The New Education Policy 2020 put forward by Central Government to State Government is a conglomeration of recommendations that reflect it’s leaning heavily on the North American an European systems ,although the ground realities are vastly different and pose numerous challenges.Indian University system are of many types~ State Universities,Private Universities,Deemed to be universities and degree granting autonomous colleges.Rampant corruption,bribery and criminalised administration has made deep in roads in the systems.This is further augmented by politicisation,Organised Maafia,caste based set ups that swelled the trade of mass copying,plagiarism,fake and fraudulent degrees by cut and paste method.All this happens under the very eyes of Vice Chancellors who are the academic,administrative and fiscal heads of universities.The recent survey tells us that over 75 percent Vice Chancellors of Indian universities are incapable and incompetent.Recent events in Rajasthan have shown how a VC with the help of organized Maafia of brokers has been making money by granting permission to private colleges to be the examination centers and to others to be affiliated.
Since the VC has to own the responsibility for what happens in his university and affiliated colleges,his selection has to be on merit,excellence,and professionalism.The New Education Policy should have laid down strict parameters for selection of VC who in turn has the onus and responsibilities to appoint the best faculty,researchers,supporting staff.
At present a search committee screens the applicants who apply for post of VC on the basis of their filling the UGC norms or in case of others of ICAR and ICMR.Many VC have fake and managed degrees and their research thesis and published papers are cut and paste jobs.The search committee selects 3 or 5 names which are sent to the Chancellor who is also the Governor of the state.He picks one and sends the name to the Government for appointment.Although the search committee is expected to scrutinise the qualifications,experience ,it fails to find if the person chosen has professional excellence,creativity,vision,and credibility.All that it does trusts the papers submitted by the applicants.It should in fact put on the website of the concerned university the resume of the shortlisted candidates for a week ,so that other educationists,electronic and print media can see it’s validity.There are VC who have chequered academic career,getting degrees by copying,plagiarism and publishing research papers in unreferried journals ,which are not approved.They publish by paying the cost.
A second change should be that the Chancellor should call all the 3 or 5 shortlisted persons to Raj bhawan and give presentation about their vision of higher education in the coming ten years,how they will recruit,how curricula will be made,faculty selected trained,reforms in examination and evaluation,how to prevent fake degrees,mass copying,and purchase of marks..This presentation be made before educationists,Faculty,HOD,Dean’s,Researchers ,print and electronic media.The Chancellor can then decide.,who is the best.
Even a chaprasi is not appointed without interview ,and test of medical fitness.How can one appoint a VC simply on the basis of paper qualifications.
The new Education Policy does not suggest any modus operandi to neutralise corruption,bribery,caste based recruitment,promotion.,taking commission in tenders ,passing of medical bills.It does not say anything about how to prevent persons with political mentors,Godfathers and Money along with muscle power to have a final say in appointment of VC.
Such VC are called “Suitcase Method VC” absorb themselves soon after joining in getting kick backs from every available source.
Creativity,professionalism, responsibility and accountability is missing in Higher Education.The new Education policy talks about multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary curricula.How such programs can be made ?The present State of Faculty is such that they cannot measure up to the expectations in making syllabi,teaching it ,setting question papers and evaluating.
The administrative structure,policy planning and it’s rigorous implementation is yet another factors that comes as a huge barrier in translating even the basic intents of the policy.It lacks transparency and in fact is very disorganized,corrupt and irresponsible.Examination cells of the universities have become the pivot of leakage of papers,names of examiners and thus marks are arranged as per paying capability.All this is not restricted to Bachelor and Masters degrees but also to doctoral theses.
Reforms in examination are urgently needed.Like UPSC,for every examination and paper,there should be Board of Paper setter of 3 persons who are from other universities.The marking of papers should be centralised.There are cases if answer books marked by research scholars and even by Hostel peon. Research programs are yet another areas of concern.They are not linked to Industry,defence,biodiversity,environment,food and water security,health and hygiene,sanitation, entrepreneurship,skills,and grossly direction less.The youth of the country coming out from colleges and universities is unskilled,unemployable and even untrainable.The challenge for the next decade is can each house in India become a production Hub,a processing center set up as a corporate structure like Amul?
Elementary wisdom tells us that the New Education Policy requires experts with futuristic vision in Universities and Collegiate systems.Our infrastructures in terms of equipment,building ,technical staff,administrators,fiscal inputs is weak and incompetent.
We lack discipline and the present atmosphere in Institutions runs against the principles of professionalism,creativity, responsibility.We have no solution against politicisation and crimnalisation of education.Private universities,coaching centers ,tuition Maafia sponsored and supported by black money of politicians and industrialists is mushrooming all over.
People who can deliver are marginalised and cast off by systems as irrelevant.The profound regional diversity and fear of politicians and other stakeholders prevents migration of youth of excellence to get placement and thus enrich the system.We have also dispensed with the Pool of Scientist Scheme wherein Scientists,Engineers,Doctors,HR personnel’s,Managers could get job and bring the culture of “Doers and Achievers”.
The state Government are appointing committees to review the New Education Policy.The members have No idea,comprehension and ability to even filter the implementable contents.They are now cleverly asking Schools,Colleges and workshops to organise seminars,workshops to evolve recommendations.After a year they will collate these and produce a document calling it as their fact finding recommendations.
The New Education Policy is to be implemented in 10 years.In between we may have several Hybrid systems evolving and dying their natural death because we would neither have the structures,personnel,VCs, Administrators to effectively to implement.
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