Page 71 - EducationWorld September 2020
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HIGHER EDUCATION REGULATORY SYSTEM
             Atul Khosla
                                                                               on paper and commercial in intent,
                                                                               where left pocket-right pocket mon-
                                                                               etary transfers and doubtful transac-
                    n  alum  of  IIT-Kanpur  and                               tions are the norm. So why not make
                    the  Jamnalal  Bajaj  Institute                            for-profit HEIs legal? It would encour-
             Aof        Management   Studies,                                  age private capital to flow in and In-
             Mumbai,  with  work  experience  in                               dian education to blossom.
             high-end consultancy firms including
             McKinsey & Co, New York, Atul Kho-                                What do you see as the major roadblocks
             sla  is  the  founder  pro-vice  chancel-                         in implementing the proposed higher ed
             lor of Shoolini University, Himachal                              regulatory structure?
             Pradesh (estb.2009) ranked #1 in the                              There is always chance of slip between
             state in the EW India Private Univer-                             cup and lip. While NEP 2020 is path-
             sity Rankings 2020-21.                                            breaking, the real challenge will be its
                                                                               implementation in letter and spirit. A
             How satisfied are you with NEP 2020’s                              lot of determination and effort will be
             proposals for higher education?                                   needed to eliminate existing holy cows
             I am excited by several higher educa-                             of higher education and make the sys-
             tion reforms proposed by NEP 2020.                                tem dynamic and relevant. I hope the
             A great university should be on the   2020. This requires massive resource   new ministry of education is not just
             cutting edge of research and innova-  mobilisation  by  government.  How-  a change of name, but will also change
             tion,  flexible  and  agile,  working  for   ever good its intentions are, govern-  its mind-set and operational style.
             the upliftment of the community and   ment will never succeed in raising the   Moreover  the  implementation
             continuously  challenging  the  status   amount of funding required. There-  milestones are too distant. We need
             quo. NEP 2020 endorses these beliefs.  fore, a large proportion of investment   a  detailed  follow-up  plan  involving
                The  most  satisfying  proposals  of   in higher education will have to come   strong partnerships between the Cen-
             NEP 2020 are its intent to integrate   from the private sector.   tre and states to make implementation
             liberal  arts  learning  into  all  study   Of course, it’s undeniable that too   seamless and effective. The spirit and
             programmes in higher education; set   much regulation kills any initiative.   essence of NEP 2020 should not be
             up a unified regulator for higher edu-  When there is ease of doing business,   lost in bureaucracy and details.
             cation;  encourage  establishment  of   private capital flows in, there’s com-
             large globally competitive multi-dis-  petition and product quality improves.   Is there any important area of higher edu-
             ciplinary universities; permit foreign   So what we need in Indian higher ed-  cation reform which NEP 2020 has failed
             universities to establish campuses in   ucation is less rather than additional   to address?
             India; establish a National Research   regulation. While the NEP scores on   NEP 2020 should have paid greater
             Fund  and  Academic  Credits  Bank.   most points, I have reservations about   attention to incremental digital tech-
             This could be the start of a new India   the regulatory framework proposed.  nology usage in higher education and
             — an India respected for its knowledge   Admittedly,  there  is  the  danger   co-opted the country’s most innova-
             economy.                         that too many regulatory bodies will   tive online education providers.
                                              create regulatory complexity. I hope       India has a great opportunity to
             NEP 2020 has proposed the separation   the separation of functions and a new   leverage  the  digital  revolution  to
             of functions of regulation, accreditation,   Higher Education Commission with   improve  productivity  and  national
             funding and academic standard setting   its four proposed verticals does not   wealth. In Industrial Revolution 4.0,
             & establishment of the Higher Education   lead  to  over-bureaucratisation  and   knowledge, research and innovation
             Commission of India which will have four   over-regulation of HEIs.  are crucial for success. Countries with
             verticals — NHERC, NAC, HECI & GEC – to   In  the  final  analysis,  profits  and   strong education systems will be at a
             regulate HEIs (higher education institu-  free pricing are critical for attracting   huge advantage. The US with trillion
             tions). Isn’t this over-bureaucratisation of   large investments into higher educa-  dollar  companies  such  as  Amazon,
             higher education?                tion. The tragedy is that the existing   Google and Apple is winning this race
             According to my calculus, India will   not-for-profit private secondary and   and  China  is  a  close  second.  India
             need to invest US$1 trillion (almost   higher education model is a sham. It’s   needs to revamp its education archi-
             half our GDP in 2019) over the next   common knowledge that the majority   tecture — from K-12 to university — to
             15 years to fulfill the dreams of NEP   of HEI trusts are not-for-profit only   transform into a global superpower.

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