Highlight of the Month
India’s 100-day Action Plan for Education Sector
The newly-elected government has announced a number of initiatives under its 100 day Action Plan for the Education Sector. The initiatives announced are:
Legislative Initiatives - An autonomous overarching authority for Higher Education and Research based on the recommendations of Yashpal Committee and National Knowledge Commission;
- A law to prevent, prohibit and punish educational malpractices;
- A law for mandatory assessment and accreditation in higher education through an independent regulatory authority;
- A law to regulate entry and operation of Foreign Educational Providers;
- A law to establish a Tribunal to fast-track adjudication of disputes concerning stakeholders (teachers, students, employees and management) in higher education;
- A law to further amend the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, to strengthen the Commission; and
- A law to amend the Copyright Act, 1957 to address the concerns relating to copyrights and related rights of the various stake holders.
Policy Initiatives
- Formulation of a ‘Brain-Gain’ policy to attract talent from across the world to the existing and new institutions;
- Launching of a new scheme of interest subsidy on educational loans taken for professional courses by the economically weaker students;
- Strengthening and expansion of the scheme for “remedial coaching” for students from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/minority communities, in higher education;
- ‘Equal Opportunity Offices’ to be created in all universities for effective implementation of schemes for disadvantaged sections of the society;
- A new policy on Distance Learning would be formulated;
- Regional Central Campus of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak to be started in the state of Manipur;
- Model degree colleges would be established in 100 districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities; and
- 100 women’s hostels would be sanctioned in higher educational institutions located in districts with significant population of weaker sections and the minorities.
Administrative and Other Initiatives
- Review of the functioning of the existing deemed universities;
- Operationalizing newly established 12 Central Universities and 2 new IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology);
- Academic reforms (semester system, choice-based credit system, regular revision of syllabi, impetus to research, etc. which are already mandated under the Central Universities Act, 2009) to be introduced in other central educational institutions;
- Modernization of Copyright Offices;
- 5000 colleges/university departments to be provided with broadband internet connectivity under the “National Mission on Education through ICT”;
- Assistance would be provided to States to establish at least 100 new polytechnics (over and above assistance already provided for 50 polytechnics in the last financial year) in districts without any polytechnic at present. States would also be assisted for the construction of 100 women’s hostels in the existing polytechnics and for upgrading 50 existing polytechnics;
- Approvals would be obtained for establishing 10 new NITs (National Institutes of Technology) in the un-served States so that every State has one earmarked NIT;
- Operationalizing 700 revamped Community Polytechnics for skill development of rural youth; and
- Direct credit of scholarship into the bank accounts of 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls every year, under the new Merit Scholarship Scheme for students in the universities and colleges.
Policy Updates
Broader framework on PPP in education soon
In order to attract private agencies for collaboration in expansion of educational facilities in the country, the Government is all set to formulate a broad framework on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP). This is significant since many prospective private agencies have expressed concerns over the PPP model and are looking forward to a suitable policy on this system. The private sector has expressed concerns over the PPP mode on the issue of autonomy since they want full autonomy. The government has decided to set up 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), 600 polytechnics and 3500 model schools under the PPP model. The government will set up the 20 IIITs in PPP mode for which the National Association of Software Service Companies (NASSCOM) has prepared a detailed Project Report. Besides, 1000 polytechnics will be set up out of which 300 would be in PPP mode with partial funding from the government and 400 would be set up with private funding. Of the 6000 model schools that the government plans to set up, one in each block, 2500 will be completely funded by the government while 3500 will come up in PPP mode.
UGC makes administrative and academic reforms mandatory for universities
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made the choice-based credit system mandatory for institutions of higher learning within the country. The Commission has directed the Central and State universities to introduce substantive academic and administrative reforms. The Commission has suggested an action plan be implemented in a phased manner. While the Central universities have been asked to implement the reforms in two years, all State universities have been given three years. The UGC has identified five core reforms areas: semester system, choice-based credit system, curriculum development, admission procedure, and examination reforms. While directing universities to switch over to semester system, the UGC has suggested a series of coordinated steps including taking the academia into confidence and reconfiguration and revision of curricula. The Commission has observed that some institutions have not been giving top priority for revision and update of their academic programs. While professional and technical disciplines undertake regular and vigorous reforms, languages, humanities and other conventional subjects failed to keep up to date. The UGC also emphasized the need for merit based admission process. Another major reform suggested by the UGC is to adopt the grading system in keeping with the global trend.
Paving way for an education regulator
The final recommendations of the high profile committee headed by eminent educationist and former Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC) Prof. Yashpal calls for setting up a National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER) as a super-regulator. He also recommends a common GRE-type entrance exam for admission to universities and inviting the top 200 universities from abroad to set up shop in India. The Committee report is significant as the government has identified the development of the education sector as a key agenda. The report is likely to unleash sizeable investment in the sector that has been starved of funds due to the stifling rules for setting up colleges and universities. Justifying the need for a super regulator through an act of Parliament as a constitutional amendment, the report argues for subsuming the UGC and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The report says universities should have far more academic freedom and institutional autonomy. They would not need prior approval to start courses or develop competencies in any stream. It encourages the universities to find “complimentary sources of funding” such as from philanthropy. The report also seeks to bring down the curtain on deemed universities saying any further approvals should be put on hold till unambiguous and rational guidelines are evolved. Noting the need to allow top foreign universities into the Indian higher education market, the report says they will have to give an Indian degree and be subject to rules and regulations applicable to any Indian university. It has also asked for huge expansion of scholarships for students to expand the scope for higher education and suggested the introduction of National Education Tribunal to adjudicate on disputes among the stakeholders within institutions and between institutions so as to reduce litigation in courts involving universities and higher education institutions.
UGC plans curbs on admissions, fees in deemed universities
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a committee to look into the matter of regulating the fees and admission in the 125 deemed universities. The commission is reported to get the maximum complains in these two areas. On the admissions front these universities could be a part of a common and national tests (such as the Common Admission Test for the Indian Institutes of Management) and admit students who clear these tests. This will ensure transparency and quality in the admissions. For the fee structure there could be a state or a national level committee. The UGC is already under a cloud for irregularities in deemed universities. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has frozen all new applications for universities seeking deemed status. Of the 125 deemed universities, 33 are government varsities and the rest are a private. It is these private self financed universities that have increased and aspire to be deemed universities.
All deemed university proposals in cold storage
In a first step to bring order in the higher education sector, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been directed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to keep all pending proposals for “deemed to be university” in abeyance till a thorough review of the functioning of the existing deemed universities is done. The report of the thorough review is to be submitted to the Ministry within three months. It will deal with deficiencies with respect to maintenance of standards of deemed universities. Particular emphasis is being placed on the availability of quality faculty, infrastructure and admission process. The Yashpal Committee had expressed concerns about the absence of guidelines to measure the competence of the investors in starting and managing institutions. The only requirement that these institutions be registered as non-profit or charitable trust or society allowed many investors without any understanding or experience of the responsibility associated with higher education institutions to set up institutions.
It was observed that there was a rapid increase in the number of such institutions in the past few years. Between 1956 and 1990, only 29 institutions were granted the deemed university status, while between 2000 and 2005, 26 private sponsored institutions received deemed university status. Since 2005, the number of private deemed universities has increased to 108. UGC has been asked to find out the status of accreditation on existing deemed universities to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Board of Accreditation (NBA). The National Knowledge Commission has also recommended that the ‘deemed university’ concept be scrapped. It has suggested that deemed university status holders should prove their credentials within the next three years, failing which their status should be done away with.
Indian varsities to go abroad
Keeping in mind the huge resources required to fund education for poor in the country, the government is actively considering guidelines to allow Indian universities to open their campuses abroad. The idea of having foreign campuses of Indian universities has come at a time when the government is going whole hog in persuading universities abroad to have their campuses in India. Despite having no guidelines or a policy framework to allow Indian universities to go abroad, Pune University has the distinction of becoming the first government-run institution to have an offshore campus. The University has opened its campus in UAE in May 2009.
UGC makes accreditation must for universities
To check any irregular practices in deemed universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has made significant recommendations including mandatory accreditation and regular monitoring of their standards. UGC has submitted their recommendations in the form of a regulation to the Ministry of Human Resource Development for consideration. The regulation says that an institution must have accreditation either by National Board of Accreditation or National Accreditation and Assessment Council for being given deemed university status. It also sets a number of quality parameters like teacher-student ratio and other facilities.
New IIITs likely to come up with larger private investment
In the coming years, 20 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) may come up with larger investment from the private sector and could introduce performance-based salary package for teachers to ensure quality if a proposal by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) is accepted by the government. These new institutions will be set up under Private-Public Partnership (PPP) mode. NASSCOM has also proposed that the salary of faculty be linked to their output and the institutions should have provisions of differential salary package.
The IIITs will be autonomous degree awarding institutions with each having its own Board of Governors including one representative of the government. In north-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir where there are not many industries, the government will bear the full establishment cost. Each institute will specialize in specific area of information technology. Each IIIT will be a centre of excellence in that domain. The IIITs will offer undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. programs. Each institute will have an intake capacity of about 1,000 students within a period of six to seven years of their functioning. Currently there are four IIITs in the country.
Institutional Updates
Pune University becomes first to go international
The University of Pune has signed agreements with leading universities from countries like France, China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Austria and South Africa besides some Latin American universities. These MoUs will facilitate the exchange of students and faculty member and joint research and running of programs on each other’s campuses. The University plans to have as many offshore campuses as possible and may be soon opening a campus in Kampala, Uganda. The offshore university program will run on a business model with the University having to spend nothing. The University will tie-up with local partners who have the capital but not educational expertise, to provide funding and depend on them to take care of infrastructure and administrative needs and thus run educational programs in those countries which will award students with certificates from University of Pune. The faculty who will teach on these campuses will not only earn in international currency but also bring back international exposure that will help Indian students once they come back to teach in India.
Delhi University launches five new courses
The School of Open Learning of University of Delhi has launched five new professional courses in association with private companies to boost the skills of youth in certain sectors. The university recently signed an MoU with five companies to provide professional training to students taking admission in DU. These courses specially designed to impart professional training to students will provide internship opportunity at the end of the course and placement assistance to deserving students by the industry. These courses cover a gamut of professional areas such as telecom, tourism and information technology. Students will be selected on the basis of interviews and there will be no entrance test. After they complete the course, they will be jointly certified by DU and the private firm. All DU students pursuing graduation or post graduation in any stream can apply for these courses which are specifically designed keeping in mind the employability of their skills.
HP and BITS Pilani give research scholarships
HP Labs India and Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) have launched the BITS-HP Labs India Ph.D. Fellowship for advanced research in the area of information and communication technologies relevant to economies such as India. HP Labs India will offer comprehensive scholarships to candidates to pursue Ph.D. research with BITS, Pilani for up to three years. The one year fellowship will be renewed annually based on satisfactory performance in studies and research for a maximum of three years. The candidates will be given a monthly stipend of Rs. 20,000 and HP Labs will cover all academic related fees. Further, living expenses of Rs. 20,000 will be given as part of scholarship once the candidates start working in Bangalore. The candidates will have access to all HP Labs facilities in Bangalore.
IMT to open third campus
The Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad is planning to open its third campus in the north Indian city of Ghaziabad where its other two campuses are located. The campus will be opened by the end of 2009 to cater to the needs of working professionals by offering them distance learning modules. The new campus will exclusively offer courses through distance learning. IMT is also keen to open an international campus either in Singapore, Taiwan or Malaysia besides an existing one in Dubai. The Dubai campus was recently inaugurated and has 250 seats but will be soon scaled up by 200 seats by conducting admissions twice a year. The Faculty of Business and Law of The University of Newcastle, Australia has a MOU with IMT.
Biocon joins hands with ISB to launch Biocon Cell
The Indian School of Business (ISB) in association with Biocon Limited, India’s pioneering biotechnology company, has launched the Biocon Cell for Innovation Management (BCIM) to promote innovation in business. The primary objective of the BCIM is to foster innovation and link it to operational excellence. Biocon is contributing an initial investment to setup BCIM and will provide funding over a minimum 10 year period as and when required. The Cell will be established under the aegis of the Centre for Leadership, Innovation and Change at the ISB. BCIM at the ISB will help organizations to identify and rectify gaps in a company’s ability to innovate, assessing the required understanding to manage and mitigate risks associated with innovation and how to produce high value, high quality, strategic innovation at low cost. The partnership between Biocon and ISB further strengthens the trend started by ISB when its founders attracted the support of industry to establish an international quality business school in India.
ICFJ to launch new international media institute in India
The International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), a Washington-based non-profit organization that works to promote quality journalism worldwide, is launching a media school in the Delhi suburb of Noida, its first such venture in India. Launched with support from the Knight Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation, the International Media Institute of India (IMII) will be run by ICFJ and Indian journalists and expects to start courses in October 2009. The non-profit institution will offer one-year postgraduate courses in journalism. Top-tier international and Indian faculty will instruct the students on how to produce quality journalism for print, interactive and broadcast outlets. The Graduate School of Journalism of the City University of New York (CUNY) will provide curriculum support. An Indian think-tank, the Society for Policy Studies, is the local partner of ICJF for the school. IANS, an independent Indian news agency, will provide additional assistance and facilities to IMII. The school will place strong emphasis on covering economic and social issues facing poor communities, who are often ignored by the mass media. Several scholarships will be available for students in need.
Jodhpur and Udaipur to house IIT and IIM
Jodhpur and Udaipur, which are famous heritage tourism cities in the state of Rajasthan, will soon be home to renowned institutions – Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Management (IIM). IIT-Rajasthan has already started its operation from the campus of IIT-Kanpur. The previous state government had suggested Kota an ideal location to set up IIT-Rajasthan, but the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development rejected it in view of a large number of coaching centers operating in the city.
Country Updates
Australia
Australian university to tie-up with Indian varsities
The University of Western Australia (UWA), which is a member of the Australian Group of Eight universities, plans to tie-up with Osmania University, Jammu and Kashmir University and Anna University for long term student and faculty exchange program and research collaborations. The University already has tie-ups with Indian Institutes of Technology in Delhi and Madras and will soon be collaborating with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). In India UWA is focusing on research since it feels India produces good quality research. At UWA, the number of Indian students doing research has increased from three in 2006 to 250 in 2009. The research application in the university is growing at the rate of 50 per cent. To encourage students to take up research, UWA is offering scholarships and fee waivers to undergraduate and postgraduate students. For postgraduate students, it is offering a 50 per cent fee waiver. Of the 17,000 students at the university, 25 per cent are international students. UWA is keen to offer research programs on climate change, micro-electronics, power systems, media and communications among others as it feels that this there is an acute shortage of research and researchers in these areas.
Germany
India and Germany to set up joint venture on education
India and Germany are likely to set up a ‘Joint Working Group’ on education. This was discussed during a meeting between Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development and Professor Max. G. Huber, Vice President of the German Academic Exchange Service. This working group will act as an umbrella organization that will encompass all areas including research, academic training programs, setting up of chairs in each other’s country, academic and faculty exchange programs. Areas in which India and Germany could work together were in skill development. The Germans are keen to assist in the HRD Ministry proposal to set up community polytechnics, which will specialize in imparting skills. The German delegation expressed their interest in imparting of joint degrees by Germany and India.
Japan
Japanese government scholarships
The Japanese government’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is offering scholarships to international students who wish to pursue higher studies in Japan. There are three types of scholarships on offer spanning different durations. Scholarships to professional training colleges would be a three-year program, those to the colleges of technology would entail a four-year program and undergraduate program would take five years and would be suitable for those pursuing courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Selected candidates must be willing to learn Japanese language course and other preparatory courses.
Malaysia
Indo-Malay pact to reform education
In a first step towards ushering in reforms in the field of education, India has agreed to undertake ‘ joint ventures’ with Malaysia in the fields of teacher training, distance education, skill development besides offering incentives to universities and institutions from Malaysia which are looking to set up base in India. In the 17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in Kuala Lumpur recently, both countries decided to work on close collaboration to usher in educational reforms in both countries. Malaysia is keen to have Indian universities in Malaysia just as they are looking forward to setting up base in India. The two countries will set up a ‘Joint Working Group’ which will discuss collaboration in the field of distance learning, teacher’s training (from the point of view of English language), technical and vocational education, and training of sports teachers.
Scotland
Scotland offers support and opportunities for a bright career
Scotland has become the new destination for students across the world. It has a unique tradition and experience of hundreds of years in education. Some reputed Scottish institutions like the University of Dundee, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen have a good range of programs. All international students can work up to 20 hours a week in term time and 40 hours during vacation. In addition, the Fresh Talent Scheme the Scottish government introduced in 2005 aims to attract skilled people to live and work in Scotland and makes them fulfill the current and future needs of the local economy. It has proved to be a success with 8400 international students applying for it to stay on. It allows foreign students to apply for post study work visa so that they can work up to two years after completion of a degree or post graduation qualification. Scotland’s Saltaire Scholarships is a new scheme launched in 2009 for students from Canada, India, China and the U.S. to study at postgraduate level. Managed by the British Council and funded by the Scottish government, it offers 200 awards of 2000 pounds each across these countries including 50 for Indian students. The living costs in Scotland are much lower than in London or south-east England. According to a recent study conducted by the British Council in Scotland, the region’s universities are ahead of other U.K. and European universities. International students feel safe and secure to live there. More than 30,000 international students chose to study in Scotland and enrolment of Indian students has tripled over the last five years to around 3625 students at present.
U.S.
HRD Ministry teams up with U.S. education sector
In a first of its type, a ‘Joint Working Group’ in education was set up between India and the U.S. The group will have a set of academia and government representatives from both countries and will focus on joint initiatives in the field of secondary, higher and vocational education. The group will meet once every year alternately in India and the U.S. The group will work out a concrete plan of action in terms of focus areas within secondary, higher and vocational education that will be finalized by the end of this year. While the U.S. education sector has been clearly looking for entry into the Indian education sector, India would be interested to work with U.S. in the area of vocational education which is not very strong in India. India also intends to learn from the U.S. about setting up world class universities since U.S. is home to six of the top 10 world class universities.
Source: Leading Indian dailies, regional newspapers, magazines, newsletters and websites
Offers of admission from US graduate schools to prospective international students decreased 3% from 2008 to 2009, the first decline since 2004, according to the Council of Graduate Schools. A survey report on admissions trends by the council shows that more than half of responding institutions reported a decrease in international offers of admission. There were 16% declines in offers to students from India and South Korea, after offers to students in each country fell 2% last year.
In a complete overhaul aimed at cleansing the medical education system in the country, a task force of the Union Health Ministry has decided to scrap all regulatory bodies, including the Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Pharmacy Council and the Nursing Council. 
A study of higher education in 15 countries of the Southern African Development Community, SADC, has identified 20 leadership challenges facing the region, governments and institutions. They range from improved data collection, access, student success, staffing and funding to policy and planning, capacity, infrastructure, private provision and quality. The challenges identified, says a just-published report of the study, show the considerable amount of work needed to build a strong and sustainable higher education system across the region. 
