Indian higher education system, growth and regulatory bodies, Governance and role of Vice chancellors, Autonomy, University industry linkage,problems and lacunae of Indian Higher education .

1. Dr. Jagannath K. Dange
Department of Education
Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta
Dist: Shimoga,
Karnataka
jkdange@gmail.com
http://jkdange.blogspot.com

2.  What is Higher Education.
 Evolution of Indian Higher Education System
 Aims of University Education
 Role of Regulatory Bodies in Higher Education
 Funding Agencies
 Vice Chancellors
 Governance and Autonomy
 University- Industry Research Institution Linkage
 Problems and Weaknesses of Higher Education
 Check list for different Stakeholders

3. In the Bombay Legislative Council Debate, on 27th
July,1927, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar said
"The University is a machinery whereby educational
facilities are provided to all those who are
intellectually capable of using those facilities to the
best advantage but who cannot avail themselves of
those facilities - for want of funds or for other
handicaps in life.
If the university is to function properly, it is necessary
that it should be controlled by what are called the
educated classes”.
Therefore, higher education has been rightly defined as the
mother of all professions.

4.  The people in university education shape the behaviour,
minds, and the social and human values of the student
community.
 Therefore, the advantage of university education is that it
works out the solutions of economic and social problems.
 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan also said that the function of the
universities is not merely to send out technically skilled
and professionally competent men, but it is their duty to
produce in them the quality of compassion, the quality
which enables the individuals to treat one another in a
truly democratic spirit. (Convocation Address to Karnataka
University on 26 October, 1953).
As Mentioned in 'UNESCO.
 "Education should provide the skills for "learning to know,
learning to live together; learning to do and learning to
be".

5. Evolution of Indian Higher Education System
 The system of education in India evolved from the early
Gurukul system of the Vedic and Upanishadic period.
 Nalanda and Vikramsila, Takshasila were established
in the 4th and 5th Centuries A. D. respectively.
 The first institution to be given the status of University
was Sera Moore College, near Calcutta in 1829.
 The first three Universities established in India in 1857
were University of Calcutta, University of Bombay
and University of Madras which were affiliating
Universities following the model of the London
University.
 Allahabad University, was a later formation and was
established as a Unitary University. It was only during
the period 1904 and 1913, that imparting instruction
within the Universities began in India.

6. The Acts, Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations of the University and
its common system, governing all colleges irrespective of their
characteristic strength, weaknesses and locations, have adversely affected
the quality and academic development of individual colleges.
Nalanda: Buddhist monastic centre, often spoken of as a University in
northern Bihar State, India. Though it is traditionally dated to the time of
the Buddha (6th, 5th Centuries BC) archaeological excavations date its
foundation to the 5th Century A.D.
It housed a population of several thousand teachers and students.
Topics studied included logic, grammar astronomy and medicine. The
Chinese pilgrims and Xuanzang and Yijing provided vivid accounts of
Nalanda in the 7th Century. Nalanda continued to flourish through the
12th Century. Muslims were raided and sacked in 12th Century and
never recovered.
Bhakthiyar Khilji-

7. Present Status
 The present system of university education was actually
introduced by the British in the year 1857 when
universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, were
established.
 Lord Elphinstone, Lord Macaulay and Sir Charles
Wood were the early pioneers of modern system of
education in our country.
 At the time of independence we had only 20 universities
and 695 colleges but today we have 785 universities
where as colleges have increased to more than 39,000,
thus putting huge pressure on the university
administration.
 Similarly, the student enrolment of 3,97,000 (girls
43,000) in 1950 has surged to 20.00,000 (girls 46%).

8.  Out of total colleges, 37% belong to Arts and
Humanities, Commerce and Management, 16%
Engineering and Technology, 4% Education, 4%
Medicine, 2% Law, 0.5% Agriculture, 0.1 %
Veterinary and 1% others.
 The number of graduates coming out of technical college
was slightly over 7,00,000. However, 75% of technical
graduate and more than 85% of general graduates are
unemployable by India’s high-growth industries, including
information technology.
India's one of the major wealth is youth (18-40 years of age)
which presently stands at almost 80 crore, 62% of the total
population (127 crore, male 65.6 crore and female 61.4
crore). Indian higher education system is one of the largest in
the world.

9. Types of Universities :
• Affiliating
• Professional
• Conventional
• Private
• Central
• Open
CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES
• President of India is the Visitor of all Central Universities
• President/Visitor nominates some members to the Executive
Committee/Board Management/Court/Selection Committees of the
University as per the provisions made in the relevant University Act
• Ministry provides secretariat service for appointment of Vice Chancellor/
Executive Committee Nominees / Court Nominees/Selection Committee
Nominees etc. by the President

11. Central Universities A Central University in India is established by the
Government of India, by Act of Parliament.
State Universities A State University in India is established by the State
Government, by State Legislature.
Deemed
Universities
Institutions which have been accorded the status of a
university with authority to award their own degrees
through Central Government notification.
Open Universities An Open University can be a central or state University
imparting education exclusively through distance mode
in any branch or branches of knowledge.
Institutes of
National Importance
Some of the higher education institutions are awarded the
said status of Institutes of National Importance by the Act
of Parliament.
Other Institutions Include the Institutions established by State Legislative
Act and colleges affiliated to the University, both
government-aided and unaided.
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION

12. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
The institutions imparting
higher education at different levels are
regulated by the following bodies.
University Grants Commission
(UGC) set up under UGC Act 1956 is
responsible for coordination,
determination, and maintenance of
standards and release of grants to
universities and research
organizations .

13. Aims of University Education
There are certain goals of university education which
are universal in nature. These are:
(a) The pursuit of knowledge of self, society and
nature.
(b) Enriching the mind and promoting creativity
among people.
(c) Improving the efficiency and productivity of the
social production system.
(d) Empowering people through development of
knowledge, skills and values.
(e) Providing means for upward economic and social
mobility.

14. In the era of globalization, there are major goals of
universities in case of developing countries:
a) Making the economy globally competitive by
training students for employment in knowledge,
economy and transforming knowledge to private
business.
b) Promoting social inclusion by enhancing
opportunities for a wider section of society to obtain
higher education in some form whenever they require
it with a focus on science and technology.
c) Changing social structure in response to the needs of
time.
d) Assisting in the process of economic development,
particularly of countryside where vast majority of
people live in the state of resourcelessness and
powerlessness. Establishing close links with their
culture and traditions.

17. Role of Regulatory Bodies in Higher Education System
 Government of India took several initiatives to improve and promote
higher education in the country after independence.
 The Radhakrishnan Commission (1948-49) tried to integrate
secondary education and higher education with the
recommendation for the establishment of University Grants
Commission (UGC).
 The Secondary Education Commission (1953) or the Mudaliar
Commission recommended three year secondary and four year
higher education system.
 Subsequently, the Kothari Commission 1964-was set up. The
commission proposed three year degree course and four year
honors degree course.
 The Kothari Commission was followed by the National Policy on
Education (NPE) of 1968 and 1986 and proposed imparting higher
education by distance learning mode.
 NPE 1986 also suggested investment in education, for improving
infrastructure at higher education and to promote research at
the university level.

18.  In 1993, Prof. Gnanam Committee recommended flexibility
and autonomy for ensuring academic excellence.
 The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) recommended
restricting of curricula to meet the demand for
multidisciplinary professionals
Gross Enrolment in India- Before independence there were l8
universities with about 500 affiliated colleges. women
comprising of some 35% of the total enrolments.
Presently, there are 799 universities and 39,071 colleges and
346 lakhs of students enrolled in the Higher Education
Programme.
the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education, which
is the participation rate of the cohort in the age group of 18-23
years in higher education, to be low and is estimated to be
nearly 13.5% as of 2015. This is much below the world
average of 29%, and way behind that of developed countries
(58%).

19.  Need has been felt that Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher
education should be raised to a significant level in a time
bound manner and it is expected that the GER will reach
30% by 2020.
19

21. Regulatory and Statutory Bodies in Higher Education
 Education is on the 'concurrent list' subject to Entry 66 in the Union List of the
Constitution.
 This gives exclusive Legislative Power to the Central Government for co-ordination
and determination of standards in institutions of higher education or research.
 The coordination and cooperation between the Union and the States is brought about in
the field of education through Central Advisory Board of Education CABE ).
 The Union Government is responsible for major policies relating to higher education
in the country, in discharging its responsibility; it has established many regulatory
and statutory bodies.
 The National Policy of Education (1986) and the Plan of Action, 1992 envisaged the
establishment of a national apex body for bringing about greater co-ordination and
integration in the planning and development of higher education system which would
include research.
 The UGC has performed its overarching function of steering the higher education in
this country. However, over time, new Councils have been set up to promote and
regulate specialized areas of education. Presently, there are 15 such professional
Councils created under various Acts of Parliament.
 We see the present functions of these Councils as two-fold;
 The bench-marking of standards and pedagogy and academic inputs.

22. Structure of Indian Higher Education System
 University Grants Commission (UGC) Act 1956 defines the structure of
university system. In India a degree, as distinguished from certificate and
diploma, can be awarded by the university defined under section 2f of
UGC Act.
 Section 2f notes that university can be established by an act of Parliament
or state legislature.
 Under this falls three types –
 Central (46) Established by Central Act,
 State (329) Established by State Act and
 Private University (223) Established by an Act –
 States so far. Deemed University is defined under section 3 of the UGC
act. Deemed University (129) is declared so by Central Government on the
recommendation of UGC.
 Degree conferring authority under the respective acts of Parliament also
rests with Institutions of National Importance (73).
 Besides 13 Indian Institutes of Management is not a university, yet
confer a postgraduate diploma of two years which has equivalence with
postgraduate degree granted by the Parliament.

23. Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education
 Union Regulation: Indian higher education institutions are
regulated by the Government of India through the concerned
departments of the Ministries and regulatory bodies. It is the
responsibility of the Union government, under the Constitution of
India, to maintain the standards in higher education. Union
government has vested this responsibility with the University
Grants Commission (UGC) and other technical and professional
Councils. They are putting regulatory restrictions towards the
maintenance of standards.
 UGC regulations fall into two categories.
 Regulations are issued through Gazette notifications which is
binding upon universities by virtue of its reference to UGC Act.
 Regulations are merely guidelines which may not be binding as
these guidelines are not gazetted.
 In the former category there are regulations under the following
heads.

24. How the evaluation
will be done

25.  Central government funding by UGC to the institutions
of higher education is linked to the fitness criteria
under 2f and 12B of UGC Act. There are over 5500
institutions which are declared fit in terms of standards
to receive grants.
 Guidelines: In addition to various regulations there
are guidelines which are being issued by UGC from
time to time. These guidelines are not binding, yet
they serve an important purpose to provide
directions to higher education to fulfil the objectives.
 These guidelines serve the advisory role of UGC.

26. For example, guidelines are issued to revise the curriculum and a model
curriculum is supplied to plan the revision based upon guidelines.
UGC has also issued guidelines for the adoption of choice based credit
system.
In the area of encouraging women participation in higher education
guidelines relating to gender sensitization and safety of woman are
issued by UGC.
Guidelines exist to promote e-scheme. For example, registration of
colleges on e-scheme portal of UGC, Access of e-resources to Central/ State
Universities/ UGC Funded Deemed Universities (either fully or partly) have
been issued.
Guidelines are issued to promote and clarify all schemes and new
programmes which are funded by UGC. Introduction of National
Service Scheme (NSS) as an elective subject in Higher Education,
Territorial Jurisdiction of Universities/State Private Universities are also
some of the guidelines which tend to provide directions, continuously to the
higher education system.

27. Multiplicity of regulations: Another problem relates to the
multiplicity of regulations by respective regulatory
agencies.
 For example, engineering colleges are regulated by All
India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for
fitness of the institution and programme to be carried. But
an engineering college must fulfil teacher recruitment and
promotion policy as mandated by UGC.
 Medical colleges affiliated to a university is run under the
University, regulated by Medical Council of India and
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, yet UGC have also
the scope to regulate some aspects related to the
qualification.
 Conflict in Centre-state regulations: Education was
brought under the concurrent list in 1976 amendment to the
Constitution. It means union and state have the power to
legislate under education.

28. According to section 3 of the UGC Act 1956.
The central government may, on the advice of the
commission, declare, by notification in the official Gazette, that any
institution for higher education, other than a university, shall be
deemed to be a university for the purpose of this act, and on such a
declaration being made, all the provisions of this Act shall apply to
such institution as if it were a university within the meaning of clause
(f) of section 2.
Players in governance of the university
• Authorities of the university
• Students
• Faculty members
• Officers or management team
• Government and Non Teaching Employees of the university

29. The basic structure of the university system is defined by
its acts, statutes, ordinances and guidelines framed by the
executive council / syndicate.
Acts- State legislation(state Uni)/Parliament(Central Uni)
Statutes:-Department wise/centre wise by Each
University- Approved by Governor and State governments/
President if Central University.
Regulations- By Regulatory Bodies.
Ordinances- Orders by the Concerned syndicate and
University.

30. Authorities of the university system include ;
• Executive Council/Syndicate-(3yrs)
• Senate/General Council of the university.
• Academic Council-(3yrs)
• Chancellor(3 to 5yrs)
• Vice-Chancellor
• Directors/Deans-(2 yrs)
• Administrative Officers etc.
DIFFERENT BOARDS IN UNIVERSITIES
BOS -Board of Studies-(3yrs)
BOE -Board of Examiner-(1 yr)
BOAE -Board of Appointment of Examiners

33. Research funding Agencies in India:
• University Grants Commission (UGC)
• Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
• National Council for Educational Research and Training
(NCERT)
• All India Council for Technical Education. (AICTE)
• Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
• Aeronautics Research & Development Board, Department of
Atomic Energy (DAE)

34. • Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
• Department of Coal (DOC)
• Department of Ocean Development (DOD)
• Department of Science and Technology (DST)
• Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR)
• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• India Meteorological Department (IMD)
• Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
• Department of Space, Ministry of Communications &
Information Technology (MOCIT)

35. • Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF)
• Ministry of Food Processing Industries, (MFPI)
• Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES)
• Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR)
• Ministry of Power, Central Power Research Institute (CPRI)
• Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
• Science & Technology for Weaker Sections (STAWS).
• Science and Technology Application for Rural Development
(STARD).

37. Universities and Vice Chancellors
 A Vice Chancellor heading a university is supposed to
be a distinguished Academician or a Policy Planner.
 The Vice Chancellor is Academic and Administrative
head of a university.
 The Registrar of a University is the Administrative
in-charge under the overall control of the Vice-
chancellor.
 The Vice Chancellor also serves as Chairman of
Management Council/Executive Council and
Academic Council of the University.
 Further, he is also the chairman of selection
committees of the university.

38. Tenure
 We see a lot of heterogeneity in the tenure of the Vice Chancellor
across the country.
 Most of the Central Universities have five year tenure.
 In case of universities like, BHU, etc., it is three years and
extendable for another term. In state universities, it is normally
three years extendable by another term.
 In case of State universities of Karnataka, it is four years. Under
Maharashtra Common University act, the Vice Chancellor is
appointed for a period of five years and one time.
Appointment
 The appointment of Vice Chancellor has become most volatile issue
in the Higher Education system today.
 Once upon a time stalwarts of the nation were appointed... as Vice
Chancellors. For Eg. Dr. S. Radhakrsihnan became Vice-President
of India from the position of Vice Chancellor, BHU.

39. In charge' Vice Chancellors are a big farce in the system.
particularly in states where three years tenure is in practice.
The rate of vacancies of Vice Chancellors is frequent. In such
cases, in some states, higher education Secretary takes over
as Vice Chancellor (In-charge).
There are instances where the higher education Secretary held
the charge as vice-chancellor of as many as three to four
universities within a state in addition to his oven duties are
hectic otherwise.
In central universities whenever a Vice Chancellor post falls
vacant, till the new incumbent assumes office, the senior
most Professor of the University functions as acting Vice
Chancellor.
It would he even better if the process of identifying / inviting
the next Vice Chancellor is completed at least one month
before the present Vice Chancellor demits

40. Functional Powers
 In a university system Vice Chancellor has the last word.
 While Central Universities are relatively free of interference,
State universities are generally known for difficult
circumstances including the office of the Vice Chancellor.
 Some Vice Chancellors are known for centralisation of
powers. Internal administrative structures are weak in most of
our universities leading to most of the powers are converged at
Vice Chancellor level.
 Thus a Vice Chancellor is also too much burdened with
administrative matters than academics. Thus the system
becomes highly vice Chancellor centric and dependant. there
are Vice Chancellors who look after even the guest house
allotments. Promotion of their so called own people devoid of
merit is also reported.
 Some Vice Chancellors do not appoint a regular Registrar
rather they select their "own person" who is also a professor
to function as Registrar on additional charge till his tenure to
help him instead of having a professionally qualified person.

41. Accountability
 Leadership, Vision, Accountability and Transparency are major
attributes of a good Vice Chancellor.
 But in most of our universities things are highly Vice Chancellor
centric. This situation need to be corrected. In our higher Education
system, most of the Policy/ Assessment committees are headed by a
Vice Chancellor/ former Vice Chancellor assuming that he/ she has
great knowledge and experience with responsibility.
 Vice Chancellor's are unnecessarily burdened with non-academic
activities like building constructions, Law and order etc. Other
Statutory officers should be delegated such responsibilities.
 It is observed in some cases that by the end of the tenure, a lot of
hostility develops against the Vice Chancellor. In some instances it is
found that the Vice Chancellor is compelled to leave the campus secretly
without information to anybody.
 It is not uncommon to observe that some Vice Chancellor's soon after
their tenures face inquiry committees.

42. Autonomy
 Vice Chancellors conceptually has considerable functional autonomy in
their office.
 However, practically the things are different.
 In central universities/ institutions they get to function autonomously to
a reasonable extent.
 In case of State Universities, the involvement or interference of local
government and other authorities is very common.
 In case of most of the Deemed or Private universities they have
limited role to play and mostly their Job is decorative in nature.
All major decisions are taken by the Management.
Remedies
 Appoint a Vice Chancellor for five years and one time across the country
 No second term at any cost.
 At least about 33% Vice Chancellors should be essentially women.
 Appointment should be through invitation.
 Reduce too much non-academic burden from the Vice Chancellors.
 Appoint regular Registrar on fulltime or tenure basis.
 It would be better that a person of same university is not appointed as
Vice Chancellor.

43. Leadership Attributes of a vice chancellor
 he who is able to create healthy academic environment
where students, teachers and researchers feel that they have
place in the university.
 He should be a sound academician with flair for
administration .
 A competent and efficient vice chancellor exercises a positive
impact on students and staff of the university and should pay
special attention to the welfare of the students, staff and
community.
 Apart from its own employees and students, vice chancellor
should make the impact of the university on the community
surrounding it.
 He /she should be a sound decision maker and therefore
should posses the qualities of foresight. Clarity, quick action,
honesty, and impartial attitude and independence.

44.  VC has regulatory and developmental roles to play and both are
equally important.
 VC should act as motivator whose touch should inspire people.
 VC should have profound knowledge of the university system.
 VC should be resilient and able to respond effectively to the
influence and pressures of a dynamic and turbulent environment.
 Vice chancellor should not only be able to convert every
challenge into opportunity.
 Should be strictly observing rules and immune to influence.
 Vice chancellor should have high moral character and calibre
and good conduct in public and private life.
 Vice chancellor should secure consent by winning the heart of
staff and students not as a boss but as a persuader.
 The vice chancellor as leader of higher education must embrace
change, direct it, and recognize that it has positive, negative,
and unanticipated consequences

45. Governance
 Governance is an important determinant of
organizational, institutional or national development.
 It employs economic, political and administrative authority
to manage matters of public interest.
 There fore, effective governance requires efficient
institutions.
 The effectiveness of institutions depends, in general, on
two attributes.
 Firstly, on the type and nature of delivery mechanism and
 secondly on the rules and procedures which constitute the
institutional framework.
 Proper orchestration between these two attributes may
ensure effective and quality governance.

46.  Good Governance is
 Open, democratic and accountable, based on respect for
human rights and sustainable development.
 It also implies accountability, transparency, participation,
openness and rule of law.
 In good governance the administration is moving from rule
to result-orientation, from system to enterprise, obedience
to reward, inaction to action, centralization to
decentralization and from the duties of administration to
the rights of citizens.
 Good governance is supposed to exist if three objectives are
achieved.
 The first -quality of law and effective implementation of
laws.
 Secondly- opportunity for every individual to realise his full
human potential and
 thirdly-effective productivity and no waste in every sector.

47.  Good governance lays focus on the institutional
developments with reference to three aspects:
1) Quality initiatives,
2) Quality sustenance and 3) Quality enhancement.
 Basically, good governance in higher education may be
equated with QUALITY:
 Q: Quest of Innovation
 U: Upgradation of Curriculum
 A: Active Student Support
 L: Leadership and Governance
 I: Infrastructure
 T: Teaching — Learning and Evaluation
 Y Yield for Research, Consultancy and Extension

48.  Governance affects specialized administrative activities
such as fund raising, financial planning or industrial
relation.
 Governance does not contain in itself the sum of
teaching and research, but it affects them. It provides
the conditions which enable teaching and research to take
place" (Marginson and Considine, 2000:7).
 Indicators of Governance
 Broadly speaking, there are two major indicators of
governance.
 One is rule based indicators and the second one is
outcome based indicators (UNDP, 2005).

49. The European Universities Association (EUA) in its Lisbon
Declaration of 2007 identified four basic dimensions of
autonomy. ( Estermann et.al 2011):
a) Academic autonomy which implied deciding on the study
programmes. curriculum and methods of teaching and research;
b) Financial autonomy which implied authority to take decisions on
mobilization and allocation of funds, level of tuition fee to be
levied from students and income generating activities;
c) Organisational autonomy which implied authority to set
university structures and statutes, making contracts, electing
decision-making bodies and persons;
d) Staffing autonomy which implied responsibility for staff
recruitment, salaries and promotions.
It is important in this context to make a distinction between
substantive and procedural autonomy.
Substantive autonomy pertains to academic and research areas
and procedural autonomy refers to non-academic areas .

50. University- Industry Research Institution Linkage
Globalization of Higher Education has compelled the Indian
Universities to transform their roles.
They have to update their curriculum to make it employment
oriented & market friendly.
Hence there is a need for University- Industry Research
Institution Linkage.
The university-industry tie up is beneficial not only for the
educational centres. i.e. the universities and the work centres
i.e. the industries but also the students and workers i.e. the
individual. It is a symbiotic relation where the three viz.,
University, student and industry depend on each other and are
benefited mutually by this dependence.

51. Benefits for University
 Opportunity to attract additional funds for teaching and
research thereby facilitating financial autonomy.
 Access to latest technology
 Improved employment prospects for students
 Development and adaptation of curriculum
 Supplemented income from consulting allowing
academic staff to improve their salaries.
 Increased motivation in students’ attendance and
discipline.
Benefits for Industry
 Reduction in recruiting costs.
 Better communication with higher learning centres.
 Collaborative research opportunities.
 A highly dedicated think-tank will be available.

52. Benefits for Students
 Training real life practical experiences.
 Application of theoretical knowledge.
 Contact with practicing professionals.
 Enhancement of oral and written skills.
 Decision-making on career choice.
 Paid pre-employment (on studies training).
 Understanding the work culture of industries.
Possible Areas of Linkages
 The University-industry linkages can range from simple consultations or visits to in depth
researches.
a) Consultancy (both by university staff and industrial experts).
b) Teaching and curriculum development (jointly developed degree courses, exchange of staff,
latest scientific discoveries).
c) Research (sponsored research, providing R & D expertise in business development, joint
research).
d) Other ( mutual visits, jointly organized meetings conferences, seminars, joint publications,
joint participation in exhibitions and fairs, sponsorship to students, etc) They can join hands
in identifying the various areas of collaboration and interaction between them which are
mutually beneficial.

53. Some of the Problems and Weaknesses of Higher Education.
 The present scenario reflects serious weakness of our higher education system as follows:
 Examination reforms have been miserably slow paced.
 Curricular reforms and pedagogic reforms are not coping with the rate of advancement of
knowledge.
 Lack of involvement of teachers, administrators in system.
 No provision to check excellence in universities or colleges.
 Admission of undeserving students.
 Evil practice of collecting capitation fee for admission.
 Caste, Community or Money base opportunities of teachers.
 Widespread indiscipline among teachers.
 Poor quality of teaching.
 Negative attitude towards research among college teachers.
 The evaluation system is qualitatively poor and corrupt.
 Conduct of examinations has become too costly, hazardous and dangerous.
 Poor finances to colleges and universities resulting in inadequate facilities to students and
teachers.
 Political interference in the autonomy of higher education.
 Poor leadership at higher levels of administration both in colleges and universities.

54. Suggestions
 Parents, administrators, politicians, reformers, planners and
educationists should be fully involved in the development of
education at all levels.
 Enhancing the quality of Teaching, Learning and Evaluation
methods.
 Encouraging innovations in practical teaching, enhancing the
productivity of teachers.
 Focus on continuous development of faculty.
 Knowledge alliances (Universities/colleges with 'Potential for
Excellence' to support the academic growth and development of
developing institutions)
 Evolving and implementing of continuous quality enhancement
strategies.
 Implementation of internal quality assurance systems.
 Promotion of inter- disciplinary teaching and research.

55. Check list for different Stakeholders of the University to arrive
at their own conclusions
The University Administration (VC, Deans, Heads and
Registrar)
•Are we performing our functions efficiently?
• Are we using the resources of the university objectively'?
• Are we using the power given to us with justice?
• Are we here to rule or to serve?
• Have we done anything we cannot share with others?
Teachers
• Do I love all my students?
• Am I doing justice with my students?
• Do I love my subject ?
• have Ilearned all there is to learn?
• There is still a long way to go.
• Am I here by choice or by accident?

56. Other Employees
• Am I clear about what is my job?
• Do I do my job well?
• Is there some thing pending on my table?
• Do I apply the same rules for all?
• Do I blame others for my failure?
Students
Am I using the opportunity for self improvement
Am I clear about my learning objectives?
Did I take any initiative on my own to learn?
Do I dislike fellow students who are different from me?
Did I ever help any body with out expecting any thing in return?
Common for all
Do we believe in gender justice and if so what does it mean.
Do we believe in a secular society and if yes are we able to except the other
who is different from us?

57. Dr. Jagannath K. Dange
Department of Education
Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta
Dist: Shimoga,
Karnataka
jkdange@gmail.com
http://jkdange.blogspot.com