The Union HRD Ministry had, some months ago, announced that it planned to scrap the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and replace them with a new body named Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA), which would regulate both technical and non-technical institutions.
Recently, however, it said this proposal had been put on hold. It is still critical, nevertheless, to address the reforms that the Ministry hopes to bring about that will be of critical significance for higher education in India.
For nearly a decade, concerns have been raised in many quarters about the deteriorating quality of higher education, and the associated command-and-control based regulatory mechanisms in place in the country.
Regulatory control, autonomy
A case in point is that of a 2010 AICTE circular which announced that matters related to admissions, curriculum, fees, and the like would be decided or approved only by an authorised government agency. This circular was challenged in the Supreme Court, and institutions have been functioning since then based on the reprieve granted by the apex court.
Multiple regulatory controls by numerous statutory bodies with their labyrinthine mechanisms have challenged all institutions, preventing an innovative and creative environment from taking root in higher education institutions. To illustrate, regulators prescribing areas in an institution that could be used for toilets shows the level and extent of such micro-regulation. Such ‘deep regulation’ reflects a flaw in the entire oversight system.
In the past, the reports of various committees and commissions have highlighted the deficiencies of regulatory bodies, pointed out the lack of autonomy and freedom given to higher education institutions, and made recommendations for their growth and qualitative improvement. However, so far nothing substantive has come out of these reports.
Poor rankings
All existing Acts/guidelines of the UGC and AICTE need to be thoroughly reviewed in the context of the educational requirements of the present globalised times. Indian universities hold dismal rankings in the academic world. Currently, the best we have is IISc Bangalore, at 152 in the QS World University Rankings. Next is IIT Delhi, but only at 185. With major financial support and almost full autonomy, this is the best ranking these government institutions have attained in the 60-odd years of existence.
With the pincer-like grip of regulators stifling any autonomy, it is anybody’s guess what Indian private institutions can achieve when it comes to global standards. Institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Kellog, Oxford, MIT, and the like earned their status of “world class” not through government guidelines or regulations, but on their own through the autonomy they enjoyed.
Meaningful reform
It is high time Indian higher education found its proper moorings at the global level and minimised the outflow of lakhs of Indian students, who leave the country in search of quality institutions of learning.
If the issues holding back such a major shift in quality are not addressed appropriately, the new regulatory environment (HEERA, or any other) would reflect but lackadaisical and half-hearted reform and may become yet another case where the problem simply changes hands, and is not really resolved in any meaningful or useful fashion.
It is time for all those involved in drafting the blueprint of educational reform to revitalise the very concept of an encouraging and conducive environment that promotes quality education, with an emphasison autonomy and accountability, and fostering creativity and innovation, thereby nudging institutions to move towards becoming world-class.