For all our crowing about the superior quality of our institutions of higher learning, they are yet to achieve world standards. Not a single Indian institution figures in two lists – both well-respected, one brought out by the British and the other by the Chinese – of the world’s hundred top universities. American and British universities lead the pack with the Americans dominating the top rankings. Eight of the top ten universities and 17 of the top 20 universities are American. India can take some comfort that a few of its institutions figure among sub-categories.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) at Delhi and Mumbai find mention among the world’s top 50 technology institutions in the British list while the Chinese list mentions the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, IIT Kharagpur, and University of Calcutta among the top Asian institutions. Indian educationists and policy makers can be expected to find fault with the criteria adopted for the ranking to explain away the dismal presence of the country’s institutions of higher learning among the world’s best. They would do well instead to critically examine the Indian university system.

In terms of the number of graduates it produces, India is doing well. Its 300 universities and 15,600 colleges churn out 2.5 million graduates annually. In terms of numbers, it produces the third largest number of graduates after the US and China. Around 350,000 engineers - twice the number in the US – graduate from its engineering colleges. But while our institutions are good at churning out the numbers they are faltering at stimulating minds.
India was once renowned for its centres of learning to which people from all over the world flocked to acquire knowledge about religion, the arts, sciences and languages. These universities used to buzz with intellectual activity. Today, India is trailing not only behind other countries but also behind its own performance in the past.
Standards are falling. Research output is poor and neither students nor faculties publish or update their knowledge. A part of the blame lies with inadequate funds and infrastructure. However, it is the way our system functions that lies at the heart of the problem. Excessive political and bureaucratic meddling has contributed to the decline of our institutions. Outdated ideas regarding education persist in universities. Students are encouraged to conform in their thinking rather than to debate ideas or to innovate. They are coached to pass exams, not to question concepts. Indian universities are in decline. We need to stem the rot.