In an alarming article published by “Economic Times” in 2018; over 3700 PHDs, 50000 Graduates and 28000 Post Graduates had applied for peon and messengers jobs in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. These positions require a minimum eligibility of Class X or lower. Similarly, around 129 engineers, 23 lawyers, 1 Chartered Accountant and 393 Post Graduates were interviewed for the position of Peon in the Indian State of Rajasthan.
This situation is common in majority of Indian States where there is little or no correlation between the qualifications and the jobs; which is the result of poor quality of Higher Education and very minimal importance given to Research & Excellence. Quality & Excellence are intrinsic features of Education; and Education without these features can hardly be called Education at all. The need for promoting Quality & Excellence is one of the major challenges for Indian Education System.
Since the dawn of Independence in 1947, there has been a steady progress made by India in developing its Higher Education System. The number of Universities in India has shown a 5 fold increase from 20 in 1950 to 994 in 2019. During 1950, India had around 500 colleges which have increased to a total of over 42,000 in 2019. (Source: UGC Website)
Even though there has been a significant growth in terms of increase in the number of Universities and increase in Gross Enrolment Ratio; India has a lot to achieve in order to withstand Global developments. As per E&Y report, India lacks behind a lot of developing nation in its GER as shown below:
The Former President of India - Shri. Pranab Mukherjee has suggested that there is a need for Indian Universities to catch up with counterparts in the quality of teaching and research. He also indicated that out of 260 lakh students who were enrolled at UG level in 2012, only 0.4% had registered for PhD. This percentage stands still in 2018.
Unfortunately, the total number of patent applications filed by Indians in 2018 was close to only 12,300 while 4,20,000 applications were filed by China and 3,19,000 by United States of America. (Source: WIPO Report)
INTERNATIONAL RANKING - INDIA's POSITION AMONG THE WORLD UNIVERSITIES
As per the QS World Ranking 2019, only 3 Indian Universities ranked in top 200 list and no Indian University made it to Top 100. Whereas 31 US, 18 UK and 6 Chinese Universities made it to Top 100 as shown below:
Even though India has Institutions / Business Schools like Indian Institute of Managements, Indian School of Business etc, only 4 B-Schools were able to make it to top 100 list of FT Global MBA Ranking 2019. Only “Indian School of Business” was featured in top 25 list. 51 American, 11 UK and 7 Chinese Institution/ B-Schools were featured in Top 100 as shown below:
WAY FORWARD FOR INDIAN UNIVERSITIES
Indian Universities need a transformational change for them to become relevant in the context of Global Recognition. The Higher Education system in India, including the University Governance Systems, need to consider the following:
No Differentiation (Public & Private): Indian Universities shouldn’t be differentiated based on whether it is Public or Private. Instead the differentiation should be based on QUALITY, PERFORMANCE & CONTIRBUTION with more resources made available for Universities that are performing exceedingly well. It is important to note that not all Universities in India need to be engaged in same way and similar aspects of Institution Building.
Funding for Research :The World Class Universities are built through strong emphasis on Research. Due to limited focus on Research, not many Indian Higher Educational Institutes are globally recognized. In order to achieve Global Excellence and level up in Global Rankings, Indian Universities / Institutions need to focus on research and create an environment that fosters a culture of Research for building Global Knowledge and solving Local Problems.
Quality of Academic & Research driven Faculty: The most important ingredient in transformation and growth of any Educational System in any Country is directly related to the quality of its Faculty. There is need for India to have Institutions led by outstanding faculty who besides being exceptional academicians (teachers) will also be extraordinary Researchers. The global recognition of the Indian Universities/ Institutions doesn’t merely depend upon the talent and quality of its students but also depends upon the quality of teaching, research and publications.
Private, Not-for-Profit, Philanthropically funded Universities / Institutions: There is a need to expand and support the creation of private, not-for-profit and philanthropically funded Universities. In order to build Universities & Institutions of Global Standards, India must actively create platform for involvement of Private Sector and Corporate Philanthropy in Public and Private Universities. India has already taken substantial step in this regard and there are many New generation Universities being setup with support of Private Sector and Corporate Philanthropy.
Few Examples are listed below:
Indian School of Business
International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad
Azim Premji University
Ashoka University
KREA University
Shiv Nadar University
International Collaboration: To benchmark with Global Standards and compete with World Class Universities, Indian Universities shall increase collaboration with Leading Universities in US, UK, China, France etc for faculty support, curriculum design, joint research, student exchange program etc. Indian Universities must look at adopting best practices applied by these Universities instead of trying to re-invent the wheel. Learning from the experiences of the Globally Leading Universities and deploying best possible methodologies in order to achieve Global Excellence shall be a rewarding strategy.
CONCLUSION: In this tiny tract above, I have tried presenting a snapshot of Indian Higher Education system using data collected via sources like MHRD report, AISHE Report, E&Y Report etc. In the section “Way Forward for Indian Universities”; I have tried putting my thoughts about what Indian Universities shall focus on in order to achieve Global recognition and to compete with Global Universities. My thoughts above are based on my experience of working with the Institutions of National Importance (IIIT (PPP), IIT etc), Academic & Business Leaders and knowledge gained during my deputation with Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Thanks & Regards
Rohit Tiwari
This situation is common in majority of Indian States where there is little or no correlation between the qualifications and the jobs; which is the result of poor quality of Higher Education and very minimal importance given to Research & Excellence. Quality & Excellence are intrinsic features of Education; and Education without these features can hardly be called Education at all. The need for promoting Quality & Excellence is one of the major challenges for Indian Education System.
Since the dawn of Independence in 1947, there has been a steady progress made by India in developing its Higher Education System. The number of Universities in India has shown a 5 fold increase from 20 in 1950 to 994 in 2019. During 1950, India had around 500 colleges which have increased to a total of over 42,000 in 2019. (Source: UGC Website)
 |
| The Gross Enrolment Ratio defined as “Total enrolment in higher education as a percentage to the eligible official population (18-23 years) in a given academic year” has shown a 5 fold increase in past 2 decades from 5% in 1980 to 25.8% in 2018. (Source: AISHE Report) |
 |
The Enrolment in Higher Education has grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.4% 2000-01 to 2017- 18. |
Even though there has been a significant growth in terms of increase in the number of Universities and increase in Gross Enrolment Ratio; India has a lot to achieve in order to withstand Global developments. As per E&Y report, India lacks behind a lot of developing nation in its GER as shown below:
The Former President of India - Shri. Pranab Mukherjee has suggested that there is a need for Indian Universities to catch up with counterparts in the quality of teaching and research. He also indicated that out of 260 lakh students who were enrolled at UG level in 2012, only 0.4% had registered for PhD. This percentage stands still in 2018.
Unfortunately, the total number of patent applications filed by Indians in 2018 was close to only 12,300 while 4,20,000 applications were filed by China and 3,19,000 by United States of America. (Source: WIPO Report)
INTERNATIONAL RANKING - INDIA's POSITION AMONG THE WORLD UNIVERSITIES
As per the QS World Ranking 2019, only 3 Indian Universities ranked in top 200 list and no Indian University made it to Top 100. Whereas 31 US, 18 UK and 6 Chinese Universities made it to Top 100 as shown below:
Even though India has Institutions / Business Schools like Indian Institute of Managements, Indian School of Business etc, only 4 B-Schools were able to make it to top 100 list of FT Global MBA Ranking 2019. Only “Indian School of Business” was featured in top 25 list. 51 American, 11 UK and 7 Chinese Institution/ B-Schools were featured in Top 100 as shown below:
WAY FORWARD FOR INDIAN UNIVERSITIES
Indian Universities need a transformational change for them to become relevant in the context of Global Recognition. The Higher Education system in India, including the University Governance Systems, need to consider the following:
No Differentiation (Public & Private): Indian Universities shouldn’t be differentiated based on whether it is Public or Private. Instead the differentiation should be based on QUALITY, PERFORMANCE & CONTIRBUTION with more resources made available for Universities that are performing exceedingly well. It is important to note that not all Universities in India need to be engaged in same way and similar aspects of Institution Building.
Funding for Research :The World Class Universities are built through strong emphasis on Research. Due to limited focus on Research, not many Indian Higher Educational Institutes are globally recognized. In order to achieve Global Excellence and level up in Global Rankings, Indian Universities / Institutions need to focus on research and create an environment that fosters a culture of Research for building Global Knowledge and solving Local Problems.
Quality of Academic & Research driven Faculty: The most important ingredient in transformation and growth of any Educational System in any Country is directly related to the quality of its Faculty. There is need for India to have Institutions led by outstanding faculty who besides being exceptional academicians (teachers) will also be extraordinary Researchers. The global recognition of the Indian Universities/ Institutions doesn’t merely depend upon the talent and quality of its students but also depends upon the quality of teaching, research and publications.
Private, Not-for-Profit, Philanthropically funded Universities / Institutions: There is a need to expand and support the creation of private, not-for-profit and philanthropically funded Universities. In order to build Universities & Institutions of Global Standards, India must actively create platform for involvement of Private Sector and Corporate Philanthropy in Public and Private Universities. India has already taken substantial step in this regard and there are many New generation Universities being setup with support of Private Sector and Corporate Philanthropy.
Few Examples are listed below:
Indian School of Business
International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad
Azim Premji University
Ashoka University
KREA University
Shiv Nadar University
International Collaboration: To benchmark with Global Standards and compete with World Class Universities, Indian Universities shall increase collaboration with Leading Universities in US, UK, China, France etc for faculty support, curriculum design, joint research, student exchange program etc. Indian Universities must look at adopting best practices applied by these Universities instead of trying to re-invent the wheel. Learning from the experiences of the Globally Leading Universities and deploying best possible methodologies in order to achieve Global Excellence shall be a rewarding strategy.
CONCLUSION: In this tiny tract above, I have tried presenting a snapshot of Indian Higher Education system using data collected via sources like MHRD report, AISHE Report, E&Y Report etc. In the section “Way Forward for Indian Universities”; I have tried putting my thoughts about what Indian Universities shall focus on in order to achieve Global recognition and to compete with Global Universities. My thoughts above are based on my experience of working with the Institutions of National Importance (IIIT (PPP), IIT etc), Academic & Business Leaders and knowledge gained during my deputation with Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Thanks & Regards
Rohit Tiwari
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