 MAINTENANCE OF STANDARDS

We shall now consider the question of the steps which the Union Government must take to ensure that minimum standards of efficiency and uniformity in the sense of equivalence of standards in all the universities and institutions of higher education in such matters as courses of study, examinations and standards of teaching are maintained. Courses of study are obviously matters for universities to decide. There can or should be no all-India courses of study, for, if the courses of study were prescribed by an outside body such as an All-India Council for Higher Education, the principle of university autonomy which we regard as vital for a free competition of ideas will be impinged. But the phrase "courses of study" has not been used in any narrow sense here. We understand it to mean studies in various branches of learning of equivalent or near equivalent character. It is obvious that it is for the universities to arrange their own examinations. A uniform pattern of examinations cannot be set for the entire country. It is desirable that in the interests of higher education itself there should be some diversity in our educational system. But what should be aimed at and what can be achieved is a minimum standard of attainment in the examinations conducted by our Universities. Though the syllabus or the textbooks prescribed may differ to some extent in various universities it is possible to work out schemes which will enable anyone who wishes to familiarize himself with our educational system to say that, broadly speaking, there is an equivalence in the minimum standards demanded from those who leave our universities. Both courses of study and examinations are dependent upon the standard of teaching in our universities. Obviously all universities will not be able to have the highest standard of teaching in every subject that a candidate can offer for various examinations. Some universities will have in particular subjects teachers of greater repute than those to be found in others. Possibly, a few of the universities in the country will reach a higher degree of efficiency both in basic learning and research than others. But nevertheless there will be a minimum standard which at all events all will endeavour to reach. In order that this minimum might be achieved, it is essential that our universities should have a supply of good teachers. It is not difficult to lay down minimum standards for members of our university staff. It is not, however, possible to achieve or attain these minimum standards unless there is a determined effort on the part of those responsible for higher education to ensure that the best type of the young men and women turned out by our universities take to an educational career. As educational standards are dependent upon the quality of teaching it follows as a matter of logic that our university men and women should be made to regard education as an attractive career. The question of the pay scales of our teachers has thus a direct bearing upon the quality of teachers employed in our higher educational institutions. The scales should be such as will not

compare unfavourably with those sanctioned for our administrative services serving either under the Union or the States. An educational career has a charm of its own for the scholarly type of young persons. It provides them with opportunities of keeping themselves informed of the latest developments in their subjects and other allied branches of knowledge and contributing, if they have the will and the skill to do so to the sum total of human thought in various branches of knowledge. Even from a monetary point of view, a teacher or a professor who writes qualitative books should be able to make, as education advances in this country and the demand for books increases, a good income from his writings and lectures. Teachers have the leisure to engage themselves in a study of the branches of knowledge that interest them. Their contact with youth should act as spur to activity.

2. But man cannot ignore the obligations which family life imposes upon him. It is, therefore, imperative that the scale of salaries in our universities should be a reasonably good one. We shall show in our review of the University Grants Commission's activities that this consideration has been borne in mind by that body and that as a result of its activities the pay scales of teachers in university institutions have increased. It should, however, be noted that 86% of our students graduate from the affiliated colleges and unless their standard is improved no considerable achievement in the field of higher education is possible. Therefore, pay scales and service conditions of the teachers of affiliated colleges need drastic revision. Further, university education cannot be divorced from higher secondary and secondary or for that matter, even elementary education. The quality of our students in our universities is determined by the teaching they receive in their secondary schools. Obviously, it is imperative that there should be an improvement in the pay scale of secondary school teachers and that the quality of teachers in secondary and elementary schools should also improve. To suggest the pay scales for them would be to go outside the terms of our reference and hence we refrain from doing so.