Page 104 - EW June 2021 Low Res

Teacher-2-Teacher

Reviving India’s laggard

universities

AMARENDRA SAHOO

HE LONDON-BASED QUACQUARELLI Symonds Political will is required to grasp several
(QS) which publishes its World University Rank-
ings rating the world’s Top 1,000 universities, thorny nettles and radically restructure
Trecently released its 2021 list. Only 21 Indian in- India’s isolationist higher education
stitutions are included in this authoritative, diligently com-
piled and globally respected league table of the world’s most system to improve the ranking of our
respected higher education institutions (HEIs), against 24 universities in global league tables
last year. Of them only three feature among the global Top
200 — Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay ranked #172
followed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore quality education dispensed by foreign universities is in-
(185) and IIT-Delhi (193). However, all three have lost rank controvertible. Every year, an estimated 600,000 school
compared to last year. The next respectably ranked Indian and college leavers from India travel abroad to study in top-
HEI is IIT-Madras at #275. ranked universities in the US, UK, Singapore and Australia
Neighbouring China on the other hand has 84 univer- despite their levying higher tuition fees — astronomical by
sities featured in the 2021 QS Top 1000 league table with Indian standards.
four ranked in the Top 50. This despite India hosting four Fortunately, even if belatedly, the National Education
of the oldest modern era universities — Indian Institute Policy (NEP) 2020 released on July 29 last year, takes an
of Technology, Roorkee (estb. 1847), University of Mum- unambiguous stand on connecting India’s isolationist HEIs
bai (1857), University of Calcutta (1857) and University of with global academia. It states that the world’s Top 100 uni-
Madras (1857). It’s somewhat chastening to learn that the versities will be “facilitated” to operate in the country un-
globally top-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology der a new law to be enacted by Parliament. This statement
(MIT), USA was established in 1861. of intent entirely reverses the BJP’s earlier stand on The
The reasons behind the poor academic standing of In- Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and
dia’s HEIs and universities in particular are numerous Operations) Bill, 2010, tabled in Parliament by the UPA-II
ranging from chronic under-funding, excessive government government which lapsed because of fierce opposition from
control and lack of autonomy, over-subsidisation of tuition the BJP and RSS, its ideological mentor organisation.
fees, to poor academy-industry interface and a conspicuous owever while it is easy to issue a statement of intent to
deficit of research culture. Hreconnect India’s HEIs with the world beyond national
However, one of the major causes of the poor ranking of borders, implementing this resolution of NEP 2020 will re-
Indian higher education institutions in the QS (and Times quire political will to grasp several thorny nettles, and radi-
Higher Education) annual league tables is that they have cal restructuring of the higher education system. For one,
remained closed, insular organisations shut off from the following disruption of higher education worldwide and
global academic community. They have made little effort to massive switch to online learning because of the Covid-19
collaborate and interface with academics and universities pandemic, the desire of top-ranked foreign universities to
in other countries. In the QS 2021 rankings even India’s establish bricks-n-mortar campuses abroad — especially
top-ranked HEIs are awarded rock-bottom scores under the in third world countries — has gone out of fashion. At best
parameter of internationalisation, i.e, ratio of international foreign varsities will be interested in offering blended learn-
faculty and students. ing programmes within Indian HEIs.
Unlike China which has invited acclaimed American Secondly, they are unlikely to offer their intellectual
universities including Yale, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, property at the rock-bottom pricing of government univer-
Duke and New York universities and Nottingham Univer- sities. This will necessitate ending the current over-subsi-
sity, UK, to establish full-fledged bricks-n-mortar campus- disation of higher education and raising tuition fees, a hot
es in that country, neither the Congress-led UPA-I and II potato issue for India’s subsidies-addicted middle class,
governments (2004-2014) nor the incumbent BJP-led NDA and introducing a massive student loans programme. Then
government has yet permitted foreign universities to plant there is the issue of raising remuneration to attract foreign
their flags on Indian soil. Nor has it allowed any meaning- and diaspora faculty who are unlikely to be enthused by the
ful collaboration between Indian and foreign universities. low pay scales of government universities.
Although several private universities have signed academic In sum, although internationalisation of India’s lan-
exchanges and dual-degree programmes with second rung guishing HEIs has been accepted in principle by NEP 2020,
universities abroad, none of the Central and state govern- the road ahead is steep and arduous.
ment run universities have been permitted to sign full-
fledged collaboration agreements. (An alumnus of JNU, IIT-Bombay & Duke University, Dr. Amarendra
That there is strong public demand for superior, high- Sahoo is chairman of the Grameen Pragati Foundation, Mumbai)

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