Page 48 - EducationWorld January 2023

Cover Story

universities by the authoritative QS tions is much too few. India has a
and THE (as also the well-respected GER (gross enrolment ratio) of only
Shanghai Jiao Tong) league tables 26 percent in higher education against
rating and ranking the world’s best 60 percent in the US and European
1,500-plus universities, is Indian ex- countries, and 85 percent in South
ceptionalism. Korea. This means that only one of
The QS and THE evaluation pa- four youth in the 18-24 age group
rameters don’t accord any weightage is in higher education. Against this
to access and inclusion which is a pri- backdrop, it’s a very positive develop-
ority of Indian universities. Moreover ment that large numbers of private
they give too much weightage to re- universities are mushrooming across
search, whereas Indian universities the country. However most of them
primarily tend to be teaching institu- are in the liberal arts and humanities
tions because under the indigenous space whereas the pressing demand
higher education system, high re- is for science, technology and medi-
search falls within the purview of the cal education. Against the 1.5 million
Central government-funded Council school-leavers who write the IIT-JEE
of Scientific and Industrial Research Thakkar: positive development exam, a mere 30,000 toppers are ad-
(CSIR, estb.1942). Unfortunately the mitted by the country’s 23 IITs, and
breakthrough research record of the derless by multiplicity of objectives. NITs. Therefore tens of thousands of
politics infested Soviet-inspired CSIR The prime objective of the university aspirational school-leavers with good
which has established 37 labs across — to pursue academic excellence and board exam results are forced to ap-
the country, is even worse than of In- generate new knowledge through seri- ply to foreign universities. Moreover,
dia’s globally low-ranked universities. ous research — has become obscured. most foreign universities offer the ad-
D ISMAL QUALITY HIGHER provider of well-remunerated sine- work in their host countries for a few
Instead, the academy has become a
vantage of graduates being allowed to
years. This enables students to pay
Education dispensed by
cures for left and left-liberal ideo-
the overwhelming major-
ity of India’s universities logues who have given ‘inclusion’ and off a substantial part of their loans
‘equity’, rather than academic excel-
or accumulate savings. That’s why
— only 10 percent of the country’s lence, highest priority. the accelerating outflow of students
1,072 universities ranked in the annu- Thus over the years, reservation of from India,” says Atul Thakkar,
al EW India Higher Education Rank- 15 percent and 7.5 percent admission the Mumbai-based vice president of
ings provide globally benchmarked quotas for students (and often faculty) Anand Rathi Ltd and head of the com-
study programmes — explains why from historically deprived scheduled pany’s substantial education advisory
the number of Indian students enroll- castes and tribes, have been gradually practice.
ing not only with American, British, increased by reserving 27 percent for Decades of under-investment in
Australian, Canadian, but also with OBCs (other backward castes/classes) education — despite the high-powered
higher ed institutions in non-English and latterly another 10 percent for Kothari Commission recommend-
speaking countries, has risen to record EWS (economically weaker sections) ing a minimum of 6 percent of GDP
numbers, despite foreign universities in the general category. in 1967, the annual outlay for public
continuously raising tuition, residen- Therefore with almost 60 percent education (Centre plus states) has
tial and other fees. In November, the of students admitted under criteria averaged 3.5 percent — and packing
number of Indian students admitted other than merit, the prime purpose higher education institutions (HEIs)
into British universities at 127,731 was of universities — pursuit of higher with non-merit students and faculty
the largest foreign cohort, surpassing education excellence — has been lost. to attain social justice objectives, has
the number from China for the first Hence the continuous — and acceler- diluted the quality of education in the
time. Likewise over 199,462 Indian ating — exodus of students to institu- country’s once hallowed universities.
students were admitted in US univer- tions of education abroad. This sin has been compounded by
sities, with the unnerving prospect of “The major infirmity of higher edu- universal over-subsidisation of higher
the majority never returning. cation in India is continuous under- education. Tuition fees in the country’s
With addle-headed leftists hav- investment in public education and public HEIs have remained frozen for
ing dominated — and continuing to discouragement of private invest- decades and contribute 5-6 percent
dominate — the academy and higher ment in higher education. Relative to of institutional revenue against the
education since independence, India’s our 1.4 billion population, the number global average of 20 percent. More-
universities have been rendered rud- of higher ed and professional institu- over, fee subsidies in public HEIs are

48 EDUCATIONWORLD JANUARY 2023