'Indian higher education commendable in creating leaders'

The Indian higher education system is a sort of hybrid with more or less equal participation from government and private players and would benefit exponentially if both start complementing each other in their respective roles, Chairman and Managing Director of Skoda Auto India Ltd, Sudhir Rao, said here today.
Stating this at the National Higher Education Conclave 2015, organised by CII here, he said the higher education system has been commendable in creating leaders who now rule the world.
Rao said that in the global arena, protecting the nation and its reputation was of paramount importance to bring in development. In this scenario, government has a legitimate role to play in supporting the stakeholders of the education sector without compromising on quality, he said.

Though regulation was important in keeping a tab on the quality of education, its nature should vary depending on the institution, keeping in mind the social objectives to be met when compared to the costs of education, he said.
As mature institutions have self-correcting mechanisms to maintain quality standards, the government, instead of regulating them, should focus on developing deserving institutes and it students, Rao said.
CII Coimbatore Zone chairman Dr K V Srinivasan stressed the importance of developing a strong linkage between industry and academia to bring in a transformational change in the higher education landscape.

Event chairman C R Swaminathan spoke of current trends affecting the higher education sector like employability of graduates, issues in accreditation and quality standards, policy changes, leveraging technology in course delivery and development of start up ecosystem.

In his inaugural address, Navas Meeran, past CII Chairman, (Southern Region), said promoting industry-institute interaction was of critical importance in harnessing the demographic dividend of the country.
S Malarvizhi, conclave co-chairperson and chairperson and managing trustee, Sri Krishna institutions, said stakeholders from across the sector would work together to bring in a transformational change in the higher education landscape.
According to the panel, another reason of faculty posts
remaining vacant is that the recruitment process, through the Public Service Commissions is often time-consuming. The process of recruitment also gets delayed due to litigation, it noted.
"However the alternative of recruiting ad-hoc and part- time faculty impacts adversely on the quality of teaching and research. It has been found that wherever the states have invested in permanent, qualified faculty, the outcomes are far superior and a lesson has to be taken from the benefits of proper recruitment of faculty," the panel said.

Apart from Subramanian, the other members of the panel include Shailaja Chandra, former Chief Secretary, NCT of Delhi, Sewaram Sharma, former Home Secretary, NCT of Delhi, Sudhir Mankad, former Chief Secretary, Gujarat and Prof J S Rajput, former Director, NCERT.
Addressing the issue of research, the panel has suggested that budgetary allocations in this regard should be increased and facilities for carrying out research should be improved.
"Policy-makers need access to good research - however, this element is not usually factored into most research projects; equally policy-makers in general seldom reach out to universities to suggest appropriate research themes on issues of significance, that calls for a nuanced understanding," the panel has said.

It also said that to the extent possible, teachers should be recruited and attached to particular institutions, rather than be part of an organised service where they are subject to frequent transfers.
In another significant observation, the panel said accreditation should be made mandatory for all institutions of higher education.
The panel observed that at present, accreditation is mandatory only for general stream higher education institutions receiving grants-in-aid from the UGC.
"Technical and medical institutions are not required to go through the accreditation process. Accreditation should be made mandatory for all institutions of higher education, including technical education, medicine and agriculture, both in public and private sectors," it said.

The committee has also said that innovative options have to be offered to talented students at the class 12 stage from amongst, say the top performers (depending upon projected manpower requirements of specific subjects at college and university level).
"They could be offered admission in a 5-year integrated course in those disciplines, which would include an emphasis on nurturing teaching skills, research methodology along with subject specialisation. This total period should be fully sponsored from public funds so that the best people are motivated to join the teaching profession in higher education," the panel said.
A team of senior bureaucrats in the HRD ministry is presently studying the report as a National Education Policy (NEP) is being created by also including inputs from the states.