| The University Grants Commission — a statutory body of the Government of India mandated with the task of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education — is afflicted with the very ills it aims to eradicate.
Rigor mortis seems to have set in a supposedly dynamic institution that now presides over the sharp decline in intellectual growth and in the standards of pedagogical practices in higher education. The allegations of tardy progress and arbitrary auditing procedures, voiced by members of some of the committees set up to audit 10 central universities, can be considered as evidence of vested interest and a culture of non-performance.
The HRD Ministry is aware of the charges against the UGC, which has failed to perform the very tasks it has been set up for. The moot question is how can the ministry bring in a culture of accountability in UGC?
Education is a driving force for the nation that intends to build on its human capital. The commission’s ineptness no doubt sets the country back significantly because, apart from inordinate delays, faulty standards in auditing can have damaging consequences for both students and institutions that are trusted with shaping young minds.
The cracks in the system had shown up long before these allegations. Forget about achieving global standards, the rankings of premier Indian institutions have slid further in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, 2018, with IISc (Bengaluru) featuring in the 251-300 groupings, a fall from the 201-250 cohort of the previous edition of the ranking. The IITs have fared even worse.
PM Narendra Modi’s vision for the youth is defeated by the very forces that are an integral part of governance. The irony couldn’t have been starker. A hundred years just to audit 10 universities. |