Paradigm shift in higher education system

Ranbir Singh
Senior Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi

The Nehruvian model of a centralised command economy and planned economic growth, in which the public sector had been accorded primacy, laid the foundation for development by creating the much-needed infrastructure for economic growth. However, a combination of factors had led to an economic crisis in India in the 1980s. This compelled the PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress government to adopt the new economic policy, which culminated in the ushering in of the era of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. This paradigm shift in the nature of Indian polity has resulted in a paradigm shift in the higher education system of the country as well. 

Consequently, there has been a large-scale proliferation of institutions of higher learning. This is evident from the quantum jump in the number of IITs, NITs and engineering colleges; management institutes, medical universities, conventional universities and colleges. This shift has, on the one hand, created a large cadre of highly competent and well- qualified youth; on the other, it has also led to the creation of a large cadre of unemployable youth in the country. Besides, the privatisation of higher education of all types has resulted in depriving the poor students of quality education for which they do not have adequate means.

Another fallout of this shift has been the decline in the prominence of conventional courses in the sciences. It has also led to the emergence of a tendency among the well-qualified youth to refrain from going in for research and teaching assignments. A great deal of expertise is also being wasted because of their craze for getting into the civil services. Moreover, many of them search for greener pastures in developed countries. This has resulted in brain drain. Instead of being used for the development of the country which has been subsidising their education, their talent is being utilised by the developed countries. 

The information revolution initiated in India during the late 1980s, too, has impacted higher education in a significant manner. 

On the one hand, it has facilitated the acquisition of knowledge by the students through the Internet; on the other, it has developed an instant coffee approach in them. They tend to have a cut-and-paste approach instead of learning and researching by consulting original sources and drawing results through dedicated experimentation. 

Another dysfunctional consequence of this paradigm shift in the higher education system has been the marginalisation of the disciplines of the humanities in various universities and colleges. A widespread belief has overpowered the administrators of these institutions as well as the students who join these that the study of the disciplines like the languages such as English, Hindi, Sanskrit and regional languages like Punjabi, Marathi, etc has lost importance because a post-graduate degree in these subjects cannot be helpful to them in getting good jobs. These are being grabbed by those who choose to get degrees/diplomas in engineering, information technology and management. 

The same feeling prevails on a large scale among the administrators and the teachers about the discipline of philosophy, which is the mother of all sciences and the promoter of reasoning among students. The status of social sciences such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, political science, and economics is no different in this context. 

As a result, the educational institutions are reluctant to offer these courses and the students are equally reluctant to join these. Research in these basic disciplines is also being neglected by the funding institutions like the UGC, the ICSSR, the ICHR and other funding agencies. Consequently, the scholars from social sciences are being denied the resources needed for promoting research in their disciplines. 

The result of the marginalisation of humanities has been that socially relevant issues are not being researched. Small-scale industrialists, those engaged as artisans in various trades, the peasantry and the working class have been hit hard on account of it because their problems are not being highlighted.

Another consequence is that it is no longer possible for the persons from the lower middle class and the marginal farmers as well as the landless labourers to avail themselves of the health facilities and education in the private sector. The gradual withdrawal of the state from these sectors and its decision to give a free hand to the private sector has added to their woes.

Therefore, it is essential for the decision-makers at the national level to do policy intervention and make course correction for ensuring that maximum advantage is taken from the technological breakthrough as well as to ensure that the interests of the youth from the rural areas and the weaker sections are safeguarded.

The universities and colleges can also play a significant role in this regard by rising to the occasion. 

This is a challenging task but not an insurmountable one. The academic staff colleges of various universities, too, can contribute by inculcating in them a quest for serving society as well as a zeal for updating and upgrading their knowledge and skills.