Conferring Eminence:-
In its report on higher education for the Twelfth Plan, the working group of the erstwhile Planning Commission identified expansion, inclusion and excellence as the three pillars for growth. The NDA government had the theme of excellence in its 2016 annual budget, with a proposal to make 10 institutions each in the public and private sectors globally competitive. The challenge of excellence is to develop liberal institutions founded on academic rigour, high scholarship and equitable access for all classes of students. Quite ambitiously, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken the decision to give Institution of Eminence (IoE) status to six institutes, three each from the public and private sectors. Potentially, this will help the select few rise above the many State, Central and private universities, national-level institutes of technology, science, management and humanities, and attract talent. While it is a creditable achievement, the recognition raises the bar for the chosen few: the IITs at Mumbai and Delhi and the IISc in the public category, and BITS Pilani and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, which are private. Giving the tag to Jio Institute, which is yet to come up, generated understandable controversy. It should be ensured that this conditional recognition is fulfilled transparently, and that it meets the requirements on governance structure, infrastructure and faculty within three years.
The idea of developing centers of higher learning advances the Nehruvian vision of building ‘temples of modern India’. The IoEs can become models of autonomy, academic innovation and equity of access, and lead to a transformation of higher education. That there is need for urgent reform became clear during the selection process: the empowered committee found that State universities had a low output because some of them had several faculty members recruited on contract basis, with no incentive to do research. Such ad hocism must end, and public universities should be insulated from political pressures. Vice-chancellors should be appointed on merit, free of ideological biases. With good governance structures and significant new financial grants, the selected public institutions will be able to innovate on courses and encourage research. The growth of these and other national institutions will also depend on policies to raise the expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP. Among countries with a comparable research output, India with 0.8% R&D spending trails Russia, Brazil, South Korea and even Singapore, according to Unesco data. Islands of eminence can inspire, but the long-term goal should be to raise the quality of higher education in all institutions through academic reform. The quality is uneven, and at the bottom levels, abysmal. At the same time, initiatives by charitable trusts — which have declined due to political support for commercialization and aid cuts — must be welcomed, as this would help open more affordable colleges and universities.
WORDS AND MEANINGS:-
1. Erstwhile
Meaning: Former.
Example: “The erstwhile president of the company”
- Rigour
Meaning: The quality of being extremely thorough and careful.
Example: “His analysis is lacking in rigour”
- Equity
Meaning: The quality of being fair and impartial.
Example: “Equity of treatment”
- Ideological
Meaning: Based on or relating to a system of ideas and ideals, especially concerning economic or political theory and policy.
Example: “The ideological struggle that underpinned the cold war”
- Eminence
Meaning: The state of being famous, respected, or important.
Example: “His eminence as a movie director”
- Abysmal
Meaning: Extremely bad; appalling.
Example: “The quality of her work is abysmal”
- Aid
Meaning: A source of help or assistance.
Example: “Exercise is an important aid to recovery after heart attacks”
- Affordable
Meaning: Inexpensive; reasonably priced.
Example: “Affordable homes”
