UNIVERSITY AND HIGHER EDUCATION
4.1 overview 4.1.1 There has been a steady growth of higher education system in the country since independence. The number of universities has increased from 25 at the time of independence to 175 (including 28 deemed universities), and the number of colleges from 700 to nearly 7,000 at the end of the Seventh Plan period. The enrolment of students has increased from 2 lakhs at the time of independence to 42 lakhs in 1989-90. Of the total enrolment of 42 lakhs, 37 lakhs students (88%) were enrolled in graduate programmes, 4 lakhs (9.5%) in post-graduate and 47,000 (1.1%) in research. 55,000 (1.3%) students were enrolled in diploma or certificate programmes. The number of women students was around 13 lakhs (32%). About 10% of the total enrolment was for SCs and STs.
4.1.2 There has been a perceptible change in the trend in the growth of student enrolment during 1980s. While student enrolment increased by over 5% average each, year upto 1985-86, the annual growth of student enrolment from 1986-87 has been between 4.1% and 4.2% each year It is estimated that if this rate of growth continues, the total enrolment at the end of Eighth Five Year Plan should be around 60 lakhs students.
4.1.3 The faculty-wise break-up of students enrolment shows that nearly 40% of students were enrolled in Arts and Humanities, 22% in Commerce, 20% in Science, 5% in Engineering & Technology,
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5% in Law, 3.4% in Medicine and 196 in Agriculture. While there is a steady increase in the number of students enrolled in each faculty, the percentage of enrolment for each faculty in the total enrolment has remained steady during the last five years.
4.1.4 The enrolment in correspondence courses and open universities at the end of Seventh Plan was approximately 5 lakhs students. There has been considerable enthusiasm for distance education system in the last 2-3 years. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has enrolled more than one lakh students. one of the thrust areas during the Eighth Plan period would be to achieve additional enrolment of one million students in open universities and distance education institution.
4.1.5 The system of higher education in the country suffers from several weaknesses:
Proliferation of substandard institutions: A large number of universities and colleges have been established without adequate physical or academic infrastructure. Most of these institutions do not have. the required number of classrooms, libraries, laboratories and academic, staff. Nearly 3,000 colleges and 13 universities have not been found eligible by UGC for its development assistance as these institutions lack adequate facilities for imparting good education. There Is thus an urgent need to utilise scarce resources for strengthening the existing institutions.
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- Failure to maintain academic calendar: A number of universities in the country are not able to maintain their academic calendar. There is disruption of academic activities due to strikes and agitations. Courses are not being completed on time and examinations are delayed, as a result of which students are losing one to two academic years in several universities. There is an immediate need to restore academic discipline in universities and colleges.
Outdated curriculum: The curriculum has not been revised and updated in many universities for several years and has become outdated. Curriculum for several courses is also not relevant to the socioeconomic and development needs of our country. The National Policy on Education provided for a national curricular framework which would promote values such as India's common cultural heritage, democracy, secularism, protection of environment, removal of social barriers and inculcation of scientific temper. There is a need to revise our curriculum so as to reflect recent developments in all fields of knowledge and to make it socially relevant.
Disparities in the system: There is vast difference in the quality of education in universities and colleges in different parts of the country. There are a few universities and colleges which have been able to maintain high standards of
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education and serious students from all parts of the country are gravitating towards these institutions. The rest of the system, which caters to the bulk of the student population, continues to be mediocre. The 2products of these institutions are not equipped to find gainful employment or purpose and add to the social frustration and discontent.
Lack of adequate support for research: The contribution of universities in the overall research effort in the country has remained marginal. Research institutions have received larger allocation of funds and there has generally been a shortage of funds to support high quality research in the university system. The research activities in universities have also riot been very relevant to the development needs of the country.
Lack of financial resources: The system of higher education has been largely dependent on State funding and it has not been possible to provide the necessary resources for the growing demand of the higher education system. The share of higher education in the total, Plan allocation for the Education sector has been decreasing progressively since the Sixth Five Year Plan due to higher priority accorded to other sectors of education. Since the availability of resources of the Eighth Plan is much
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below the requirement, the system of higher education will have to generate its own resources to meet its development needs.
4.1.6 Several important schemes have been introduced in the last few years to restore the integrity, discipline and credibility of the system, and to elevate and maintain standards of higher education in the country. Teachers have been given better salary scales and it is hoped that universities will be able to attract the best talent to the teaching profession. The first all-India screening test for recruitment of Lectures was conducted in December, 1989. For the first time, a code of ethics and procedure for assessment and evaluation of teachers have been evolved. The system of Academic Staff Colleges for re-orientation and refresher courses for teachers has started working. A beginning has been made for granting autonomy to Colleges and University Departments. An academic calendar has been prepared and would be monitored. Andhra Pradesh has set up State Council of Higher Education and some other States are considing setting up of State Councils to co-ordinate development and growth of higher education in the States. Concerted efforts have been made to improve quality of teaching and research in selected departments under the programmes of special assistance, including COSIST and other similar programmes. Common research facilities of international standards in fields of Nuclear Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Atomic Energy have been set up to provide research facilities and services. Model curricula for all disciplines have been prepared by Expert
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Committees and circulated to universities for adoption. Special assistance is being given for starting courses in emerging areas like Bio-technology, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Electronics and Computer Sciences. Finally, alternate models of university management are being considered.
4.1.7 Keeping in view the needs of the system of higher education in the country and the schemes already initiated during the Seventh Five Year Plan, the following would be the thrust areas for development of higher education during the Eighth Five Year Plan:-
- Consolidation and strengthening of facilities in universities and colleges.
- Re-designing and restructuring of courses to meet the development needs of the country.
- Support to establishment of autonomous Colleges, Universities Departments and examination reforms, strengthening of research facilities, with special reference to creation of common facilities.
- Greater involvement of students in extension activities like adult education and population education.
- Teacher training.
- Modernisation and restructuring of the management of the university system.
- Generation of financial resources from within the system.
- Additional enrolment of one million students in open Universities and distance education system.
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4.2 University Grants Commission 4.2.1 University Grants Commission, as a national body for coordination and determination of standards in universities, plays a pivotal role in the development of higher education in the country. UGC assesses the development needs of the universities and gives financial assistance for construction of buildings, classrooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels, purchase of books and journals, equipment, and appointment of teaching staff. UGC also provides financial assistance for promotion of research and other academic activities in universities and colleges. The Commission has assessed its requirement for development of universities and colleges in the Eighth Plan at Rs.1,768 crores, as against the actual expenditure of Rs.576 crores during the Seventh Five Year Plan. The Annual Plan of UGC for 1990-91 was Rs.130 crores and for 1991-92 Rs.138 crores. Keeping in view the availability of resources and the pattern of past expenditure, an outlay of Rs.980 crores has been proposed for the Eighth Five Year Plan. A brief write-up on some of the major schemes of UGC is given below.
Development of Central Universities 4.2.2 UGC provides development grants to Central Universities for books, journals, equipment, buildings, staff and campus development. The campus development. of the newer Central universities, viz. NEHU, Hyderabad and Pondicherry Universities is not yet complete. The older Central Universities, namely Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi University and Visva-Bharati were established more than 70 years
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ago and there is urgent need for renewal and modernisation of their infrastructure. In addition, new campuses for Assam and Nagaland Universities have to be established during the Plan. Against an allocation of Rs.78.27 crores for development of Central Universities during the Seventh Plan, an allocation of Rs.150.00 crores is proposed in the Eighth Plan.
State Universities and Colleges 4.2.3 UGC provides development assistance to State Universities and Colleges for general development purposes and for implementation of special programmes. During the Seventh Plan, 95 Universities and more than 3,000 Colleges were provided development grants. on an average, a University was given Rs. 2 crores and a college about Rs. 3.4 lakhs during the Seventh Plan. For the Eighth Plan, UGC has liberalised its share of assistance for construction of library buildings and women's hostels from 70% to 100% UGC also proposes to give greater priority to restructuring of courses, enhancing of research capabilities and extension programmes. During the Seventh Plan, UGC gave assistance of Rs.239 crores to Universities and Colleges. An outlay of Rs.380.00 crores is proposed. during the Eighth Plan. Even with this proposed outlay, UGC would be able to provide, on an average, Rs. 1 crore for a university and less than Rs.10 lakhs for a college for their development needs during the Plan.
Centre of Advanced Study and
Special Assistance Programme 4.2.4 UGC has been assisting University Departments to enable them to raise their standards of teaching and research. About
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280 Departments are receiving special assistance under different programmes, such as Centre of Advanced Study, Departments of Special Assistance and Departmental Research Support. UGC carries out regular evaluation of the Departments supported under the Special Assistance Programme and, by and large, this programme has been found successful in improving research and teaching in the selected Departments. Against an outlay of Rs.32.97 crores in the Seventh Plan under the scheme, an allocation of Rs.50.00 crores is proposed in the Eighth Plan.
Computer Education and Facilities 4.2.5 UGC has provided assistance for installation of computer systems in all the Universities. In addition, 800 colleges have also been assisted for purchase of mini/micro computer system. UGC provided assistance in collaboration with Department of Electronics for running several courses in computer science. During the Seventh Plan, UGC provided assistance worth Rs.23.09 crores under this scheme. An outlay of Rs.50.00 crores is proposed for the Eighth Plan.
Inter University Centre/Consortium 4.2.6 During the Seventh Plan, UGC established Inter University Centres to provide common research facilities and services of the highest quality in Nuclear Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics and Atomic Energy for the benefit of scholars and researchers in the university system. UGC proposes to expand this programme during the Eighth Plan and set up such centres in Arts and Social Sciences also. Against an outlay of Rs.33.16
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crores in the Seventh Plan, an outlay of Rs.60.00 crores is proposed for the Eighth Plan.
Educational Technology 4.2.7 UGC produce and telecasts daily education programme for the general enrichment of students and other sections of society. UGC has set up 7 Audio Visual Research Centres and 4 Education Media Research Centres for production of a softwares and training to support educational broadcasts. UGC proposes to expand this programme and also to produce programmes in regional. languages. An outlay of Rs.15.00 crores is proposed in the Eighth Plan against an outlay of Rs. 11.08 crores in the Seventh Plan.
Extension Programme 4.2.8 Universities/colleges are actively involved in the adult Literacy and population education programmes. UGC provides assistance for promoting programmes of adult education, eradication of illiteracy, continuing education, population education and Jana Shikshan Nilayams. In the Seventh Plan, UGC gave assistance worth Rs.20.36 crores for the extension programmes. UGC proposes to extend the adult education programme to 95 universities and 2000 colleges during the Eighth Plan. An outlay of Rs. 50 crores is proposed for the Eighth Plan.
Special Programme for Weaker Sections 4.2.9 UGC has several programmes like Teacher Fellowships and Research Fellowships exclusively for SC/ST candidates, and remedial teaching for weaker sections, including minorities, on which a sum of Rs. 2 crores was spent during the Seventh Plan.
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An allocation of Rs.5 crores for extended coverage under these programmes is proposed during the Eighth Plan.
4.3 Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) 4.3.1 The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) was established by an Act of Parliament in September, 1985 for the introduction and promotion of the Open University and Distance Education systems in the educational pattern of the country and for the coordination and determination of standards in such systems. The major objectives of the University include widening of access to higher education by providing opportunities to larger segments of the population, particularly the disadvantaged groups, organising programmes of continuing education and initiating special programmes of higher education for specific target groups like women, people living in backward regions, hilly areas, etc. IGNOU provides an innovative system of university level education, flexible and open in regard to methods and pace of learning, eligibility for enrolment, age of entry, methods of evaluation, etc.
4.3.2 The University has adopted an integrated multi-media instructional approach including print materials and audiovisual aids, supported by a tutorial system, contact classes and summer schools.
4.3.3 IGNOU is at present offering certificate, diploma and graduate programmes in Management, Distance Education, Creative Writing, Commerce and Library Science. Courses in rural development, higher education and basic sciences are being
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started shortly. During the Eighth Plan, the IGNOU's thrust will be introduction of non-traditional employment-oriented courses in functional areas. Courses in counselling and guidance for primary teachers, nutrition and health education, early child care and education, construction management and water resource management are under preparation. IGNOU also propose to initiate work on re- orientation of existing correspondence courses offered by conventional universities.
4.3.4 IGNOU will have enrolment of approximately 1.50 lakhs students by March, 1992. IGNOU expects enrolment to increase by two lakhs by the end of Eighth Five Year Plan. Apart from developing its own campus, IGNOU will have to open a large number of Study Centres and create other necessary physical and academic infrastructure to meet the requirements of growing enrolment.