1) Higher education in India faces several systemic deficiencies that have led to poor academic standards and unemployable graduates despite emerging skilled labor shortages. Issues include a large number of small, substandard institutions, declining funding, and an inability to maintain quality or regulate the private sector. 2) Reforms are needed to improve infrastructure, increase funding, upgrade technology, strengthen regulation, and make education more affordable and accessible through measures like social equity funds. The future of higher education in India will require addressing concerns through coordination, leveraging new opportunities, and strategic paradigm shifts.

1. International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, January, 2013 ISSN 0975-3486, RNI- RAJBIL- 2009-30097, VOL- IV * ISSUE- 40
Research Paper—Political Science
The future of higher education in India: Challenges
January,2013 * Dr. Saroj Bala
* Assistant Professor in Political Science, CMK NPG Girls college, Sirsa
Higher education is critical to India's aspirations of spite, its impressive growth, higher education in India
emerging as a major player in the global knowledge could maintain only a very small base of quality insti-
economy. Over the last two decades globalization has tutions at the top. Standards of the majority of the
impacted opera-tions of various institutions including institutions are poor and declining. There are a large
academic institutions all over the world. Higher educa- number of small and non-viable academic institutions.
tion institutions have been both the agent and objects Entry in the small number of quality institutions is very
of globalization (Scott, 1998).The global competitive- competitive giving rise to high level entrance tests and
ness of Indian industry is clearly dependent on avail- a flourishing private tuition industry. The stakes are so
ability of required skills and trained personnel. But high that quota-based reservation of seats in such
various recent studies revealed the overall state of institutions has occupied the main stage in the name of
Indian higher education is dismal and therefore poses affirmative action in electoral politics. Despite some
a severe constraint on the supply of qualified man- merit, it has resulted in fragmentation of merit and fur-
power. Despite remarkable progress in reforms in eco- ther intensified competition. While public funding de-
nomic sector, there are little reforms in higher educa- clined, enrolments in higher education institutions grew
tion. This paper tries to fill this gap and lays down an to meet the requirement in demand. This further dete-
agenda for reforms in the higher education sector in riorated academic standards. As a result, to sustain
India. Higher education in India suffers from several themselves the institutions were forced to raise their
systemic deficiencies. tuition fees. Emergence of private providers and in-
As a result, despite emerging shortages of crease in tuition fees in public institutions has made
skilled manpower, it continues to provide graduates higher education beyond the reach of the poor. The
that are unemployable in various sectors. The stan- feasible strategies to overcome this and make higher
dards of academic research are low and declining. Some education affordable and accessible to all, has been
of the problems and drawbacks of the Indian higher discussed in this paper.
education, such as - the unwieldy affiliating system, A multi-level Coordination is required to ad-
inflexible academic structure, uneven capacity across dress genuine concerns in the higher education on a
various subjects, eroding autonomy of academic insti- long-term basis and uses the experiences of other coun-
tutions, and the low level of public funding are well tries to suggest measures to tackle its various systemic
known. Many other concerns relating to the dysfunc- deficiencies. New technologies can be used in many
tional regulatory environment, the accreditation sys- creative ways to improve governance both at the insti-
tem with low coverage and no consequences, absence tution and the system level. Teaching-learning pro-
of incentives for performing well, and the unjust public cesses can be improved using technology. New tech-
funding policies are not well recognized. There is little nologies would enable data collection and compilation
public debate on higher education in India due to the to become easy to get correct facts and figures for
absence of good data. informed decision-making and policy support. As a
Higher education in India has expanded rap- strategy, the country needs to build on these strengths
idly over the past two decades. This growth has been and harness new opportunities that are now available.
mainly driven by private sector initiatives. There are The changing circumstances call for a fresh look at the
genuine concerns about most of them being substan- issues that the higher education is facing. A strategic
dard and exploitative. The growth has been unplanned paradigm shift is required to deal with higher education
due to the government's ambivalence on the role of in India today. Referring to the public policy for higher
private sector in higher education. In fact, the regula- education, Patel (1998) noted that in India, for that
tory system has failed to maintain standards or stop matter in most parts of the world, public policy for
exploitation. Voluntary accreditation seems to have no higher education continue to face the dilemma of the
takers from amongst private providers and apparently legitimacy of ever-widening ends and reality of limited
serves little purpose for any of its stakeholders. De-
38 RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

2. International Indexed & Refereed Research Journal, January, 2013 ISSN 0975-3486, RNI- RAJBIL- 2009-30097, VOL- IV * ISSUE- 40
resources. He pointed out that there is not only the governance at the system level. 13. Develop a Nation-
demand for more opportunities for higher education, ally Integrated Research Infra structure by pooling
but also greater diversity, not in just subject range, but existing infrastructure and facilities of higher educa-
in terms of institutional arrangements as well as how tion institutions, research laboratories
subjects are taught and the research is done. 14. Proactively woo big corporate sector and presti
Suggestions to improve the present system gious foreign universities to set up research univer
1. Put in place a Social Equity Fund for financing means- sities / campuses for post graduate education and re-
tested grants for students from poor background; 2. search in science and engineering in India to raise the
Evolve an affirmative action policy that provides equal- standards of research for long-term competitiveness of
ity of opportunity to students; 3. Provide additional the country; 15. Develop manpower at the post gradu-
funds to existing public institutions to attain minimum ate and doctoral level in new and emerging areas; 16.
standards of infra structure and facilities and to bridge Put in place Higher Education Information System
the shortfall of teachers. 4. Provide additional funds Project (HISP); 17. Diversity in higher education is,
for competitive grants to enhance competition in higher therefore, to be pursued as a policy objective.
education. 5. Upgrade technology infrastructure by Conclusion
ensuring high bandwidth connectivity, sufficient com- Therefore, Public higher education institu-
puters and proper campus networks to harness new tions need to be supported by the central and state
technology to improve teaching-learning, research governments to reach the minimum standards. Com-
and gover nance in higher education. 6. Put in place petitive grants need to be provided to encourage
disclosure standards including trans parency in ac- healthy competition in higher education. Public funds
counts, students' 'Right to Know' conditions; 7. Re- would have to be used in areas and for subjects where
view the recognition, affiliation and approval system private sector may not venture. Demand-driven, effi-
of institutions to plug loopholes in it and restore its cient and targeted funding of students from poor back-
credibility. 8. Set up a National Qualification Authority ground by initiating a social equity fund should be
(NQA) and Teaching and Learning Support Networks taken up on a big scale. Collaborative activities are
(TLSNs) to ensure seamless vertical and horizontal required to be supported through public funding. The
mobility of students and go for curricula renewal on deficit in financing of higher education has to be met
an on going basis. 9. Restructure accreditation system by pooling resources from all possible sources, such
and bring accredi tation bodies at the core of the higher as the government at the centre and the states, and the
education system; 10. Set up a Skill Development households, including education loans. The possibil-
Agency and Sector- specific Skill Development Net- ity of attracting foreign and corporate agencies in the
works 11.Create a university and college admission knowledge economy sectors through a proactive ap-
system with national testing in various subjects at proach could be explored. A suitably designed affirma-
different levels to facilitate admissions on the basis of tive action policy should also be put in place. In all, the
merit and regulate fees in the private unaided institu- change in the higher education system requires para-
tions with transparency; 12. Enact an umbrella Higher digm shift in our thinking.
Education Act for better coordination and improved
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