ICTpost Education Bureau
India has only 355 universities, and it needs 1,500 if it wants to pull up its gross enrolment ratio (GER) to 15 per cent from 13 per cent by 2015
Education and skill development play a pivotal role in economic development and growth of any country as they provide an environment for creating jobs and help in reduction of poverty and other related social fallouts. In India, there is scarcity of skilled manpower in every industry, from good carpenters and plumbers to factory workers, doctors and scientists. The banking industry, which employs 900,000 people, is expected to add 600,000 more over the next three to four years. This shortfall can be met by India, where both educated unemployment and the number of people joining the workforce are on the rise. In short, the opportunities before India are huge, provided our education sector gears up to take these on.
To reap the benefits of the demographic dividend to the full, India has to provide education to its population and that too quality education. The draft Twelfth Plan focuses on teacher training and evaluation and measures to enforce accountability. It also stresses the need to build capacity in secondary schools to absorb the pass outs from expanded primary enrolments. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is geared towards achieving useful and relevant elementary education for all children. This movement is showing results.
It’s time we encourage, engage and motivate both not-for-profit and profit-making institutions to set up educational institutions. Whoever wants to contribute to this sector must be encouraged to do so. There is a role for everyone. There is too much to be done.
‘Policy reforms’ in the education sector
We need ‘policy reforms’ in the education sector. Players in this sector must be given the freedom to enter, operate and exit. India needs more universities. While Japan has 4,000 universities for its 127 million people and the US has 3,650 universities for its 301 million, India has only 355 universities for its 1.2 billion people. According to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, only 9 per cent of the 3,500 colleges, which went through the accreditation process, fall in A category, the best quality. India has only 355 (both state and central) universities, and it needs 1,500 if it wants to pull up its measly gross enrolment ratio (GER) to 15 per cent from 13 per cent by 2015. China, on the other hand, has created 1,250 universities in just three years.
Indian education sector also needs ‘financial reforms’, especially in higher education. The government should provide scholarships and loans to those who need it the most, and leave academic fee to be determined by market forces. That’s what will make our Educational institutions relevant and self-sustaining. The need of the hour, therefore, is to rapidly implement this three-pronged reform process, policy reforms, curricular reforms and financial reforms.