Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education in India

In March 2009, Prof. Yashpal committee submitted their report to the government advising various recommendations to renovate the higher education system in India.

The committee emphasis concerns on mushrooming engineering and management colleges and deemed universities, with some notable exceptions, which have largely become, mere business entities dispensing very poor quality education.

However, the committee recognizes the fact that IITs and IIMs are the only bright spots in the otherwise dismal scenario of higher education in India. These institutions were created in the first phase of nation building, and kept out of traditional university structure to give them free play to be able to help the nation to have a pool of excellent engineering and managerial talent. The commission acknowledge their success in this avenue.

Looking at the enormous potential they have, it has been felt that they must strive to be models of all-round excellence, like the famous Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or CALTECH in the US. The commission further recommends, this requires rethinking to prevent isolation of the study of the engineering and management from other knowledge areas. This realization is reflected in the initiatives of some of the IITs that aim to introduce humanities and other discipline and expand their scope. These initiatives strengthen our argument that they need to broaden their curriculum framework and assume the functions of full-fledged universities without loosing their unique character. We can than look forward to the day when IITs and IIMs would be producing scholars in literature, linguistics and politics along with engineering and management wizards who would have substantial motivation for engagement with the local community, and the opportunity to use and enhance learning by solving real-life problems in their immediate environment.

While working towards this goal, different IITs and IIMs could have different strategies to expand and diversify, however the government once again have to trust on their autonomous structure.

Currently, many students passing out from institutions of higher education do so without obtaining the kind of skills they really need to work in a real-world environment. Among the drawbacks many student face the lack of ability to analyze or solve problems, relate problems to different contexts, communicate clearly and have an integrated understanding of different branches of knolwedge.

These problems can be addressed if the processes by which curriculum is designed and then syllabi are determined undergo improvement.

Alumni of IIT and IIM can take on this challenge to help the new generation to understand the reality of different kinds of work. It would allow students what they have learned in the classroom to real-world situations and in doing so not only makes them better prepared for their own entry into the world of employment or academic research, but also strenghtens their understanding of the underlying concepts they are supposed to have learned.

with inputs from Prof. Yashpal Committee report