Many crises in Indian universities

Are Indian universities being deliberately cordoned off? Higher education spending (as a % of government spending) has remained stable at 1.3-1.5% since 2012. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education continues to encourage higher education institutions to increase their intake capacity by 25%, in a push to implement 10% quotas for economically weaker sections, while the Finance Ministry continues to push for new teaching positions. (Mohanty Basant Kumar, September 2020). At the central level, student financial aid was reduced to ₹2,078 crore in FY 2022-23 from ₹2,482 crore in FY 2021-22; Allocation for research and innovation decreased by 8%, reaching Rs 218 crore. Our once great educational institutions are beset by many crises – a financial crisis at the university level, lack of research opportunities for faculty, poor infrastructure and learning outcomes for students; Any protest was met with a tough fight from police brutality and campus repression. Is an apathetic, bureaucratic state preventing universities from flourishing?

Institutions struggling with financial constraints

Investment in university infrastructure has declined. Most Indian universities and colleges have overcrowded classrooms, poor ventilation and sanitation, and unsatisfactory hostels. The Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), which provides funding for all infrastructure loans to institutions, reduced its budget from Rs 2,000 crore in FY 20-21 to Rs 1 crore in FY 21-22. Instead, universities have been forced to take out loans, but they have little avenues to tap.

Even meeting the day to day running expenses is difficult. The University Grants Commission (UGC) was allocated Rs 4,900 crore in FY 2022-23 as against Rs 4,693 in FY 2021-22, but there has been delay in payment of salaries to deemed/central universities due to lack of cash flow. Therefore, most universities are running in losses – Madras University saw an accumulated deficit of over ₹100 crore, forcing it to take a grant of ₹88 crore from the state government (Raman A. Ragu, March 2022). Twelve colleges of Delhi University have seen financial shortfalls, with the allocation by the state almost halved (for example, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College was allotted ₹28 crore in 2021 versus ₹42 crore requirement) . Faculty members face months’ salary delays, with salaries arriving weeks later (examples include Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, University of Delhi, Visva Bharati University, Nagaland University and Jharkhand University (Mohanti Basant Kumar, February 2021) ; Ara Ismat). November 2020). This has cut down on discretionary spending – many colleges in Delhi are unable to subscribe to basic databases and journals. There is an urgent need to increase funding along with setting up dedicated funding streams for infrastructure grants/loans and financials. help. Universities may also be freed to use other revenue streams such as start-up royalties and advertising.

Research grants have also shrunk. Grants under the UGC’s Minor and Major Research Projects Schemes have come down from ₹42.7 crore in FY 2016-17 to ₹38 lakh in FY 2020-21 (Mohanti Basant Kumar, February 2022). There are over 1,040 universities in India, but only 2.7% offer PhD programs, given the low funding and poor infrastructure. The National Research Foundation (NRF) has yet to be approved to improve research infrastructure in universities, and may have a limited budget ($5–6 billion spread over five years). Clearly, there is a need for a significant increase in funding for research, with institutions such as the NRF complementing (and not replacing) existing schemes (including those from the Ministry of Science). Funding should also be allocated to enable course-based research experiences for undergraduates.

fall in standards

Meanwhile, academic standards and procedures are not being maintained. Exam paper leaks become commonplace – The Hindi test of the UGC’s National Eligibility Test, which enables passing postgraduate students to teach in state and central colleges, was leaked in June 2021. The candidates had imposed a fee of ₹ ₹ on the exam center operators. 3 lakh per candidate to help them pass (Barua Sukrita, July 2021). Recently, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University rescheduled the examinations for select B.Com and BA courses after a paper leak. Such institutions have failed to protect the integrity of their examinations. Correcting this would require a decentralized approach, allowing universities to decide on academic programmes, promotions, group size, etc.

India’s universities have historically been bastions of free expression and centers of nationalism. The Central Hindu College (Delhi), inaugurated by Madan Mohan Malaviya, was the center of political debate during the freedom struggle, with students and teachers joining the Quit India Movement, and in the defense of Rash Behari Bose and Lala Har Dayal in 1915. were. The college students were also involved in helping the Partition refugees resettled in 1947. Queen Mary College, Chennai is known for several protests against the Quit India Movement. The students involved will often be detained on the Marina Beach Road peninsula. Recently, students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Banaras Hindu University, Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia were associated with the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare. This delicate balance between the right to free expression and nationalism has been fostered in political systems, with leadership aware of the role of universities in strengthening democracy and civil society. And yet, more recently, institutional apathy has given way to repression. Free expression has been banned on campuses, with police crackdown, arrests and imprisonments against students of select universities (for example, Jamia Millia) for campus protests. Students and faculty members are regularly maligned as ‘anti-national’ among other adjectives. We need to embrace tolerance for diversity of ideas on our campuses – our students have creative experiences there and should have space to define themselves as individuals. How will our universities support critical thinking if freedom of expression is not promoted?

India’s higher education institutions exist in a state of funeral pyre. This is reflected in the global rankings – there are only eight Indian universities in the top 500 in the QS World University Rankings. The National Policy on Education (2020) has sought to promote social, moral and emotional abilities and temperament as well as critical thinking and problem solving. Enabling this will require an encouraging ecosystem with more funding, autonomy and tolerance for universities (and activities by students/faculty). Without it, talented Indian citizens will continue to flee abroad, while policy makers mourn India’s brain drain.

Firoz Varun Gandhi is a Member of Parliament, representing the Pilibhit constituency for the BJP.