Indian Higher Education- an Overview

Higher education is a vital requirement for the growth of any country as it builds a highly evolved, refined, knowledgeable society. Since 1947, Indian higher education has logged a remarkable growth and is on the verge of constant evolution ever since. Indian higher education, even though being marked as the third largest in the world, still faces many challenges and disputations but still hopes to achieve great prospects in the coming years. Despite of the fact that there are many private as well as government schools, colleges and universities in India only a few of them have NAAC and NBA accreditations. It is also a sad point that many of these institutes lack a stable faculty, basic infrastructural facilities and an appropriate curriculum and calls out to the need for a major revamp in the current educational system.

Higher Education comprises of a series of courses, degrees and qualifications that are necessary for anyone who wish to pursue a professional career. And that means it is closely associated with one’s personal interests such as: what subjects to study, which college/school to study in, how long to pursue your studies and the mode by which you want to study and so on. Many programs and schemes have been introduced by UGC over the last few years in favour of the students and thereby contributing to the growth and development of Indian higher education. As a result many new institutions in Science, Arts, Technology, Engineering and Medicine have been flourished all over India.

Challenges Faced by Indian Higher Education:

Being one of the densely populated nations, India is on the constant run to keep pace with other countries on the economic front, yet India also faces wide challenges on the education front.

• Low rate of enrolment

When compared to other countries like China and Brazil, India has a comparatively lower rate of enrolment in higher education.Only a few in India receive the privilege of higher education. Indian Higher Education has cracks and faultswhen it comes to enrolment. Also issues such as poor economic conditions of the rural areas are all matters that affect the education sector.

• Poor quality teaching and learning

There are numerous issues that reflect the quality of Indian Higher Educational system such as: an enduring shortage of faculty, poor quality teaching, outdated curriculum and training, constraints on research capacity and zero room for innovation.

• Need for Privatization

There are many private institutions that offer professional courses in the fields of medicine, engineering, management, information technology and law. Once they are linked with foreign recognition, the impact it can have on the education system would be huge. Rather than falling prey to political conspiracies and recommendations students should be judged on the basis of their academic abilities and only the deserving candidate should be awarded with a rightful degree.

• Out-dated examination system

That particular fault in our education sector needs no further explanation. The system is obsolete and gives more importance to spoon feeding the syllabus rather than making way for creativity. And that means by-hearting the syllabus can actually put you through your college graduation.

The Need for a Change:

Huge expansion at all levels of education is what the Government has in plan for the coming years. Indian Higher Education is surrounded with numerous issues such aspoor quality, limited admission and failed justice and each state is looking forward to a major transformation in this sector.

The standard of education India provides is low. While there is an increasing demand for seats, there are not enough schools, colleges or universities that provide the children even the basic standard in teaching and learning. The gap between rich and poor is widening day-by-day and truth be told, not everyone enjoys their basic right to education. Even now, inequality and injustice prevail in India and all these are the challenges Indian higher education system faces.

The private sector has been taking over the Government in the past couple of years and it does play a significant role in the development of Indian higher education. They aim to fulfil the dreams of some middle class rich parents who are willing to educate their children spending a much bigger amount of money given the fact that they need some high quality institutions. In the coming years, we shall all hope that India would rise up to meet these challenges and work its way through achieving the ultimate motto: Quality education to all.

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