Apparently to take away the sting out of the movie “Cheat India” – the censors demanded that the creators of the film should attach the term “Why” before its title as the original title sounded something like an invite to people to “cheat India”. This bears some form of rationality.

With this I recall my meeting (in my early thirties) some distinguished personalities– who came in touch with Gandhiji and some of them questioned his non-violence of “extreme form of non-violence”. Simultaneously we mulled on the question if corruption could be restricted to only transacting “unaccounted for money” or not. From a deeply philosophical perspective it is not; as the society never runs on money alone. It is morality, ethics and day-to-day diverse relationships that crystallise into a living form. Academic dishonesty is thus a terrible form of corruption.

I am tempted to at the academic world aberrations, as something that resides on the surface but the sea of incompatibility and irrationality is much deeper. Whether we revert to the original title of “Cheat India” or not is a great issue but we are concerned about not utilising the “demographic dividend” that we often express in our policy documents as a strength will soon be seen as a “mangled mass of useful steel” as the gorge between the requirement of the employers and the capability of the students – is fast broadening.

The current role of the universities in general is quite enmeshed into the Indian education system (barring few top-notch ones who think with different ‘hats’) – as there had been a backward integration done with the infrastructure and the systems – discovered long back from British rule. It is always a matter of intense discussion if the millions of schools in India that begins teaching in mother tongue (in early childhood) and at times switches to English (and also reverses policy of coming back to the original language of communication) – makes the education system jittery in terms of supporting it with right kind of teachers and also the school infrastructure.

Whether one agrees or not – we are building a castle on sand – as these students who are exposed to different qualities inputs from their childhood – can assimilate the contents that are provided in large quantities in the higher seats of learning. Let us refer to the 2019- ASER data that is published every January, which reveals that “poorer one is, the kids learn less”, “under privileged kids with barely educated parents, learn the least”, “inter-generational inequity persists in higher levels of schooling”. Thus any new modelling of higher education without these premises would be infructuous.

Just to emphasize – we may take a look at the credit schemes in different Universities (both in management streams & engineering) – and we can see that hardly students get 4 days for completing one credit if the

We have seen that in the past ten years or so, the education sector has dominated economic planning; and thus the overall well-being of the society. Different Governments have devised and publicized national missions & programs along with suitable reforms agenda, by both central & state governments with (larger) private sector intervention. Thus the emerging picture of higher education is quite grey. In the centenary celebrations of Patna University – Mr Narendra Modi mentioned “we will provide assistance of 10000 Crores to 10 private universities and an equal number of government universities, for a period of five years.” He mentioned it to be “step forward” towards making the 20 universities “world class.” Looking at it with intensity – we accept that enhanced capacity is being created with speed.

However centralised control and an unvarying approach overcasts the regulations. We are in the midst of twenty first century, strongly following mid-century regulatory regime. Some of our Asian counterparts like China & Singapore, have, enviably, marched ahead by evolving into advanced economies with synergistic strategic planning that encompasses transformation of education sector that is in sync with the economic development and with a special focus on higher education & research. It has provided them with a global competitive edge.

There is a growing concern among the intelligentsia, business and the government that Indian Universities do not make it to the top 200 universities published by the Times Higher Education (THE was credited in Ben Wildavsky’s book : The Great Brain Race: How Global Universities are Reshaping the World) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Ranking. However latest report shows that in 2019 – three Universities IIT Bombay, IISC Bangalore and IIT Delhi fare in QS ranking at 162-170-172 positions respectively. In the Times (THE) List (2019) of top 200 – none could make it. This might be the result of the initiatives of the MHRD in 2015 to roll out the NIRF standard. Let us imagine that two or three or may be five universities achieve a rank in the Times list!

Will it change the face of higher education?

The Indian higher education system faces a host of challenges, among which the issue of access and quality rank could be considered as prime. The government has set a goal of increasing the enrollment ratio among Indians of college age (gross enrollment ratio, or GER) to 30 percent by 2020 [may be to 40% by 2025], from a current rate of just under 20 percent. In doing so, the government hopes to bring the nation’s GER broadly into line with the projected 2020 global average. It also recognizes that quality standards need to be improved in tandem with access if the GER goals are to have a measurable impact on the broader Indian economy.

As far as management education and research is concerned – we might have absorbed a lot from our US counterparts. Before we reflect on the US Education environment – here is something Obama felt and he expressed the same when there was a summit organised by the Asiatic Society Organisation in New York [partnership with the American Federation of Arts, the Chinese Museums Association, and the Nanjing Museum] in 2016.

President Obama has called for American schools to align student achievement with the demands of the global economy, saying, “The source of America’s prosperity has never been merely how ably we accumulate wealth, but how well we educate our people. This has never been more true, than it is today. In a 21st-century world where jobs can be shipped wherever there’s an Internet connection, where a child born in Dallas is now competing with a child in New Delhi, where your best job qualification is not what you do, but what you know—education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity and success, it’s a prerequisite for success.” He promised 100 billion (compare Modi).

After two years or so USA is seized with the issues that are haunting the American Universities; to keep the article compact we have provided some brief glimpses below:

1. Steep rise in cost of University education – For the past five years, aggregate college enrolments have fallen. There is simultaneously a reduction in the benefits that accrue to college grads and undergrads. Hence logically thus declining monetary benefits forces parents / individuals to ask “is college worth it?” or “shall my ward can fetch a decent return on investment that I make to the University?”
2. The state funding for Universities & colleges have been reduced & thus there is a spurt of privatisation of education – hitherto unseen.
3. Changes in teaching methods and curricula have brought in new challenges of faculty time, student perspectives and the demands of the employers ( somehow collaborative restricting space & time is involved)
4. Students are seen to leave the campus without completing degrees
5. Cheaper approach to vocational certification is disrupting high cost deliveries in universities
6. Maintaining a balance between free speech and secure & safe environment in the Universities (we have seen similar unwanted situations in Aligarh University & JNU to name a few). It relates to the “affirmative actions” that India preached for hundred years while USA for about 50 years or so.
7. Sixth, the value of a college degree as a device to signal knowledge, intelligence, discipline, ambition, and integrity is fraying, jeopardizing the economic advantages of a university education.
8. The earnings advantage of college graduates relative to high school diploma holders is not rising as previously, as employers find that too many college graduates lack the positive distinctive qualities they want in new employees. And that is very true for the Indian counterparts also.

Being an issue that touches me at deep recesses, might have written more but with a mandate to be concise – would summarise the critical aspects.

• Government spends on education sector need sharp increase (selective areas) with a clean channel
• Reducing descriptive answers – replaced by application based examination
• Easy access to psychological & educational councillors
• Updating syllabi with current inputs – yearly to fight obsolescence
• Employable skills should be integrated into schooling & in colleges by way of mixing vocational programs with academic subjects
• Uprooting academic dishonesty, lack of originality, plagiarism, purposeless research

But nothing is impossible – we surely look forward to the “bona tempora” with creative & critical thinking from academicians and a transparent & logical implementation by the government.

“Disce quasi semper victurus vive quasi cras moriturus” – learn as if you’re always going to live; live as if tomorrow you’re going to die.