Whither Goes Our Higher Education?
Whither Goes Our Higher Education?
A recent proposal to increase the number of our universities by another 1500 to the existing number of 350 should be looked at detachment and rationality. The proposal has drawn a lot of flak from a section of the members of our academia who are utterly dissatisfied with the present state of affairs in our colleges and universities. There has been another move to upgrade some of the eminent colleges to the status of universities which would be allowed to run courses at the post-graduation level.
If one cares to look at the landscape of higher education ,there are enough reasons to harbour doubt about the effectiveness of such moves to the cause of higher education. Let us face the unvarnished truth that we would be labouring under a dangerous illusion if we give primacy to the physical number of universities and educational institutions ,the quality quotient would automatically take care of itself. It would be worthwhile to remember that some of our so-called educational centres of excellence do not justify being being called so, if any honest efforts are made to measure their excellence. Before declaring them as centres of excellence the government must fix the criteria which are to be used to declare an institution as a centre of excellence. Some respectable academicians feel students who study at these centres pass their examinations with distinction but those are results of mugging quality lecture notes than a dedicated and profound study of their subjects. It's no wonder then that if a study of their contribution is undertaken in the field of original research ,our students are woefully lagging far behind other advanced European countries and even China is well ahead of us in this regard.
The worth of degrees that the universities conferred on the students are not mere ornaments and the recipients and holders of these degrees raise expectations in the minds of all to have the right credentials by possessing superior knowledge. But our day-to-day experience tells a different tale altogether. If the government is,indeed, sincere to improve the standards of our higher standards, it has to look beyond numbers and to take a hard look at the content. And I am not extraordinarily surprised at the fact that the name of not single university of India has figured in the list of prominent hundred universities of the world prepared by the UNESCO. Are you?
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