Higher Education in India
(Its Shortcomings & Overhaul Required)
- Martin F.R.
When we hear words such as engineering,medical,law,MBA ,our minds start getting a turnaround about the fuss that has been created around us by the ever demanding materialistic society .Parents across the country wants their kid to be at top of these professions related to fields given above.
But such is the irony of our education system which hopes to achieve a lot without investing on basic structure of this system.The education policy that needs to be diverse and have a multilateral approach is having unilateral approach in resolving the problems that does not match with the ground realities anywhere.Rampant Corruptions in nook and corner & of every institution,Unavailability of Learned and trained teachers,No scheme to regulate the fee structure of private institutions who are increasing the tuition's at their own whim,Reservations for seats especially Mgmt. and NRI quotas being misused and curbing autonomy of premier institution whenever the govt.wants are the impending questions that are plaguing the higher education system at large.
The gap between the corporate demands and the syllabus in most of the college is the something that makes us question the need of the formal education at large.A Unilateral holistic proper structured point based indicators for ranking universities colleges and institutes is also a need of hour that needs an urgent overhaul making universities & colleges to adhere to the system in lines as if GST is for Businesses around the country.Also, the Regulating authorities of these professional & traditional courses needs complete abolishment be it UGC,AICTE,NAAC and several others which have been accused of malpractices in issuing licenses or be it rating the institutions by not fulfilling their fundamental responsibilities & duties at first place itself.
Also, with a deeper perspective we have to look on the other sides of the issue,where we can observe also severe disparity in salary packages offered to faculties across the institutions which don’t follow the basic rules and pay meager amounts to their employees,sometimes when they not able to continue with such practices what they hire willingly under-qualified faculties as they don’t raise their voice against it.Exams like NET,SET which makes teachers eligible to teach in Universities & Colleges seems no basis as it again tests not the capability of teachers but rot memorization power of them.
Due to such chaotic mess that’s been persisting since independence due to massive irregularities across the system ,a parallel totally unregulated education market has established its roots so deeply in the country ,it seems any measure of creating blocks in their mode of business can shake the corridors of power ,as the government across parties fear taking action against them at large scale.
Reforms seems so blunt that they have to bear the brunt of changing governments with different ideologies which completely put blocks over the already ongoing reforms before it starts bearing fruits.So,bringing in reforms is of no use as every new government to gain political mileage always puts its hands on existing ones to defame the earlier governments instead of creating new revolutionary reforms.
Countries with progressive economies as well as vision have always focused on Health-care,Education & Infrastructure as its prime goals of bringing innovation & improvisation.But,when we think of our country it puts our head to shame as the amount of GDP spent on our Higher education budget that is just 0.37 % is much lower than the expenditure done for higher education by public at large.
Also,Space for developing entrepreneurial atmosphere within educational system like curriculum and encouraging students to think out of the box needs boost at greater level.Promoting Humanities Arts and allocating funds for research in these fields is also at most necessary.Bringing in credit based degree or diplomas to be awarded at all stage where a certification is granted every 6 months or year wise shall be quite helpful.Giving Ease to students to create their own course modules where structured general system is of no value anywhere in the reporting world.Like Uniform Civil Code,their is need for contemplating Uniform Education Laws where abolishment of casteist or religion based appeasement at every stage need to be struck down.
Bringing in Technologies is an outdated solution nowadays,whats needed is its mandatory implementation at all levels and also setting up a regulating authority for developing technologies and promoting instructional designs,a field which has been neglected a lot till now in India. Putting an onus on establishing universities should be put on hold which is nothing less than degree milking factories,instead the focus should be on creating and promoting exclusively specialized institutions so the quality of educational deliverance can be improved.
The fact that we need FDI to be introduced to bring new lease of life to education system to bring new light to bring trans-formative radical changes in limited years is needed at most.But their is a fear that cost of higher education may rise,for which government regulation can be a precautionary measure.
Promotion of MOOCs for uplifting the level of education and bringing in awareness by updating one with latest inventions and innovations is necessary.Promoting the Skill Based Programs of Government with real outcomes especially in the rural areas who are completely off the cuff of the even regulated reforms is necessary.
Also, the placements in colleges have ruined the system altogether which has put so much pressure on the student community,which needs an overhaul,where the public relations dept. Of every college should be either made mandatory to provide details of its industry engagement according to which the seats for courses should be modulated or completely abolish the system and facilitate an structured atmosphere where the student is given all freedom and support to directly engage with the industry extensively and made aware of the very essence of outside world before they are made to go through years of hard-work.
Instead of insulting intellectuals who give suggestions in hope of transforming the education system,the fact of the matter that's needed is the will power & prioritizing on the part of capable authorities be it the central or state governments and other organizations who hold the power to bring a deep,on ground change that will transform the face of the nation in few years.
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