At the outset of rumors that our HRD ministry would give the Foreign Universities Bill a push, I personally feel the need of the hour is overhauling of our Institutions. I am not against Foreign universities setting up their campuses on our shores but before we welcome them, we need to take a stock of the current situation in our own institutes. If we can do well in foreign universities, why not in our own? By having foreign universities in our land, it should not be a case of deplorable Indian institutes Vs trendy foreign universities. Our institutes should be comparable and compete with theirs to provide a healthy choice for our students. Otherwise, students will again have to fight for admissions and spend more money for quality education.
The need of the hour is a revamp of our archaic regulations. Reservations has done more harm than good to our Nation. We have been able to achieve quantity while quality has taken a beating through our reservation system. Yes, India is a land of diversified demographics and there is a huge Urban-Rural, Rich-Poor divide. Our reservation system helps us bridge this divide. But, that is just one side of the story. On the other hand, we have been promoting mediocrity and discouraging the meritorious. Mediocrity kills innovation! My argument is we need reservation but not in its present form. From school to college, we need a reservation system based on economic background that will make higher education accessible to all bridging the urban-rural divide. After one's under-graduation, there is should be no reservation system. The under-graduation course has to bring students from villages/poor background and cities/rich background on the same plane. The course should be structured in a way that bridges the gap at this level. On graduation day, the skills of a rural candidate should match the skills of the urban candidate. Post-graduation and Employment opportunities should be based on merit. At the post-graduate and research-level, economically backward students can be supported through endowments and scholarships. Similarly, fellowships should be available for meritorious irrespective of their economical background. This change will bring produce competitive, highly-skilled candidates in the society.
Today, candidates who join universities on quota have no inclination to upgrade their skills, baring a few. Most of them believe the reservation system will help them all their life which, is terrible. To bring about this change, our curriculum should be revamped too. The first year of college should focus on social skills and communication skills apart from academics which enable these students to come to par with others. The curriculum has to focus on:
The need of the hour is a revamp of our archaic regulations. Reservations has done more harm than good to our Nation. We have been able to achieve quantity while quality has taken a beating through our reservation system. Yes, India is a land of diversified demographics and there is a huge Urban-Rural, Rich-Poor divide. Our reservation system helps us bridge this divide. But, that is just one side of the story. On the other hand, we have been promoting mediocrity and discouraging the meritorious. Mediocrity kills innovation! My argument is we need reservation but not in its present form. From school to college, we need a reservation system based on economic background that will make higher education accessible to all bridging the urban-rural divide. After one's under-graduation, there is should be no reservation system. The under-graduation course has to bring students from villages/poor background and cities/rich background on the same plane. The course should be structured in a way that bridges the gap at this level. On graduation day, the skills of a rural candidate should match the skills of the urban candidate. Post-graduation and Employment opportunities should be based on merit. At the post-graduate and research-level, economically backward students can be supported through endowments and scholarships. Similarly, fellowships should be available for meritorious irrespective of their economical background. This change will bring produce competitive, highly-skilled candidates in the society.
Today, candidates who join universities on quota have no inclination to upgrade their skills, baring a few. Most of them believe the reservation system will help them all their life which, is terrible. To bring about this change, our curriculum should be revamped too. The first year of college should focus on social skills and communication skills apart from academics which enable these students to come to par with others. The curriculum has to focus on:
- Learning through experiments
- More industrial visits
- Research-oriented
- Exchange programs with foreign universities
- Visiting profs from reputed global institutes
Credits should be based on not only marks obtained in examination but also
- Individual research ideas
- White papers presented/published
- Innovations (patented ideas/creations)
These need not be compulsory but students who put in extra efforts and achieve these milestones should be differentiated by awarding credits.
Government should have a panel which monitors the research ideas of all institutions in the country and fund certain projects. A annual conference organized by the Govt where worthy ideas are recognized and funded would motivate both the institution and the students. Institutions will spend more on research when such initiatives are taken.
In order to come up with research ideas, students should be motivated and have strong guidance. There is a dearth of quality academicians in the country. And only in our country, academicians don't research or rather engage in minimal research. Forget quality academicians at University level, the standard of our teachers in school has become pathetic. Children in Govt schools are not able to do the basics arithmetic correctly. School education reforms is another topic. Now to this, the government/institutes must lay down policies that ensure professors continue research even after they obtain their doctoral degrees. The induction of lectures/professors also needs a overhauling. Reservations in the academic openings must be abolished. Recruiting based on entrance exams alone is not enough, the candidates for lectureship should be evaluated based on his skills to impart knowledge and conduct research. The lecturers should double up as a Research Fellow at the department during initial phase of employment. Some of the checkpoints for professors should be
- No of individual research papers/year
- No of research ideas/year
- No of ongoing research projects (Implementation of ideas in Univ Labs)
- No of research fellows tutored
- Teaching methodology (Does the prof go beyond the textbooks? Does he/she use e-resources etc)
- Feedback from students
- No of training sessions/other skill up-gradation
Some/most of these criteria are in place even today but the review and follow-through is unsatisfactory. The professors have to be pulled up for not meeting these standards. The institutes should also facilitate professors to engage with their respective industries on field. Professors must be encouraged to provide consultation services to industries. It should be a part of their academic profile.
Professors who are currently employed should go through skill up-gradation. In the age of e-learning, many profs still do not know to use the Internet. E-journals, and other e-resources should be used for carrying out research instead of age old mechanisms. The mindset of profs also requires a change. Still, the relationship between a prof and a student is that of oneupmanship. There is no conducive environment for collaborative research among students and professors.
Laboratories in universities need a face-lift. For professors/students to conduct research, they should be provided with good infrastructure. Funding our universities is an essential step. We cannot improve the quality of education imparted with the current infrastructure. We should explore corporate/sponsored funding in upgrading research labs and research projects.
If all the money that is spent in foreign university bill can be diverted towards:
1) Improving lab infrastructure and e-resources
2) Overhauling professor recruitment and student admission process
3) Restructuring curriculum to be research oriented
4) Enhancing the skill-level of existing academicians
We will have world-class research done in our own soil by our own people!
I totally agree with your points. I think the good universities should be asked to adopt other universities in need of push and reform. The overall mechanism in education should be merit based and minimum reservation on any other criteria. Ideally no reservations but that is not practical in India.
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