Meddlesome UGC
Surgical Strikes Day injunction reflects the regulator’s misplaced priorities
Surgical Strikes Day injunction reflects the regulator’s misplaced priorities
TOI 24.09.2018
University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed vicechancellors of universities to round up students and organise activities to commemorate government’s “Surgical Strike Day” on September 29. The activities include parades, lectures by ex-servicemen and letter writing to pledge support for armed forces. Given that there have been other red letter days for the armed forces and far larger operations successfully mounted by them in India’s defence, the big question is why UGC has zeroed in on commemorating the 2016 surgical strike with enthusiasm. In election season this has naturally fed a bitter political debate, even as it has once again put the spotlight on the lack of autonomy of our higher educational institutions (HEIs).
It is almost 65 years since UGC was established to maintain high standards in India’s university system. The performance of the 903 degree awarding institutions reporting to it leaves no doubt that UGC has been a letdown in its primary role. One measure of this is the poor performance of Indian HEIs in relation to overseas counterparts. Even within Asia, our rankings have slipped. For example, in the Times Higher Education list for Asian universities in 2018, the highest ranked Indian institutes slipped in relation to the previous year. When compared to China which is powering ahead, the decline in Indian HEIs here is stark.
Education is at the heart of any attempt to equip a society to fulfil its potential. That many Indians have little faith in home grown institutes is also apparent in the sharp rise over the last decade in students going abroad for higher education. A key reason for the current state of affairs is that politics rules on Indian campuses. If even totalitarian China can concede autonomy to its HEIs and thereby help them succeed, why can’t democratic India?
University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed vicechancellors of universities to round up students and organise activities to commemorate government’s “Surgical Strike Day” on September 29. The activities include parades, lectures by ex-servicemen and letter writing to pledge support for armed forces. Given that there have been other red letter days for the armed forces and far larger operations successfully mounted by them in India’s defence, the big question is why UGC has zeroed in on commemorating the 2016 surgical strike with enthusiasm. In election season this has naturally fed a bitter political debate, even as it has once again put the spotlight on the lack of autonomy of our higher educational institutions (HEIs).
It is almost 65 years since UGC was established to maintain high standards in India’s university system. The performance of the 903 degree awarding institutions reporting to it leaves no doubt that UGC has been a letdown in its primary role. One measure of this is the poor performance of Indian HEIs in relation to overseas counterparts. Even within Asia, our rankings have slipped. For example, in the Times Higher Education list for Asian universities in 2018, the highest ranked Indian institutes slipped in relation to the previous year. When compared to China which is powering ahead, the decline in Indian HEIs here is stark.
Education is at the heart of any attempt to equip a society to fulfil its potential. That many Indians have little faith in home grown institutes is also apparent in the sharp rise over the last decade in students going abroad for higher education. A key reason for the current state of affairs is that politics rules on Indian campuses. If even totalitarian China can concede autonomy to its HEIs and thereby help them succeed, why can’t democratic India?
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