Copnversation On Education
‘Politicking in educational institutions should TOI stop’
TOI Kick-Starts Series Where Experts Discuss Problems, Gaps And Solutions In Higher Edu
toi 11.07.2018
The Centre on Monday granted the status of ‘institution of eminence’ to six universities making them free from the regulations of the University Grants Commission. None of the institutions from Tamil Nadu made it to the list. In an interview, head of the selection panel, former chief election commissioner
N Gopalaswami, tells Pushpa Narayan how the lack of adequate faculty and poor research output pushed many educational institutions out of the race
Why has no Tamil Nadu institute made it to the list?
Most of the state-run institutions don’t have enough money and many staff positions are vacant. Though it was not a criterion, we looked at staff vacancies because it affects research. While old institutions such as Madras University have invested in research, newer institutions focus only on teaching. The target in the next 10 years is not to be just a top Indian institution, but to feature in the top 500 international rankings. The capability is assessed from that point of view. International rankings have fixed parameters and focus should be on research and output of faculty. And it’s not any just research paper. We look for papers that have high citations. Unless it’s worthwhile it won’t get quoted. If universities are not ready with ’ these they won t make it to the list.
IIT-M has a high research output, it is also considered to be one the best in the country. Why did it not make it to the list?
There is no doubt that it is a good institution. We had given a longer list to the Centre, but it was decided to have just three institutions in the private sector and three in the public sector. So to qualify for the top three, we had to choose the one that does better. With higher slots in the international rankings, IIT Delhi and Bombay had better chances. And it’s not IIT-M’s fault. In world rankings, the number of foreign faculty and students play a part. Many don’t choose Chennai because of the heat; they prefer a more salubrious climate. So, although research and per person output at IIT-M may be good, they were behind others in the international ranking.
What should institutions do to get on to the list next time?
The institutions themselves know this. Look at the scandals in Tamil Nadu’s universities. Despite this they did not do badly in the recent Indian ranking. Madras University did well and Anna University did better. These institutions have displayed they have potential.
If they are good, where is the problem?
Politicking should stop in educational institutions. Many of the government institutions across the country are fund-starved. If you increase salary of teachers without increasing fee as a social welfare policy, it’s the state’s choice. But for this you can cut other budgets. Some universities have up to 50% staff vacancies. How can we expect proper teaching? Where is the time to invest on research? Ensure selection of teachers is based on merit and not on a phone call. Like many developed countries, we may not be able to afford one teacher for 30 students, but we must at least not have vacancies in sanctioned strength.
Jio University is yet to come up. How did you grant it IoE status?
The policy was framed to allow institutions to apply under the ‘green field’ category. Unlike the five other institutions, Jio University will not have the status from day one.
They will get the letter of intent only after we sign a memorandum listing all the promises they have made. In three years, they will have to write to the Centre saying they have fulfilled all the promises and then they will be awarded the status. It was a stringent evaluation process. There were 113 applications, of which 40 were from private and 73 public institutions.
FALLING SHORT: IIT Madras despite high research output could not make the cut because of lower global rankings
‘Politicking in educational institutions should TOI stop’
TOI Kick-Starts Series Where Experts Discuss Problems, Gaps And Solutions In Higher Edu
toi 11.07.2018
The Centre on Monday granted the status of ‘institution of eminence’ to six universities making them free from the regulations of the University Grants Commission. None of the institutions from Tamil Nadu made it to the list. In an interview, head of the selection panel, former chief election commissioner
N Gopalaswami, tells Pushpa Narayan how the lack of adequate faculty and poor research output pushed many educational institutions out of the race
Why has no Tamil Nadu institute made it to the list?
Most of the state-run institutions don’t have enough money and many staff positions are vacant. Though it was not a criterion, we looked at staff vacancies because it affects research. While old institutions such as Madras University have invested in research, newer institutions focus only on teaching. The target in the next 10 years is not to be just a top Indian institution, but to feature in the top 500 international rankings. The capability is assessed from that point of view. International rankings have fixed parameters and focus should be on research and output of faculty. And it’s not any just research paper. We look for papers that have high citations. Unless it’s worthwhile it won’t get quoted. If universities are not ready with ’ these they won t make it to the list.
IIT-M has a high research output, it is also considered to be one the best in the country. Why did it not make it to the list?
There is no doubt that it is a good institution. We had given a longer list to the Centre, but it was decided to have just three institutions in the private sector and three in the public sector. So to qualify for the top three, we had to choose the one that does better. With higher slots in the international rankings, IIT Delhi and Bombay had better chances. And it’s not IIT-M’s fault. In world rankings, the number of foreign faculty and students play a part. Many don’t choose Chennai because of the heat; they prefer a more salubrious climate. So, although research and per person output at IIT-M may be good, they were behind others in the international ranking.
What should institutions do to get on to the list next time?
The institutions themselves know this. Look at the scandals in Tamil Nadu’s universities. Despite this they did not do badly in the recent Indian ranking. Madras University did well and Anna University did better. These institutions have displayed they have potential.
If they are good, where is the problem?
Politicking should stop in educational institutions. Many of the government institutions across the country are fund-starved. If you increase salary of teachers without increasing fee as a social welfare policy, it’s the state’s choice. But for this you can cut other budgets. Some universities have up to 50% staff vacancies. How can we expect proper teaching? Where is the time to invest on research? Ensure selection of teachers is based on merit and not on a phone call. Like many developed countries, we may not be able to afford one teacher for 30 students, but we must at least not have vacancies in sanctioned strength.
Jio University is yet to come up. How did you grant it IoE status?
The policy was framed to allow institutions to apply under the ‘green field’ category. Unlike the five other institutions, Jio University will not have the status from day one.
They will get the letter of intent only after we sign a memorandum listing all the promises they have made. In three years, they will have to write to the Centre saying they have fulfilled all the promises and then they will be awarded the status. It was a stringent evaluation process. There were 113 applications, of which 40 were from private and 73 public institutions.
FALLING SHORT: IIT Madras despite high research output could not make the cut because of lower global rankings
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