Even as the academic community in the country has reacted with a fair amount of scepticism and criticism to the concept of Innovation Universities, the United Kingdom has reportedly indicated its interest in the proposal and possible avenues for collaboration under the U.K. India Education and Research Initiatives (UKIERI).
A high level delegation comprising the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Oxford University; VC of Imperial College, London; VC Designate of Cambridge University; and president of Association of Universities of U.K., who will be accompanying British Prime Minister David Cameron, are expected to discuss it during their meeting with the Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal later this week.
But within the country, Innovation of Universities Bill has been described as “institutions with autonomy but without accountability.” “Any university is an institution for innovation. The concept discredits the existing universities,” Prof. Thomas Joseph, member secretary of the Kerala State Higher Education Council told The Hindu.
He suspected that Innovation Universities was a new name given to the deemed-to-be-universities concept abandoned by the Centre. “Earlier, universities were established under the Act of Parliament or State laws but now this job will be done by promoters and bureaucrats,” Prof. Joseph said while pointing out that the draft gave only broad guidelines and there were no minimum qualifications. But his main objection was to the entire concept of “setting up model universities”.
“The government could only set up some norms for world-class universities which could not be established overnight but evolved over time. Such concepts may be broadly relevant but do not take into account national requirements like reservations,” he said, adding that differential salaries and fee-setting freedom given to individual universities would set off a new trend.
Little innovation in Bill
However, the sharpest criticism came from Prof. Goverdhan Mehta, National Research Professor and former Director of Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) who said there was very little evidence of innovation in the Bill itself. “Though it is some improvement over the Central Universities Act, it needs to be re-looked in every aspect to bring in an element of novelty and innovation,” he said.
“While I do subscribe to the need for having universities that are visible globally, we do already have some good universities which have not been well projected,” he said, while describing the title of the Bill as “inappropriate terminology”.
“All universities are supposed to innovate. They have to evolve; not be established. The draft Bill in the present form is not commensurate with its title, and there needs to be an informed debate on it to that new ideas come up,” Prof. Mehta said.
The Tamil Nadu-based Sastra University has said establishing new universities either by private sector in the country or outside under the banner of “Universities for Innovation” would only discourage existing universities which are capable of such work, provided the right amount of independence.
While suggesting revamping of the existing 400 universities in the country by giving them full autonomy, Prof. R. Sethuraman, VC of the Sastra University — a deemed university — has demanded a transparent administration system in every university, and prohibiting of bureaucrats and political powers from interfering in the functioning, as that would go a long way in furthering research and academic growth of the institutions.
“The present attempt to introduce a new Bill to establish ‘Universities for Innovation' will pave the way for closure of existing universities, with a false hope that such new proposed universities alone will be innovative,” Prof. Sethuraman said.
Though welcoming the idea of setting up proposed Innovation Universities, Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director Indian Institute of Management (Kozhikode) said much would depend on the concept's implementation.
Access
Reacting to the draft, Prof. Chatterjee said if everything went right, the new generation would have access to the kind of education that the previous one never did.
“Such universities are necessary because the U.S. and the U.K. today are [placed so] essentially because of the kind of innovations they did in their higher education system. In India, at present we have straitjacket, typical convention education with little room for developing skills. This needs to be changed,” he explained.
Appreciation poured in from the ICFAI (Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India) Foundation that runs several universities across the country, who said autonomy was a welcome move, but wanted the removal of any kind of provisions for reservation from the Bill.
“If the endowment fund is to the tune of Rs. 1,000 crore or above, then there will be few takers,” T.R.K. Rao, Director, Corporate Communications of the Foundation said.
Keywords: India, United Kingdom, Indian universities, ICFAI
Immigration for research oriented education and immigration for job oriented education are two different things. There is always a fine balance from India in those who reach shores of USA and UK for either reasons. In the proposed model where education infrastructure is off-shored by these countries into India it may serve neither purpose.
1. The research oriented fellows will need Industrial and other funding sources for these institutions to setup the same level of R&D competency.
2. The cost of education to the jobs that can secure may not change much compared to those getting educated in our current better rated institutes.
Further this entire concept will bring in no good result as I see it as the education itself is going to be abnormally expensive leaving it to be in reach of only financially elite few and it would never reach masses.
We need a layered lean cost education system covering masses and this needs both vision to cover our largest young population and at the same time absorb the better talent into indigenous research oriented schools. This is only possible when businesses get involved in education end to end with long term goals.
US and UK education system leaves students with job oriented education goal with disproportionate loans to what they gain in terms of education.
Education should remain a service and not a money making exercise. It should be viewed in context with developing a generation and not just another liability in the budget. The whole talk about private, FDI and other investments are deliberate attempts from the incumbent to avoid the most important responsibility. We want a revolution from within the country to revamp the system with due importance to research.
Thanks for this nice post. you are improving day by day
regards
Our country has no value for its universities. No government have made significant changes to help universities for R&D firmly. Then, how would relation with Oxford university help the students in India. Ooh, it helps British to cash more with this relation and push the students out after the course.
All these efforts by the western nations to start these innovative universities in India - Is that an attempt to make money in our soil and to prevent Indians from reaching US or UK for higher studies so that their local policies of capping Immigration would be successful. What difference is it going to make for an ordinary citizen, who in yesteryears would study in an Indian University and if he is really skilled and motivated then he would work in a western nation compared to what is probably going to happen if the so called new universities would be started , wherein they will have a degree from a collabrated university and not find an oppurtunity to go abroad as there would be cap in the migration in all these so called developed nations. Would the Indian companies pay more in terms of salary just because he has been educated in these universities or will the common man be at a loss just because he has spent so much on fees for these universities and at the end of the day work in India in a company that would pay much the same because he is an Indian?
Here in Scotland where I live there is huge enthusiasm amongst the universities and seats of Higher Learning for Indian Students to come and study. Scotland already has over 4,000 such students and would welcome more. That must also be the case in other parts of the UK. I have written Quicklook at India just for people who need to understand and appreciate and respect India's great history and modern progress. Too often in the recent past well meaning but ignorant western people have not known about India's great history and indeed that on the subcontinent there were possibly the world's oldest universities, some around modern day Patna, and one in what is now Pakistan. However, to fully utilise a foreign university education or indeed have those universities set up facilities in India state education within India must achieve a good standard so that all of India's aspirational youth can seek to achieve this sort of higher education, not just those from privileged well to do families. Through Education will India become the greatest 21st Century Power for Peace and Prosperity.
Who other than the Indians will pay such huge fees and study in the British Universities? Can any British university run without the support of the Indian students?
One of the important functions performed by the western universities is fundamental research which is almost absent from most of the Indian universities whose main task seems to be specialisation in rote learning by students to get through examinations which may or may not be rigorous enough to ensure quality of the emerging graduates. Universities in the west also undertake applied research in collaboration with industry. Research in India is largely confined to the institutions run mainly by the central government.
Western universities, though they may be dependent to a greater or lesser degree, open or indirect, on the state, for their funds, do enjoy a certain amount of autonomy which they exercise mostly with due care. Governments in India, on the other hand, are forced to keep a tight rein on the resources they provide to the universities because autonomy is often abused because of political pressure, greed etc.,
If the private sector is allowed to run universities without adequate oversight to maintain educational standards and quality of teaching, there is the risk that buccaneering capitalists will turn the system into a money-spinning exercise rather than providing educational opportunities to all.
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