State varsities need more support

Niti Aayog’s recent report ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Universities’ is an attempt to address the challenges faced by India’s higher education system with particular reference to state universities. It tries to look at the opportunities in an important area of education and makes suggestions to improve the standards. The report examines the changes in education in the last decade and makes recommendations on quality, funding and governance. It calls for action to improve the accessibility and global competitiveness of the universities. India’s top-tier educational institutions such as the IITs do not rank among the best in the world. The standards in state universities are quite low. Since state universities cover 80 per cent of the country’s higher education, the need to improve their way of functioning is clear.

According to the report, the main problem with the state universities is inadequate investment and poor quality of spending. There is a marked disparity between states in the matter of spending on higher education. States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu are at the top in spending; Bihar and Manipur also rank high. This has raised questions about the quality of spending. Karnataka’s spending is relatively low, though it has the highest college density, a high gross enrolment ratio and a high student-teacher ratio. The report has made over 80 recommendations and framed short-, medium- and long-term policies and implementation strategies. It has also delineated over 120 performance success indicators. These have been compiled after wide consultations with all stakeholders in the field of higher education.

The report recommends enhancing research capabilities and improving pedagogy. It seeks setting up of Centres of Excellence aligned to a national research policy and research universities that will bridge gaps between research and education. It also recommends multi-disciplinary education which will promote research. These are welcome recommendations but they also raise questions about the implementation. States do not have the financial resources to achieve these aims. Their spending on education has steadily declined in the last many years. Money is not the only constraint; politics is a major factor influencing the sector. The recent UGC guidelines for universities are seen as a move by the central government to take control of state universities. All educational institutions need freedom and minimal intervention from external agencies to achieve excellence. University education is an extension of school education. So standards of school education should improve if they have to improve at the university level. The spirit of enquiry and scientific temper should be encouraged as important individual and social values, as they are essential for the pursuit of excellence in any field, particularly education.