Private providers in higher education have largely grown in a policy vacuum: Vice President Releases the book The Education President and presents the first copy to the President of India

Private providers in higher education have largely grown in a policy vacuum: Vice President Releases the book The Education President and presents the first copy to the President of India The Vice President, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that the private providers in higher education have largely grown in a policy vacuum. He was addressing after releasing and presenting to the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the first copy of book titled The Education President, compiled and brought out by International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building of the O.P. Jindal Global University, here today. The Vice President said that since independence, our higher education sector has witnessed tremendous growth and that a feature of this expansion, especially in the last 25 years, has been the increasing participation of the private sector in higher education. Referring to various surveys, he however said, that educational scene in our country today - primary, secondary and university or professional - present a dismal picture as it suffers from the tyranny of numbers, the folly of seeking quick fixes, and indifference to quality. The Vice President said that Rashtrapati ji himself, who has taken great interest in matters relating to higher education, had occasion earlier this year to express concern over this state of affairs. Correctives are piecemeal, inadequately implemented, and insufficiently funded, he added. The Vice President also expressed concern over skewed sectoral and regional growth of private institutions, the lack of research orientation and the growing financial burden in form of educational loans. He said that keeping in mind the egalitarian objectives of our polity, there is a need for an effective and transparent regulatory mechanism that can encourage private investment in improving the quality of state universities, starting skills development courses and capacity development of faculty. These regulations need to be strong to ensure that private universities are well governed and provide quality education, he added. Following is the text of the Vice Presidents address: Respected Rashtrapati ji, Naveen Jindal ji, Vice Chancellor Prof. Raj Kumar, Ladies and gentlemen; I am happy to be here today to release and present to Rashtrapati ji the book, titled The Education President. The book looks at the catalyzing role the President of India has played in his capacity as Visitor of 116 central institutes. The architects of our polity had deliberately crafted this role in the governance structure of institutions of higher learning for the highest Constitutional office of the land; a similar role has been given to the Governors in their respective states. This indicates the importance assigned to higher education in the development of the nation. This book is intended to rekindle a debate on the governance of institutes of higher learning in India. High quality institutions and a healthy higher education sector is an essential dimension in our quest to becoming a knowledge society. Since independence, our higher education sector has witnessed tremendous growth. From 20 universities in 1950, we now have 677 universities of which 45 are central universities and 51 are deemed institutions of national importance. A feature of this expansion, especially in the last 25 years, has been the increasing participation of the private sector in higher education and, according to the UGC, there are presently 239 recognized, private institutions established under various regulations. It is generally accepted that higher education is an effective investment, both for individual mobility and for social development. Higher education institutions today have the role of imparting knowledge, training the minds of a new generation, and equipping them with intellectual and practical tools to respond to the economic and social demands of society. To what extent is this being done? Various surveys of the entire educational scene in our country today - primary, secondary and university or professional - present a dismal picture. It suffers from the tyranny of numbers, the folly of seeking quick fixes, and indifference to quality. Correctives are piecemeal, inadequately implemented, and insufficiently funded. The government, at the Central and State levels, has a regulatory structure whose efficacy is a matter of debate. Education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution. This means that both the centre and states can enact laws related to education. At the same time, the mandate of determining standards of higher education and research lies with the centre, as this falls under the Union List. Yet, the private providers in higher education have largely grown in States and in a policy vacuum. A bill to regulate the establishment of private universities, introduced in Parliament in 2005, was shelved after opposition from various political parties and private players. Rashtrapati ji himself, who has taken great interest in matters relating to higher education, had occasion earlier this year to express concern over this state of affairs. Let us remind ourselves of some facts: The proportion of the University and College going student population in India in the age group of 16-23 is a dismal 6%, low even when compared with developing countries, the figure being 20% for both Egypt and Thailand, 10% for Turkey, 11% for Brazil and 16% for Mexico. In the developed countries access to higher education is to the tune of 40% and more. Thus, though higher education in India has expanded generally, inadequate access continues to cause concern. While enrolment of women and those belonging to SC/ST groups and other educationally backward communities has improved, they are still under represented in higher learning. Almost 59 percent of students in higher education are in private institutions and while some of these maintain high standards, a majority is lucrative degree granting portals. Infrastructure is inadequate and Student admission is not transparent. There are concerns about quality. A NASSCOM-McKinsey Report of 2005 found that only 25 per cent of Indian engineers were employable in the offshore IT industry. The National Knowledge Commissions (NKC) working group on medical education similarly noted that the rapid expansion of private medical and nursing colleges has led to falling standards and reduced quality of graduates. There has been no perceptible change in the past decade. The cost of higher education in private institutions constitutes a substantial financial burden, thereby making it increasingly more difficult for economically weaker segments to use education as an opportunity equalizer. This becomes a cause of concern since opportunities for gainful employment are not getting enhanced proportionately. Available data from Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance shows that by December 2014, some 30 lakh students had availed educational loans amounting to Rs 70,475 crore. The skewed growth of private providers towards professional courses is another issue of concern. Most private self-financing institutions offer education in only a few disciplines - engineering, medicine and management are considered most desired. They account for around 80 per cent of engineering and over 50 per cent of medical 'seats' available to students. It is, with a few exceptions, not much concerned about social sciences, fine arts etc essential for all round development of citizens in our society with a multitude of problems relating to accommodation of diversity. The private institutions as a whole lack research orientation in higher education and have yet to demonstrate capacity to create knowledge on a sufficient scale. Given these limitations and keeping in mind the egalitarian objectives of our polity, there is a need for an effective and transparent regulatory mechanism that can encourage private investment in improving the quality of state universities, starting skills development courses and capacity development of faculty. These regulations need to be strong to ensure that private universities are well governed and provide quality education. I congratulate the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building of the O.P. Jindal Global University, for this initiative. I am confident that the insights emerging from it would benefit both the specialists and the general public. Jai Hind."

Private providers in higher education have largely grown in a policy vacuum: Vice President Releases the book The Education President and presents the first copy to the President of India

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