Higher Education

Amit Kumar Anandwww.amitkanand.com

September 26, 2016

1 Overview

• Education is one of the critical elementsof 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 qualityare major concerns of the higher educa-tion sector.

• Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in HigherEducation (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 existinginstitutions to change their modes of op-eration. e.g. MOOCs

• Danger of growing digital divide betweenand within nations.

• Quality assurance.

• Public funding unable to keep pace withrising costs of higher education.

• Traditionally, education has been seenas 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 asprivate good, largely benefiting individu-als, with the implication that academicinstitutions, and their students, shouldpay a significant part of the cost of highereducation.

3 Need for continued supportto higher education by gov-ernment

• Existence of externalities from ter-tiary education: higher productivity,progress in the agriculture, health andenvironment sectors, higher skill levels inthe labor force are mainly due to innova-tions resultant from research in universi-ties.

• Equity issues: Providing access to mer-itorious but economically disadvantagedgroups.

• Supportive role of tertiary educa-tion in the education system as awhole: Qualified teachers and schoolleaders, curriculum design, research onteaching and learning.

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4 Strengths of Indian HigherEducation

• Well established educational institutions:IISc, IITs and IIMs reputed all over theworld.

• Young population: over 670 million inage 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 HigherEducation

• Shortage of faculty.

• Existence of large number of regulatorsand 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 disconnectbetween Universities and Research labo-ratories.

• Inadequate response to PPP.

6 Opportunities in IndianHigher 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 moneyfor 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 educationsector.

• Capitation fees and misleading advertise-ments to be punished.

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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 jointinitiative to address major engineeringchallenges that the country must addressand champion to enable, empower andembolden the nation for inclusive growthand self-reliance.

• Ten technology domains as grand en-gineering challenges have been thoughtof. The ten domains that represent themost important areas for the countryalong with their coordinating institutesare 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 RankingFramework (NIRF)

• Methodology to rank institutions acrossthe country.

• The parameters broadly cover “Teach-ing, Learning and Resources,” “Researchand Professional Practices,” “GraduationOutcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,”and “Perception”.

11.3 Global Initiative of AcademicNetwork (GIAN)

• Bring reputed international faculty in theIndian academic institutes.

• Provide opportunity to our faculty tolearn and share knowledge and teachingskills in cutting edge areas.

• Provide opportunity to our students toseek knowledge and experience from re-puted International faculty.

• Create avenue for possible collaborativeresearch with the international faculty

• Increase international students in theacademic Institutes.

• Opportunity for the students of differentInstitutes/Universities to interact andlearn subjects in niche areas through col-laborative learning process.

• Provide opportunity for the technicalpersons from Indian Industry to improveunderstandings and update their knowl-edge in relevant areas.

• Motivate the best international expertsin the world to work on problems relatedto India.

• Develop high quality course material inniche areas, both through video and printthat can be used by a larger body of stu-dents and teachers.

• To document and develop new pedagogicmethods in emerging topics of nationaland international interest.

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11.4 Rashtriya Ucchatar ShikshaAbhiyan (RUSA)

• CSS providing strategic funding to eligi-ble state higher educational institutions.

• Funding to states would be made on thebasis of critical appraisal of State HigherEducation Plans.

• Promoting autonomy in State Universi-ties and improving governance in institu-tions.

• Institutional restructuring & reforms.

• Ensure adequate availability of qualityfaculty,capacity building at all levels ofemployment.

• 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 educationby providing adequate opportunities ofhigher education to SC/STs and sociallyand educationally backward classes; pro-mote inclusion of women, minorities, anddifferently abled persons.

• Vocationalisation of Higher Education.

11.5 National Research Professor-ship

• Honour distinguished academics andscholars in recognition of their contribu-tion to knowledge.

• Attained the age of 65 years and havemade outstanding contributions in theirrespective fields and are still capable ofproductive research.

11.6 Pt. Madan Mohan MalaviyaNational Mission on Teachersand Teaching (PMMNMTT)

• Address comprehensively all issues re-lated to teachers, teaching, teacherpreparation and professional develop-ment.

• Ensure supply of qualified teachers, at-tracting talent into teaching professionand raising the quality of teaching inschools and colleges.

• Building a strong professional cadre ofteachers by setting performance stan-dards and creating top class institutionalfacilities 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+2Vocational 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 injob absorption.

• Apprenticeship period 1 year, paidstipend.

11.8 National Programme for Tech-nology Enhanced Learning(NPTEL)

• Promoting distance education and webbased learning.

• Enhance quality engineering educationin the country by developing curriculumbased video courses and web based e-courses.

• Prepared by 7 old IITs and IISc.

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