India achieved a gross enrolment ratio of 18.8 per cent in higher education by 2012 through expansion schemes under the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP). Recent higher education surveys have documented three aspects. One, quantitative expansion has not always led to quality enhancement. Two, employability of engineering graduates ranges between 20 and 40 per cent, but that of arts and science graduates is only around 10 per cent. Three, a survey revealed value degradation and decline in gratitude to teachers by 61 per cent.
To address the mismatch between expansion and quality of employable, value-inculcated graduates and to bridge the quality gap, a multidimensional reforms package has been evolved by the UGC in its 12th FYP document.
As 94 per cent of the students’ pool is through 33,023 colleges affiliated to 316 universities, which are seats of expansion, innovative reforms in colleges and in the process of affiliation to universities have been formulated in the 12th FYP. These have been further necessitated by the compounded load of affiliated colleges. Osmania University, for instance, has 901 affiliated colleges and Pune University 811. The system is thus stifling quality enhancement of State universities.
After assessment of the requirements for these reforms and the limitations of the UGC, the government has evolved the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a Centrally sponsored scheme for higher education, in a mission-mode to focus on State higher educational institutions.
Certain other reforms have also been initiated. These include proposals to limit the number of colleges affiliated to any university to 100; to encourage large autonomous colleges to develop into universities; to create college cluster universities by clustering a minimum of 50 colleges in a city or district; and to allow Central and State universities to have 5-10 constituents, autonomous colleges, to be mentored by the parent university as ‘model colleges’. These schemes are being funded with the proportionate participation of State governments.
RUSA envisages elevating 45 out of the 441 autonomous colleges as unitary universities, establishing ‘model colleges’ in educationally backward districts and strengthening infrastructure of State colleges.
A Rs 25,000-crore package of quality rejuvenation schemes for State universities and colleges has been approved, by which 316 universities and 13,024 government and aided colleges will receive performance-linked funding.
For the first time since Independence State-level higher education institutions are being funded by the Centre, with a budget of Rs 1,28,000 crore.
The skewed funding pattern of the 11th FYP by the UGC can be better understood from the fact that `5,606 crore of the `6,776 crore (82.7 per cent) was provided to Central universities and their colleges, which produce only 6 per cent of the total students, while State universities and colleges, which contribute 94 per cent to the students’ pool are provided with only 17.3 per cent of UGC funds.
RUSA is an excellent opportunity for State universities to upgrade the educational and research ambience of their infrastructure, knowledge resources and skill development expertise to produce international quality manpower. It should be underscored that the upgraded colleges and universities would be mentored for high-quality research outputs with fund-associated expertise through RUSA.
Considering that teachers are the backbone of educational reform, any genuine service-related/administrative concerns highlighted by teacher bodies have to be promptly remedied by governments. The bodies, on their part, have to pragmatically approach this reform scheme and provide collective wisdom for further quality refinement.
Resistance to change is born out of inadequate understanding. The concern is whether we want higher educated manpower to acquire international-level expertise with high employability or dwindle through mediocrity.