Experts call for reforms to address higher education challenges

The future of universities in India will be determined by how effectively the youth are provided access to high-quality education, a top academic stressed at an event held here to discuss the challenges faced in higher education in the country.

"The future of Indian universities will depend upon how effectively we address the challenges of providing access to high-quality education for a large number of youth while promoting aspirations to build institutions of global excellence," said C. Raj Kumar, Professor and Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, India.

"Mediocrity in higher education needs to be rejected and the regulatory environment should favour differentiation and assessment models that recognise institutions of excellence," Raj Kumar stated while addressing the gathering at the 2017 Hamburg Transnational University Leaders Council in Germany held from June 7-9.

The event was attended by over 50 presidents and vice chancellors of the world's leading universities from 30 countries.

Jindal University was one of the two Indian higher education institutions invited to the event, with the Indian Institute of Technology being the other.

The forum was organised to initiate a dialogue among global university leaders about the current key challenges that national higher education systems around the world are confronted with.

"The historical distinctions borne out of biases and prejudices between public and private universities needs to be eliminated in India if we were to promote excellence in our institutions of higher learning. All universities should be treated equally and ought to have a public character and should be contributing towards common good," Kumar noted.

The forum considered the challenges of private higher education in the public interest and deliberated on adequate funding and control mechanisms of national post-secondary systems.

--IANS

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