Research requires refreshing ambience

One often comes across animated discussions amongst learned academics and professionals from varied walks of life expressing their concerns on the status of research and innovations in India.
Research requires refreshing ambience

One often comes across animated discussions amongst learned academics and professionals from varied walks of life expressing their concerns on the status of research and innovations in India. On research and development (R&D), India spent only .69 percent of its GDP in 2014-15. It is lowest amongst the BRICS nations. Major developed countries spend more than 2 percent of their GDP on R&D. Though India accounts for 17 percent of global population, it had only a 2.7 percent share in the global R&D expenditure during 2014-17. Obviously, the measure of output, and its quality would relate to the level of input inadequacy.   

It would also impact the environment and ambience considered critical to inspire and motivate high quality research in universities and other institutions. The change that has occurred during the last five decades could reveal the path for refurbishing this extremely significant sector. As a doctoral research fellow in the early 60s in the University of Allahabad—then a state government university—one could recall the vibrant research   environment that attracted highly talented young persons from all over the country.

The scenario stands totally transformed. The operational catchment area stands shrunk, there is acute shortage of faculty, and an atmosphere of indifference and unconcern amongst both the teacher and the taught exists. The healthy competition to publish one’s research paper in the topmost international journal stands replaced by the number of publications that would fetch the right academic performance indicator (API) score necessary for the next promotion.

While this reflects the position in most of the universities, one must hasten to add that exceptions—both amongst institutions, groups and individuals—still exist. A few still believe in what was popularised by Swami Vivekananda: Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man. Universities are universally tasked not only with diffusion and extension of knowledge, but also with creation, advancement and utilisation of new knowledge. They create the future, and could make life worth living for one and all.

Why are the most talented young persons reluctant to enter the research arena? Do they have better alternatives?   A year back it was reported that 5.53 lakh Indian students were studying abroad in 86 countries, 55 percent in the US alone. In a university department or a research institute, if a young person sincerely slogs for five years in earning a doctorate degree, there is no guarantee that a teaching job would be available. The much sought-after Delhi University is known to ‘make do’ with around 4,000 irregular faculty.  

If young academics are kept on tenterhooks for several years, one could visualise the deterioration in the ambience that is the pre-requisite for quality research. So is the job stability for young persons. Once that aspect is looked after well, one could justifiably expect high-quality research output. Senior academics, in personal conversations, accept that after the time-bound promotion schemes, the research environment has not remained the same.  

The decline has further been accentuated by large-scale expansion, intrusion of dividend-oriented privatisation, and resultant decline in the quality of professional and academic leadership. And who could ignore the impact of the API that resulted in the mushroom growth of ‘journal industry’, making publication of research papers a farce. It’s time to ponder over what Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan taught us over seven decades ago: Intellectual work is meant only for the intellectually inclined.

J S Rajput

Former director of the NCERT

rajput_js@yahoo.co.in

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