Arun Kumar: Higher education in India - When accountability is not institutional
Higher education in India suffers from a lack of a
democratic leadership that understands its true nature. For those heading
academic institutions, accountability is personal and not institutional
or societal. The erosion of autonomy and accountability in centres of
education is the biggest challenge an aspirational and rising India
faces
The Director of the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT), Delhi, has resigned because he was sought to be marginalised
by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD). The faculty and
alumni of IIT have come out in his support but the issue festers. Unfortunately,
this has little to do with the real problem facing IITs — a lack of
adequate faculty and little cutting-edge research. Even before the indiscriminate
expansion of the IITs began, these institutes faced a shortage of faculty;
at times to the extent of 40 per cent. The IITs face a reverse filtration
of talent. The best obtain a B.Tech degree and either leave for foreign
shores or move on to study management. The second best continue pursuing
higher degrees which in turn leads to a weak research programme. Like
IIT Delhi, other institutions of higher education in the capital have
also been in the throes of crisis.
The country’s best university, Delhi University,
has been in a state of turmoil for several years. Its vice-chancellor,
who has been responsible for this continues in spite of accusations
of wrongdoing. His presence is demoralising for academic staff and the
student community. Since a university is not about its buildings but
crucially its students and faculty, their alienation damages the institution
irreparably.
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
faces a crisis because the earlier vice-chancellor recklessly expanded
its scope. While this provides a false sense of dynamism, for an institution
of higher learning, this spells trouble since it is almost next to impossible
to get good faculty in a short period of time. Dependence on outside
experts for courses is problematic since they do not bear primary responsibility.
The vice-chancellor, accused of wrongdoing, is under investigation.
Autonomy being eroded These are not isolated institutional problems. They are generic in nature
and can be found to exist in different degrees in almost all institutions.
What plagues Delhi University once prevailed at Jamia Millia Islamia
and Aligarh Muslim University. A shortage of faculty and the use of
ad hoc teachers affects almost all universities.
The highest National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC)-rated university, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU),
faces declining standards of research. The university, whose raison
d’être was research, confronts growing instances of plagiarism because
those in authority brush it under the carpet. The problem is being dealt
with mechanically by providing software. Instead, the real problem is
the breakdown in trust between student and teacher. Many students have
little time to spend on their dissertation since they are working elsewhere
and/or preparing for competitive examinations.
Some faculty in order to be popular dilute standards
and supervise three or four times the number of research students prescribed
under University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. There are others who
run non-governmental organisations and institutions outside JNU. The
result is a conflict of interest and where academics with little time
for research supervision allow anything to pass. There is a lack of
leadership at JNU but this is true of other institutions also where
decisions are not made on time.
“The claim that India has
arrived on the world stage rings hollow without an independent technology
base”
All this is symptomatic of a lack of a vision of higher
education in the entire system — from the Ministry to the UGC to the
institutions of higher learning. The Ministry and the UGC expect their
diktat to run, little realising that their demands from these institutions
may not suit all. “One size fits all” and “standardisation to
achieve standards” is anathema to higher education. Such prescriptions
damage the better institutions as has been the case with the introduction
of the mechanical Academic Performance Indicator (API)-based recruitment
and promotions. Rather than ensuring quality, this move has led to the
emergence of poor quality journals, conferences and so on and the promotion
of mediocrity. It is undermining the autonomy of academics which is
crucial in fostering accountability to the long-term interest of society.
The HRD Minister’s conclave with the vice-chancellors
of the Central Universities in September suggested fundamental changes
in the running of these universities. Since the Central Universities
are some of the premier universities in the country, what they do becomes
the model for other universities. Therefore, it is important to know
whether what was discussed would help resolve the problems of these
universities. The same vice-chancellors who created the problems described
earlier are now heading the committees working on the proposed changes.
Apparently, a council of the vice-chancellors of the
Central Universities, with the Minister of HRD heading it, has been
proposed. In addition, all the Central Universities are to be brought
under a common Act, there is to be a common curriculum, a teacher’s
recruitment board, transferability of students among these universities
and so on. If any of this is implemented, the autonomy of Central Universities
will be severely eroded. This was the programme of the United Progressive
Alliance government and is perhaps being pursued because the bureaucrats
of the Ministry are driving the agenda.
Key problems :
The key problems confronting higher education in India are quality,
equity, access and financing. In the last 10 years, there has been a
massive ad hoc expansion of Central Universities, IITs and Indian Institutes
of Management resulting in a shortage of faculty by 40 to 50 per cent.
Established older institutions are doing a bit better but not much since
about 33 per cent of the positions at Delhi University and JNU lie vacant.
Shortage by itself does not reflect the extent of the problem since
quality of faculty is crucial. Appointment of ad hoc teachers at salaries
close to minimum wages and for years at a stretch is demoralising and
results in a deterioration in quality.
Good faculty are reluctant to join newer institutions
as they lack infrastructure and because many of them are in remote areas.
Transferability of teachers across Central Universities can only spread
good academics thin and lead to a deterioration of quality in established
universities. In an authoritarian system, this can be used to punish
teachers by posting them to remote areas, thus undermining autonomy
and leading to sycophancy.
When transferred to weak institutions, good academics
could become demoralised. Sending weak academics to good institutions
may not lead to their betterment but could result in a deterioration
of quality in these institutions. Good students would not transfer to
weak institutions but poor quality students would want to migrate to
good institutions and this could lead to corruption.
Teaching and research Our education system is plagued by the separation of teaching and research.
Knowledge is largely acquired through rote learning of notes or reading
books that are a “cut-and-paste job”. Thus, understanding is at
a discount. Consequently, many Indian intellectuals tend to be “derived
intellectuals”, recycling knowledge from the West. Exams are mechanically
passed by “mugging up” material which is then promptly forgotten.
Knowledge is neither assimilated nor converted into wisdom. The result
is that the system largely produces people with indifferent quality
and where industry complains of a lack of skills.
Independent intellectuals are seen as being troublemakers
and are harassed. Mediocre academics, realising that they cannot excel
academically, resort to petty politicking and/or become sycophants of
those in power in order to climb the ladder. Those at the top take the
support of the latter group and adopt the principle, “show me the
face I show you the rule” It is this group that violates rules secure
in the knowledge that the authorities will not act against them. They
bring a bad name to higher education and erode the accountability of
the institution.
The government has announced a slew of programmes
like ‘Make in India’ which depends heavily on a strong research
and development capability which in turn requires a dynamic system of
higher education. The claim that India has arrived on the world stage
rings hollow without an independent technology base. It is no wonder
then that we are forced to borrow technology from China for bullet trains
or ask the U.S. to help clean our cities. The ‘Swachh Bharat’, ‘Clean
Ganga’ and other such campaigns require citizenship which a democratic
and inclusive education system can deliver but a purely formal education
system cannot. Unless the crisis in higher education is tackled, the
government’s best laid plans can be derailed.
In brief, higher education in India suffers from a
lack of a democratic leadership that understands its true nature. Those
heading these institutions are usually the favourites of those in power
(political or money). They largely implement the agenda of their masters
and, therefore, do not feel the need to be accountable to the academic
community. To them, accountability is personal and not institutional
or societal. They undermine the autonomy of the democratic bodies of
universities, like the academic council through threats and inducements.
Some institutions have no unions that can balance the autocratic behaviour
of their heads. Thus, the erosion of the autonomy and accountability
in institutions of higher learning is both from within and without.
This is the biggest challenge before an India that aspires to arrive
on the world stage.
(Arun Kumar is the Sukhamoy Chakravarty
Chair Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, and President, JNU Teachers’ Association.)
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/lead-article-when-accountability-is-not-institutional/article6764600.ece