HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA HAS VARIOUS GAPS By Vaishali Maratha Sophia sr. sec. school bhilwara 1 Table : Number of Institutions C: Higher Education Institutions Type of InstitutionsNumbers I. Universities 1. Central Universities18 2. State Universities Institutions established under States Legislature Act 5 4. Institution deemed to be University96 5. Institutions of National Importance13 6. Research Institutes136 Total543 2 Typology of Higher Education Institutions ( ) TypeOwnershipFinancingNo. of Institutions No. of students Univ. under the Govt.Public 2391,00,000 Private UniversitiesPrivate 1110,000 Deemed Universities (aided) Private or Public Public3840,000 Deemed Universities (unaided) Private 7260,000 Colleges under the Government Public 42252,750,000 Private Colleges (aided)PrivatePublic57503,450, Private Colleges (unaided) Private 76503,150,000 Foreign InstitutionsPrivate 1508,000 Total ,468,000 3 Students Enrolment by Academic Discipline ( ) S. No. FacultyEnrolment%age of Total 1.Arts41,58, Science18,34, Commerce/Management16,60, Education1,32, Engineering/Technology6,92, Medicine3,00, Agriculture55, Veterinary Science14, Law2,98, Others80, Total92,27, Enrolment Rate Male, Female Male12.42 Female9.11 5 ER for SOCIAL GROUPS ER For GRADUATE in RURAL & URBAN 6 In order to evaluate performance of an institution and bring about a measure of accountability a mechanism of accreditation has been developed by UGC. This is an autonomous council under UGC called National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) with a purpose to carry out periodic assessment of universities and colleges. NAAC has evolved a methodology of assessment which involves self-appraisal by each university/college and an assessment of the performance by an expert committee. 7 Quality and Quality Assessment Similarly, for technical education, AICTE has established its own accreditation mechanism for its institutions through the National Board of Accreditation (NBA). 8 Contd. NAAC has identified the following seven criteria to serve as the basis of assessment procedures: Curricular Aspects Teaching-learning and Evaluation Research, Consultancy and Extension Infrastructure and Learning Resources Student Support and Progression Governance and Leadership Innovative practice 9 NAAC India has significant advantages in the 21st century knowledge race: It has a large higher education sector the third largest in the world in student numbers, after China and the United States. It uses English as a primary language of higher education and research. It has a long academic tradition. Academic freedom is respected. 10 Higher Education : Some Concerns There are a small number of high quality institutions, departments, and centres that can form the basis of quality sector in higher education. The fact that the States, rather than the Central Government, exercise major responsibility for higher education creates a rather cumbersome structure, but the system allows for a variety of policies and approaches. 11 Contd. Large, under-funded, ungovernable institutions Politics has intruded into campus life, influencing academic appointments and decisions across levels. Under-investment in libraries, information technology, laboratories, and classrooms difficult to provide top-quality instruction or engage in cutting- edge research. 12 Large under-funded Institutions Freeze on new appointments Affects morale in the academic profession. Lack of accountability means that teaching and research performance is seldom measured. Few incentives to perform. Bureaucratic inertia hampers change. 13 Faculty Concerns For an elite section, a stream of English medium schools are run followed by an elite set of colleges. Indian languages to be used as medium of instructions have failed to undertake translations on a large scale. Sciences, Technology and selective institutions remain firmly anchored to English. Society remains divided between the upper classes with takes advantage of English and the lower classes or rural people who have to do with regional language. 14 Influence of English Weak research base A chain of laboratories outside the university system has developed causing a diversion of human and material resources to the system of laboratories and institutes. 15 Research and Creativity Institutions like IITs are criticized because : Industry has not tended to profit from the technological institutions; Their graduates often prefer foreign employment since the developed countries have a demand for their services and Indian industry has not picked up high technology areas of operation; The industry itself has relied much more on foreign and imported technology than indigenous efforts to correct its weaknesses. 16 Science and Technology Two themes are important : Indigenousness and Relevance. The tradition of subservience and inactivity in the methods in institutional discipline as well as in the learning processes are criticized. 17 Content of education Large sized classes resulting from expansion, inadequately backed by resources and an external examination system which is easy to negotiate with small amounts of unimaginative work perpetuate in teaching and learning. 18 Methods of Teaching The most recent initiative for making Higher Education more inclusive: An Act of Parliament which came into force in early January Reserves an additional quota of 27% of intake in institutions of higher education maintained by the federal government to marginalized social groups listed in the Constitution as Backward Castes. 19 Public Policies and Practices An Act of Parliament which came into force in early January Decline in Public Budgets Non-recruitment of Teachers Cost Recovery Fees Loans Privatisation 20 Public Policies and Practices