[Assam] From Outlook India: An Indictment of In dian Higher Education
( Highlighting mine: cm) We Do Need That Education... China is re-orienting and investing in its higher education sector to meet the challenges of the future, but India continues to ignore the systemic collapse that is crying out for an urgent and drastic overhaul. HARSH V. PANT A few days back, two news stories appeared in the Indian media. One was the absence of Indian universities from a list of top 200 (not 100!) higher educational institutions in the world while as many as 10 Chinese universities made it to the list. The other was about the letter that the Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor has been forced to write to the parents of his students threatening to convert the academic session into a Zero Year in case of a repeat of campus violence -- in mid-September, earlier in the year, the university had been forced to close down after violence and arson on the campus in protest against the murder of a student. These news items are symptomatic of the rot that has set in the Indian higher education system, which seems to be in the news only for wrong reasons. Amid all the claims about the rise of India as a major player in the international system, it is often ignored that India continues to face some fundamental obstacles in its drive to achieve its full potential. One of the most significant of which is the crisis in India's higher education system, something that gets drowned in the din of those feel-good stories about the engineers and managers emerging from India's premier professional institutions such as the IITs and the IIMs. Sometime back, inaugurating a national conference of Vice Chancellors (VCs), organised by the University Grant Commission, the union human resources development minister, Arjun Singh, described higher education in India as a sick child and asked that it should be given a new direction so as to be able to better serve the cause of the nation's youth. Seeking a road map on higher education from the VCs, he asked them to define what should be the content, extent, methodology and basic ingredients of higher education. While Singh's comments certainly need to be welcomed, especially if they are able to generate a debate in the country on the future of higher education, it is indeed surprising that it took him more than three years to address what should have been his top priority when he assumed office. It is also interesting to note that some of the minister's own actions in the past three years have not exactly served the goals of improving the quality of higher education in the country. Knowledge is the key variable that will define the global distribution of power in the 21st century and India has also embarked on a path of economic success relying on its high-tech industries. But given the fragile state of India's higher education system, it is not clear if India will be able to sustain its present growth trajectory. While India's nearest competitor, China is re-orienting and investing in its higher education sector to meet the challenges of the future, India continues to ignore the problem as if the absence of world-class research in Indian universities is something that will rectify itself on its own. While India may be producing well-trained engineers and managers from its flagship IITs and IIMs, it is not doing so in sufficient numbers. There is also a growing concern that while private engineering and management institutions are flourishing due to rising demand, their products are not of the quality that can help India compete effectively in the global marketplace. India has the third largest higher education system in the world, behind only the US and China, that is churning out around 2.5 million graduates every year. Not only is this catering to just about 10 percent of India's youth but the quality of this output is also below par.If we leave aside the IITs, the IIMs, and some other institutions such as the AIIMs, the Indian Institute of Science, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, we will find a higher education sector that is increasingly unwilling and unable to bear the weight of the rising expectations of an emerging India. The Indian universities, which should have been the centre of cutting edge research and hub of intellectual activity, are more in the news for political machinations than for research excellence. Years of under-investment in higher education and a mistaken belief in providing uniform support to all universities irrespective of the quality of their output has made sure that the academics have neither the adequate support to provide top-quality education to their students nor do they have any incentive to undertake cutting-edge research. India desperately needs research-oriented globally recognised universities to be able to participate in the modern-day knowledge-based global economy to its full potential.
Re: [Assam] From Outlook India: An Indictment of In dian Higher Education
Education is what brought many Assamnetters to where they are. They surely want their old country folk to be properly educated to do something better-live better-healthier-happier-more useful to the world/humanity. So at Thanksgiving 2007 after Turkey and Cranberry pudding they should pledge to work out a very well thought out plan to enable Direction to Purposeful Education for all in Oxom now and for the Future. Time and tide waits for no man. mm Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:56:41 -0600To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [Assam] From Outlook India: An Indictment of In dian Higher Education ( Highlighting mine: cm) We Do Need That Education...China is re-orienting and investing in its higher education sector to meet the challenges of the future, but India continues to ignore the systemic collapse that is crying out for an urgent and drastic overhaul.HARSH V. PANTA few days back, two news stories appeared in the Indian media. One was the absence of Indian universities from a list of top 200 (not 100!) higher educational institutions in the world while as many as 10 Chinese universities made it to the list. The other was about the letter that the Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor has been forced to write to the parents of his students threatening to convert the academic session into a Zero Year in case of a repeat of campus violence -- in mid-September, earlier in the year, the university had been forced to close down after violence and arson on the campus in protest against the murder of a student. These news items are symptomatic of the rot that has set in the Indian higher education system, which seems to be in the news only for wrong reasons.Amid all the claims about the rise of India as a major player in the international system, it is often ignored that India continues to face some fundamental obstacles in its drive to achieve its full potential. One of the most significant of which is the crisis in India's higher education system, something that gets drowned in the din of those feel-good stories about the engineers and managers emerging from India's premier professional institutions such as the IITs and the IIMs. Sometime back, inaugurating a national conference of Vice Chancellors (VCs), organised by the University Grant Commission, the union human resources development minister, Arjun Singh, described higher education in India as a sick child and asked that it should be given a new direction so as to be able to better serve the cause of the nation's youth. Seeking a road map on higher education from the VCs, he asked them to define what should be the content, extent, methodology and basic ingredients of higher education. While Singh's comments certainly need to be welcomed, especially if they are able to generate a debate in the country on the future of higher education, it is indeed surprising that it took him more than three years to address what should have been his top priority when he assumed office. It is also interesting to note that some of the minister's own actions in the past three years have not exactly served the goals of improving the quality of higher education in the country. Knowledge is the key variable that will define the global distribution of power in the 21st century and India has also embarked on a path of economic success relying on its high-tech industries. But given the fragile state of India's higher education system, it is not clear if India will be able to sustain its present growth trajectory. While India's nearest competitor, China is re-orienting and investing in its higher education sector to meet the challenges of the future, India continues to ignore the problem as if the absence of world-class research in Indian universities is something that will rectify itself on its own. While India may be producing well-trained engineers and managers from its flagship IITs and IIMs, it is not doing so in sufficient numbers. There is also a growing concern that while private engineering and management institutions are flourishing due to rising demand, their products are not of the quality that can help India compete effectively in the global marketplace. India has the third largest higher education system in the world, behind only the US and China, that is churning out around 2.5 million graduates every year. Not only is this catering to just about 10 percent of India's youth but the quality of this output is also below par.If we leave aside the IITs, the IIMs, and some other institutions such as the AIIMs, the Indian Institute of Science, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, we will find a higher education sector that is increasingly unwilling and unable to bear the weight of the rising expectations of an emerging India. The Indian universities, which should have been the centre of cutting edge research and hub of intellectual activity, are more in the news for political
Re: [Assam] From Outlook India: An Indictment of In dian Higher Education
Well said.
At 7:29 AM +0530 11/23/07, mc mahant wrote:
Education is what brought many Assamnetters to where they are.
They surely want their old country folk to be
properly educated to do something better-live
better-healthier-happier-more useful to the
world/humanity.
So at Thanksgiving 2007 after Turkey and
Cranberry pudding they should pledge to work out
a very well thought out plan to enable Direction
to Purposeful Education for all in Oxom now
and for the Future.
Time and tide waits for no man.
mm
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2007 12:56:41 -0600
To: assam@assamnet.org
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Assam] From Outlook India: An Indictment of In dian Higher Education
.ExternalClass blockquote, .ExternalClass dl,
.ExternalClass ul, .ExternalClass ol,
.ExternalClass li
{padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;}
( Highlighting mine: cm)
We Do Need That Education...
China is re-orienting and investing in its
higher education sector to meet the challenges
of the future, but India continues to ignore the
systemic collapse that is crying out for an
urgent and drastic overhaul.
HARSH V. PANT
A few days back, two news stories appeared in
the Indian media. One was the absence of Indian
universities from a list of top 200 (not 100!)
higher educational institutions in the world
while as many as 10 Chinese universities made it
to the list. The other was about the letter that
the Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor
has been forced to write to the parents of his
students threatening to convert the academic
session into a Zero Year in case of a repeat
of campus violence -- in mid-September, earlier
in the year, the university had been forced to
close down after violence and arson on the
campus in protest against the murder of a
student. These news items are symptomatic of the
rot that has set in the Indian higher education
system, which seems to be in the news only for
wrong reasons.
Amid all the claims about the rise of India as a
major player in the international system, it is
often ignored that India continues to face some
fundamental obstacles in its drive to achieve
its full potential. One of the most significant
of which is the crisis in India's higher
education system, something that gets drowned in
the din of those feel-good stories about the
engineers and managers emerging from India's
premier professional institutions such as the
IITs and the IIMs.
Sometime back, inaugurating a national
conference of Vice Chancellors (VCs), organised
by the University Grant Commission, the union
human resources development minister, Arjun
Singh, described higher education in India as a
sick child and asked that it should be given a
new direction so as to be able to better serve
the cause of the nation's youth. Seeking a road
map on higher education from the VCs, he asked
them to define what should be the content,
extent, methodology and basic ingredients of
higher education. While Singh's comments
certainly need to be welcomed, especially if
they are able to generate a debate in the
country on the future of higher education, it is
indeed surprising that it took him more than
three years to address what should have been his
top priority when he assumed office. It is also
interesting to note that some of the minister's
own actions in the past three years have not
exactly served the goals of improving the
quality of higher education in the country.
Knowledge is the key variable that will define
the global distribution of power in the 21st
century and India has also embarked on a path of
economic success relying on its high-tech
industries. But given the fragile state of
India's higher education system, it is not clear
if India will be able to sustain its present
growth trajectory. While India's nearest
competitor, China is re-orienting and investing
in its higher education sector to meet the
challenges of the future, India continues to
ignore the problem as if the absence of
world-class research in Indian universities is
something that will rectify itself on its own.
While India may be producing well-trained
engineers and managers from its flagship IITs
and IIMs, it is not doing so in sufficient
numbers. There is also a growing concern that
while private engineering and management
institutions are flourishing due to rising
demand, their products are not of the quality
that can help India compete effectively in the
global marketplace.
India has the third largest higher education
system in the world, behind only the US and
China, that is churning out around 2.5 million
graduates every year. Not only is this catering
to just about 10 percent of India's youth but
the quality of this output is also below par.If
we leave aside the IITs, the IIMs, and some
other institutions such as the AIIMs, the Indian
Institute of Science, and Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research, we will find a higher
education sector
