significant one.

Stressing the need for re-locating professional education in the university, the committee observes that allowing courses in colleges or institutes to “exist like islands has come at an incalculable social and cultural cost.”

The report proposes that top-notch institutes such as the IITs or IIMs pave the way for this change by moving towards a multi-disciplinary approach to learning, and function as full-fledged universities. “This realisation is reflected in the initiatives of some of the IITs that aim to introduce humanities and other disciplines and expand their scope. We can then look forward to the day when IITs and IIMs would be producing scholars in literature, linguistics and politics along with engineering and management wizards who would have substantial motivation for engagement with the local community, and the opportunity to use and enhance learning by solving real-life problems in their immediate environment.”

Another significant issue it throws up is the poor attention given to State universities, and calls for more funds for them. These universities must be treated on a par with their central counterparts. It also refers to the poor attention given to undergraduate courses. It points out that much of our education is uni-disciplinary or narrow-based in approach. “There is a need to expose students, especially at the undergraduate level, to disciplines such as humanities, social sciences, aesthetics etc., in an integrated manner. This should be irrespective of the discipline they would like to specialise in subsequently.”

The hindu

Aiming for new-look varsities

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