Induction Training Program for newly appointed Lecturers (OES-Group-A)

North Orissa University, Baripada

LECTURE NOTES ON

HIGHER EDUCATION: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Date: 25-10-17, Session: 4th, Time: 4.00 P.M.

Delivered by: Dr Prafulla Kumar Panda,

Lecture Notes Prepared by:

Group-2 NOU ID
Rajanikanta Khuntia NOU/IND/07

Smrutirekha Sahoo NOU/IND/04

Sugyani Rath NOU/IND/05

 The session started with Dr Prafulla Kumar Panda providing a clear view of our education
system. Indian higher education is one of the largest system of education in the world. we have nearly
650 universities, 31500 colleges with 525000 teachers catering to 13800000 students i.e. just 18% of the
age group 18-24. Though the system is large, still it cater to the expected large pecentage of people i.e.
82% who are out of the system. With the implementation of Sarva Shikshya Abhiyan (SSA) and Rastriya
Madhyamik Shikshya (RMSA) successfully, if all the students passing out of the schools enter higher
education, India needs another 2000 universities and 60000 colleges with 12 lakh teachers.

The country is forced to make an overhaul in the system in planned or unplanned manner. If our
population continues to grow at the same rate, the trend of growth of higher education has to keep
pace with the growth of population. This has in fact posed a big problems for our nation. Different
commission and committees starting from the University Education Commission 1948, the Kothari
Commission 1964-66, Challenge to Education- a policy perspective 1984, National policy on Education
1986, the Ram Murthy Committee 1990, Revised policy 1992, and finally the Knowledge Commission
suggest that the quality of higher education is the main concern. It is increasingly important today as we
are determine to secure our future in a knowledge based society.

The National Knowledge Commission observed that in the next few decades, India will probably
have the biggest set of young people in the world. The commission stressed on the following areas:

Easy access to knowledge

All levels and forms of education
Effective creation of knowledge
Application of knowledge
Services like E-Governance

It is therefore, quite clear that quality and expansion of education is our major concern. To meet the
heavy demand for expansion, it is difficult for the nation to meet the expenditure. The existing
institutions need to be improved and maintained, new institutions are to be established, new syllabus
and courses are to be offered and institutions are to be managed properly.

We shall have to established a large number of professional and technical institutions. The challenge is
that center and state governments may not be able to cope up with financial requirements. There is a
need to go more for public private partnership.

We have a vast system of open and distance education catering to a large mass of aspirants. This
number is also going to increase. We need to develop such materials and reach to these people by open
learning and e - learning.

The teachers in Higher education system are supposed to carry out research work and their creative
talent finds expression in the innovation. These innovations shall find a place in their teaching. But most
of the teachers are seldom doing that. Therefore teaching and research are not blended together as it is
should be. Syllabus are just taken as prescribed contents and beyond that teachers are seldom adding
anything on their own. This has been counted as a major drawback in our system of higher education.
It is high time that we look into this problem to rectify and encourage our teachers to use their brain to
create and disseminate knowledge with all freedom.

Modern methods of teaching are not adopted by teachers in transacting curriculum. One will
hardly find seminar discussions, debates, observations, demonstration,, e-learning, self-learning, project
method, cooperative method, collaborative method being used by teachers. Lecturer method
dominates the teaching process in almost all disciplines. Teachers hardly put any effort to plan and
prepare for teaching. With shortage of teaching staff, the institutions are functioning with almost 50% or
less full time staff and the rest on hiring or contractual basis. This has certainly affected the quality of
higher education to a great extent. The regulatory agencies must ensure that the institutions of all
category (government/semi government/private) are having full time regular staff with proper
qualifications and qualifying the NET/SLET shall be mandatory for them.

In our system of higher education, there is little accountability. It is mainly because the reward
system is not worked out properly. The teacher that does well gets the same remuneration and
recognition as that a non-performing teacher. So the teachers hardly put sincere efforts to put their
best. There is a need to recognise the work of teachers and give them reward and punishment to the
non-performing as well.

It is awful plight that evaluation is a process of certification and in fact many universities are
serving that cause and that too ineffectively. Evaluation should be linked to student's progress by
making the students to learn the unlearned contents and acquire the needed skills. The institutions and
universities having semester system, internal evaluation, continuous and comprehensive evaluation are
to some extent fulfill this purpose.

Further it is a matter of serious concern that the research quality at doctoral level and M phil level
suffers to a great extent because of the following practices:

Topics are selected without knowing that it is replicated

Once a student is registered, no process is there to monitor the progress
Research activity remains a private process mostly between guide and students
Examiners are appointed as per the names suggested by guides
Viva-voce and even open viva-voce remain a close door affair.

We have different bodies namely UGC, AICTE, NCTE, ICA,ICSSR etc to regulate the system of
higher education. All institutions need to have common frame work for purposes like collaboration,
appointment of staff, admissions, curricular transactions and so on. taking this into consideration , Prof
Yashpal in 2009 gave the idea of having National Council of Higher Education and Research (NCHER) to
take care of all such matters. This is yet to be materialised.

It is worth mentioning that 12th plan proposed a holistic programme of action for the
development of higher education in the country. It recommended a centrally sponsored scheme called
Rastriya Uchatar Sikshya Abhiyan(RUSA) which was approved by the cabinet on 3rd October, 2013. RUSA
has the vision to attain higher levels of access, equity and excellence in the higher education system
with greater transparency, efficiency, accountability and responsiveness.

We have the main challenge of meeting the demand of expansion and at the same time
improving quality. In this context, RUSA is not merely a new funding mechanism but also the prime
vehicle for implementing a compressive reform agenda at the level of higher education in this country.

Finally the lecture concluded with a hope that the young and energetic mass of teachers can change the
education system of our state.