The Ills of Higher Education
There are very few countries in the world that have as many universities and academies of specialized learning as India. India’s position is high on the list of countries with the largest number of technically-trained and skilled people. The contributions of many Indians in modern times to the development of pure and applied sciences, mathematics, literature, the fine arts, medicine and management are remarkable and renowned. India can recall with pride the work of its great leaders, who, blessed with a rare vision and political acumen, laid the foundation for an enduring democratic polity. Undoubtedly, it was the worthy education all these Indians had, that was responsible for their achievements in various fields of life at various times.
It is a surprise that Indians of later generations failed to let themselves be inspired by such a hoary heritage. But the surprise loses much of its sheep when certain aspects of Indian society, like over-population and illiteracy are analyzed in detail. It can be seen that the achievements of present-day Indians match favourably with those of the people in advanced countries only in numbers, not in proportion or content. There may be as many graduates or post-graduates, professionals or technicians in India as anywhere else; but as a proportion of the population, India’s numbers are modest. Furthermore, the generally poor standard of our professionals and academics makes our higher education scenario seem quite dismal.
In India, higher education suffers mainly owing to the tendency to overlook merit and talent, while deciding eligibility for such education. Merit and talent are natural attributes. They may be prevalent widely, but their distribution among the people is not uniform, both in nature and in content. Hence, not everyone can have an aptitude for higher education: In Indian society, however, higher education, or at least qualifications like a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree, is considered a symbol of high status. There is a craze among people to earn such qualifications or to get them at any cost, in order to acquire respectability in society. Thus, from being a means to pursue knowledge, education has been transformed to a device to acquire social esteem. Coupled with this change in the objective of higher education, is the choice of corrupt means to compensate for poor eligibility — a fact which causes most of the ills that plague higher education.
Of all the corrupt practices that are visible on the higher education scenario, favouritism and financial influence are the most damaging. Money and its ill-effects are more evident in privately-owned educational institutions, where admission is based on capitation. In many of these institutions, money often compensates for poor curricular performance or for failure in examinations. The main aim of these institutions is profit-making, and quite often, they relax even eligibility norms for the benefit of those students prepared to compensate such relaxation with money. The poorer your eligibility, the more you pay’, is often their policy.
As widespread and as damaging as the influence of money in such institutions, is the effect of favouritism. Often, students related to the teachers or patrons of such institutions, enjoy privileges and preferential treatment denied to others. Similar is the case of those related to famous personalities or influential politicians. The privileges may vary from the time of reducing capitation at admission, providing unfair support in tuition, or judging curricular performance with flexibility, to, compromising on the impartiality and confidentiality of examinations.
Favouritism and influence of money are not confined to privately-owned educational institutions alone; they also exist in the ones owned by governments. But mercifully, considerations of merit and ability are not being ignored in government-owned institutions to the extent they are in others. A government-owned institution is still the only arena of hope for meritarious but financially poor students to gain an education.
But in recent times, due to lack of money, the governments at the Centre and in the States have gradually been delegating their responsibility in the field of education to the private sector. If may be true, that at present, the governments, do not have enough money to service the education sector themselves. But it should not be forgotten that the crisis of finance is due more to the mismanagement of money in the past, than to the unavailability of funds now. The central government started off promisingly by making heavy investments in higher education, but diluted the focus on it by choosing to share the responsibility for higher education with the state governments. Despite the sincerity of the governments at both the national and state levels in promoting education, differences of opinion developed between them on how to realise their aim. In due course, owing to their differences, the central and state governments started working at cross-purposes, instead of cooperating with each other. The plan for such collective or shared responsibility should not, however, be faulted. The failure of the plan was due more to its poor implementation that to any flaw in the plan itself.
Another step taken by the government that failed, is its policy on reservation. The reservation policy was conceived to counter India’s peculiar socio-economic situation, in which large section of the population led a life of humiliation and deprivation. As the results show, the policy has succeeded in uplifting many in these sections to a semblance of respectability, and more importantly, to a level of education and welfare that can sustain that respectability. But unfortunately, those who have been uplifted are unwilling to give up the privileges of the policy for the sake of those still suffering deprivation. Thus, instead of percolating through all the different social strata, the benefits of the policy are getting stagnated in pockets, because of the selfishness of those the policy has benefited.
Adding to these drawbacks in the education system, are the incompetence and insincerity of the teaching community and the inadequacy of the commonly adopted teaching practices, The standard of the training teachers undergo, is rarely displayed in the manner they teach. Whatever the manner and method of training, teaching ability being an art, can be developed only by dedication and constant practice. Much of the problems of the education system is due to the inability of teachers to manage student behaviour and performance properly. Qualities like versatility, tact and patience, so essential in student management, are rarely shown by teachers, though most teachers claim to be trained to use them.
With the education system being predominantly book-based, the only aspects of education that matter are to teach and to be taught. Emphasis on learning or encouragement for it is totally absent. The ability to memorise lessons and to reproduce them in examinations is all that the system requires of a student. The fact, that without familiarity in practical skills, proper understanding of social behaviour, and healthy interaction with fellow human beings, no person can expect to be successful in life, is conveniently ignored by the education system.
With all these ills plaguing higher education in India, it is not surprising that politics and politicians play a more active role in education than desirable. Political influence, like that of money is omnipotent and money is perhaps the major inducement for politicians to interfere in the education system. Politicians may have a say in the appointment of teachers or admission of students, in deciding syllabi and curricula; in the management and utilisation of funds, and sometimes, even in deciding who should qualify, and who should not. If money is the greatest ill that afflicts the higher education system, it is the politicians who control its use or misuse. Money that can create infrastructure like libraries and laboratories, more often than not, is used for trading favours and privileges.
Another undesirable side-effect of political interference in higher education is the manipulation the student community suffers at the hands of politicians. Politicians are always conscious of their popularity and the student community being what it is: immature, volatile and energetic, is an easy resource the politician boosting their popularity. They divide the student community by igniting passions over one frivolous issue or another and encourage the students to fight among themselves; with the fruits of such fights always serving the politicians’ interest.
But however much the scenario of higher education seems discouraging, hope for a turnaround should not be abandoned. Many of the practices that have revived universities elsewhere, which were afflicted by similar maladies as ours are, can be adopted to improve our system also. Sincerity of purpose and single-minded dedication to realise it, are all that we need to restore the glory of our hoary tradition in education. Such changes as are necessary, can hardly be brought about quickly. Patience and perseverance in nurturing the changes will make them meaningful and durable.
