By the time this article is printed and read, the Modi-Jinping summit would have concluded. The second informal summit that brought together two pairs of eyes and ears would have been watched and heard by more than a billion pair. The heads of the two countries that constitute almost 40 per cent of global humanity and pipped to be amongst the top 3 global economic superpowers by 2050 would have discussed many issues in the coastal and cultural town of Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. I’m neither an expert on China nor on diplomacy but it requires no rocket science to realise that there are many common pathways to traverse for both the Asian giants. There is no pre-scripted agenda for this summit just as there was none during the first at Wuhan, but wishful thinking is our personal choice and here is mine.
India and China are of same age in so far as their current country identities are concerned but both have a civilisational history that is a continuum of sorts. Currently, both have concerns in their economic growth, unemployment, infrastructure and utilities for a populous country, etc. The visit of Jinping may be shorter than the Wuhan summit but there are possibilities of creating a longer impact in many trouble-free waters. Higher education is a possible smooth sailing without rocking the diplomacy boat. Both India and China have common problems and solutions in higher education.
China would be more than quadrupling its undergraduate population which was 10 million in 2000 to around 50 million by 2020 and India would have also achieved its targeted gross enrolment ratio of 30 per cent by 2020 and both expect more growth considering the explosive demand in higher education. The political will of China and India are both in harmony when it comes to putting education amongst the country’s top policy agenda. Both have put in place a vision for building world-class universities and China’s attempt is bigger than India’s which has surprisingly restricted itself to 20 compared to China’s 40. Both are betting high on digital and online educational value chain and flexible liberal arts-driven higher education than the structured and regimental model. Both will succeed in some and fail in some. Both are willing to break the rigid top-down barriers by infusing flexible and creative models of engagement. Both are moving towards student-centric than the legacy-burdened teacher-centric approach. Both want higher education as a tool for indigenous development.
India and China can come together for better success rates as there are common aspirations and areas of concern. The size and scale of the problem that needs to be confronted is as monstrous as the Chinese dragon or as fearsome as the Indian tiger. Both have infrastructure problems with China addressing it relatively better but still struggling. Faculty shortage and quality in teaching-learning mechanisms is native to both.
Though both are looking towards the West for solutions, it may be a right time for an Indo-China magic formula in higher education reforms.
S Vaidhyasubramaniam
vaidhya@sastra.edu
Vice-Chancellor, SASTRA Deemed University