Page 603 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

Political interference: Most of the colleges in the public sector are owned by
politicians and they run them according to their interests and benefits. Even
in some of the government institutions, politicians use their power to interfere
in the administrative processes. They divert students’ attention to politics and

social campaigns that make them neglect their education. Only one in a
thousand gets benefited from these activities and the rest just waste their

time.

Faculty: There is a great shortage of well-qualified teachers in the higher
education system. The reservation system does not allow permanent

employment of candidates other than those in that particular reservation
category. Many of the positions remain empty or are filled temporarily by
less qualified candidates. Hence, our system fails to retain qualified faculty
members.

Accreditation: According to the recent data published by the NAAC
committee, very few educational institutions are accredited. Only 25% of
institutions fulfil criteria set by the NAAC committee and out of those

accredited institutions, only 45% colleges and 30% universities fall in the ‘A’
category.

Research and innovation: Not many research papers are published in the

reputed or internationally recognised journals and researchers are satisfied
with accreditation at the national level only. Research scholars in the central

institutions like IIT, IISC, IISER, etc. are provided with a good amount of
grant and other facilities, which should motivate them to work better and help
to get international recognition, but they are failing to do so. A student from
universities and state institutions does not get that much funding. Hence,

there is very little we can expect from them.

Structure of higher education: Administration and overall higher education
system have to face hurdles like central vs. state clashes, bureaucratic

problems, lack of transparency or professionalism and no accountability. The
institutions are so engrossed in solving these administrative problems that

their focus on research and academics is diluted.

Few career opportunities: Reservation system, lack of transparency and