chapter 4 higher education system in...
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CHAPTER 4
HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM IN INDIA
4.1 EVOLUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA
4.1.1 Higher Education Governance in the British Colonial Period
India’s contemporary university system started in 1857 with the
establishment of three public universities in the ‘presidency headquarter’
cities of Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. Subsequently, several state-owned
universities started operations under the guidance of provincial governments.
The governance system introduced by the colonial government replicated the
University of London ‘federal university’ system, founded in 1836 to regulate
the quality of existing colleges in which the university is an affiliating body
and reports to its local government. Similarly, in India, the role of the
university was to support the educational goals of its constituent colleges by
designing curricula, holding examinations and awarding degrees. The role of
the colleges was largely to prepare Indians to work in the British colonial
bureaucracy.
The affiliated privately owned colleges primarily taught subjects in
the arts and sciences, as well as the English language, to students who had
completed their secondary education in the vernacular. Engineering colleges
were later affiliated as well and started awarding degrees from 1864.
Engineering education in India started during the British era and focused
mainly on civil engineering. A brief history of earliest engineering colleges in
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India are; The Engineering College at Roorkee (1847), Poona Civil
Engineering College at Pune (1854), Bengal Engineering College at Shibpur
(1856), Banaras Hindu University (1916), Harcourt Butler Technological
Institute, Kanpur (1920) were some of the earliest engineering colleges
established that continue till the present day. Their graduates usually sought
employment in the state’s railroads and other civic departments.
In 1921, the government established the Central Advisory Board of
Education (CABE) to bring consensus on policy matters among provincial
governments. With some interruptions, CABE continues to be the primary
policy making body for education to the present time. Its first report, in 1937,
recommended the establishment of post-secondary technical institutions,
termed polytechnics. In 1945, a committee formed by CABE, under N. R.
Sarkar (popularly known as the “Sarkar Committee”), recommended the
establishment of one higher technical institution in each zone of the country
— north, south, east and west. The All India Council of Technical Education
was formed in 1946, to supervise tertiary-level technical education.
In summary, the colonial government created the federal university
system, in which the lead institution—the university—was owned and
operated by the state. The provincial administrations played the primary role
in governing universities in their provinces. The focus of governance was on
regulating quality standards. The constituent colleges were largely privately
owned and lightly regulated regarding costs, access and equity.
4.1.2 Higher Education Governance in the Nehruvian Period
(1947-1964)
The 1947 draft constitution of independent India recommended the
transfer of all responsibility for education to the provincial governments.
Since the provincial governments already managed education, this merely
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legally ratified an existing situation. However, it significantly affected the
prioritization of objectives: the post-independence provincial governments
were interested in improving access as a first priority, even if it meant
sacrificing quality. To ensure this goal, they increased the level of political
control over the universities by provincial-level governments.
As per the recommendation of the Sarkar Committee (1945) higher
technical institutes were formed based on the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in the four regions of India. This resulted in the setting up of the
five Indian Institutes of Technology at Kharagpur (1950), Bombay (1958),
Kanpur (1959), Madras (1960) and Delhi (1961) (Delhi was added on to the
original four). The All India Council for Technical Education was set up in
1945, to oversee all technical education (diploma, degree and post-graduate)
in the country.
In 1956, Parliament established the University Grants Commission
as a national regulator of standards and a provider of finance. The change was
led by India’s first post-independence Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Nehru’s strategy of state-led industrialization required the universities to
produce the technicians to work in large state-owned enterprises. Nehru
questioned whether higher education’s provincial governance structure would
produce such technicians. Hence, his government established well resourced,
nationally regulated, unitary institutions with a focus on specific technologies
and with access to collaborations with the best foreign universities; and
jointly with provincial governments, established regional professional unitary
institutions. The establishment of the IITs, NITs and unitary agricultural
universities are witness to this.
In contrast to colonial times, the provincial university actively
promoted the formation of new state-owned colleges. This was in response to
the state’s new (post independence) objective of expanding admissions, at the
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expense of other objectives, such as quality, if necessary. This changed the
ownership and governance of colleges from a largely privately owned and
managed system to a largely public system during Nehru’s tenure. The new
colleges, like those from colonial times, were located largely in urban areas
and offered a general education to the urban elite. The objective of the quality
of the provincial universities suffered due to the higher priority given to
access. The administration of the universities and colleges became more
politicized during the Nehruvian period as compared to colonial times.
4.1.3 Higher Education Governance in the Indira Gandhi Period
(1966-1984)
The period after Nehru’s rule ended in 1964, and up to 1984,
coincides largely with the Prime Minister ship of Indira Gandhi. Mrs. Gandhi
centralized governance generally, thus challenging the federal nature of
India’s democracy. Unlike Nehru, her focus was on rural and poverty issues.
Accordingly, national education policy shifted from addressing the needs of
large-scale industrialization to creating skills for rural occupations and small-
scale industries. The Education Commission report of 1966 and the
subsequent National Policy on Education, of 1968 (NPE-68), reflected these
priorities, with a new stress on multilingual instruction, agricultural education
and adult education, while noting the continuing importance of scientific and
technical education. The national government also sought to control the rush
of the provincial universities into expansion of general education for the elite.
Further, a key policy change, the Constitutional Amendment of
1976, included education in the Concurrent List (i.e., it became a joint
responsibility of the national and provincial governments), whereas earlier it
was the sole responsibility of the provinces (states). Under the amendment,
the central government’s role was to maintain quality and standards, while the
states would remain responsible for the provision of education. Thus, the
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State, during Mrs. Gandhi’s tenure, made strong efforts to reprioritize higher
education towards greater equity. Corresponding changes in governance were
sought – higher national control over university priorities and higher
academic control over university administration. Some new programs in
agriculture and vocational education were introduced in consequence, but
these were not substantial.
4.1.4 Higher Education Governance in the Reform Period
(1984-2010)
The period that began in 1984, with the end of Mrs. Gandhi’s rule,
is widely identified as the start of economic reforms and liberalization, and
the advent of a new political era consisting of coalition governments that
included provincial parties nationally, and greater devolution of political
power to the provinces. As power devolved to the provinces, the provincial
universities reverted to their earlier strategies of promoting access by
expanding supply.
Due to the rising political power of “disadvantaged groups,” greater
attention was paid to more equitable access through reservations of seats and
lower pricing of reserved seats. Meanwhile, education policy at the national
level was increasingly driven by the need to counterbalance the ill-effects of
politicization at the provincial universities by instituting national regulations
to improve quality, control costs, and increase the supply of higher education
places.
A key component of national regulation was greater autonomy for
colleges. In 1986, the government published the second national policy on
education (NPE-1986); it was updated in 1992. The policy promoted,
officially for the first time, the idea of autonomous colleges. It noted concerns
on the declining quality of higher education, attributing it to a proliferation of
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universities. Since the universities were under provincial control, this also
implicitly referred to the politicization of university governance and a
consequent weakening of standards of admission and teaching. NPE- 86
proposed limiting the growth of universities and shifting more responsibility
for standards to colleges through greater autonomy.
Following NPE-1986’s call for greater autonomy for colleges, UGC
published a plan to enable autonomous colleges. Under this plan, autonomous
colleges were to be granted their status upon application to UGC. Once
approved by UGC and the state government, approved colleges were to be
granted the following autonomies
They could develop and propose new courses of study with
the University for Approval.
They could prescribe rules for admission in consonance with
the reservation policy of the state government.
They were fully responsible for the conduct of all
examinations. The final degree would be awarded by the
umbrella university, but would include the name of the
college.
The UGC plan was never implemented as official policy.
Undeterred perhaps, in 1990, the UGC published a report on “Alternate
Models of Management” (informally known as the Gnanam Committee
Report, after its chairperson). It discussed the adverse impacts of the deep
politicization of university governance. The report called for greater
autonomy for universities from government and greater involvement of
“teachers, students and society at large” in running universities, including the
positions at the top of the hierarchy.
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The report recommended decentralization within the university
hierarchy, including empowering university deans, shifting responsibility for
course regulation, examinations and degree awards to affiliated colleges, and
recommending that universities concentrate on “postgraduate education and
research programmes.” The report also recommended that UGC’s activities be
shared with State Councils for Higher Education. It suggested that most of the
powers for regulating universities should pass to the State Council, with UGC
playing an advisory role. It asked that the Council’s composition be primarily
academic. It recommended that the power to affiliate or disaffiliate a college
should rest with the university.
The report noted that the university system was excessively
centralized and unable to manage the growth of affiliated colleges. As it
stated, “A number of Universities are groaning under the weight of affiliated
colleges and the burden which it imposes on their meager facilities. On the
other hand, many of the affiliated colleges are experiencing difficulty because
they feel that the links with the University are far too tenuous, and the
University is an obstacle in their progress.”
The report further noted that the existing organizational structure of
universities was a problem. The organization structure typically consisted of
the following elements:
1. An elected Senate, consisting of academics and other
stakeholders (including local bodies, staff, union
representatives, students, alumni, etc.). The Senate is the most
important rule-making body.
2. A Syndicate or Executive Council, consisting of
representation of college principals, teachers, senators,
members of the Academic Council and some government and
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ex-officio nominees. The Syndicate may be elected or
nominated.
3. A non-elected Academic Council consisting of faculty
representatives and university heads of departments.
It found large overlaps in the functioning of these three bodies, with
decisions taken by one body typically requiring approval of the other two.
The Syndicate was supposed to supervise administration while the Academic
Council dealt with academic issues; but, the regulations required that the
Academic Council obtain the Syndicate’s approval. According to the report,
the primary external stakeholders in the colleges were the state and the
university. The university governed academic standards through prescribing
physical and financial standards, teachers’ qualifications, course content and
textbooks, examinations and, in some cases, were on the selection committee
for teachers and principals; the university might also nominate a
representative on the college’s governing body, as might the government. The
state appointed representatives to the managing committees, but with no
obvious role.
In practice, the external stakeholders paid little attention to teaching.
The report noted that quality often suffered due to a large proportion of
temporary teachers, underpaid teachers and overcrowded classrooms. In this
context, the report noted the ‘mushroom growth’ of private engineering
colleges, with ‘poor facilities, poor framework and poor conception.’ The
report recommended that colleges should adopt uniform structures built
around academic affairs, student affairs, business affairs and development.
The Gnanam Committee report made provincial politicians very
uncomfortable, since they ran the universities largely as fiefdoms for their
political benefit. They used their rising political power to, in essence, suppress
the report. In April 1992, the Education Ministry published its review of the
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Gnanam Committee report through CABE. It accepted most of the report, and
rejected some parts.
4.1.5 Summary of major committees and recommendations
Committee Title Year Recommendations Sarkar Committee
Higher Technical Institutions for the Post-war industrial development
1945 Setting up of Indian institutes of technology
Thacker committee
Postgraduate engineering education and research
1959- 1961 Funding for 100 PhDs annually
Nayudamma committee
Postgraduate education in engineering & technology
1979 - 1980 PG minimum qualifications for industry, R&D, etc.
Nayudamma committee
IIT Review 1986 Greater flexibility in academic programme, focus on engineering research, faculty mobility
P. Rama Rao committee
Reshaping postgraduate education in engineering & technology
1995 21 months M.Tech, Increased scholarship amount, assured employment for M.Techs, National Doctoral Programme
R.A.Mashelkar Committee
A strategic road map for academic excellence of future RECs
1998 Conversion of RECs into NITs with the status of a deemed to be university and structural changes in governance
U.R.Rao committee
Revitalizing the technical education
2003 Regional inequity to be removed, Faculty shortage to be addressed, Need for planning and coordination in the working of AICTE
P.Rama Rao committee
IIT Review 2004 Increase UG output of IITs, fund infrastructure increase, add new IITs but maintain quality
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4.2 PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
The Indian higher education system has undergone a massive
expansion in post-independent India with a national resolve to establish
several Universities, Technical Institutes, Research Institutions and
Professional / Non Professional Colleges all over the country to generate and
disseminate knowledge coupled with the noble intention of providing easy
access to higher education to the common Indian. The Public initiatives
played a dominant and controlling role in this phase. Most of the Universities
were Public institutions with powers to regulate academic activities on their
campuses as well as in their areas of jurisdiction through the affiliating
system. Even the private institutions enjoyed large-scale financial support in
the form of grants from the public exchequer.
Private funds as well as individuals played key roles in the
foundation of higher education. With the public funding being no more in a
position to take-up the challenging task of expansion and diversification of
the higher education system in the country to meet the continually growing
demands at present, there is little option other than bringing in private
initiatives in a massive way to meet the various challenges. The deregulating
mechanism of controls started with the granting of “Autonomous Status” to
identified Colleges in the 1970s. Some of these Colleges have graduated
further to receive the “Deemed to be University” status in later years. Now,
the country is on the threshold of the establishment of Private Universities in
different States.
4.3 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS
Professional development of teachers refers to the generation of all
those updated skills required to execute a task of teachers in academic
teaching-learning situations. It means by which members of the academic
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community at higher education level maintain, improve and broaden their
knowledge and skills and, develop the personal qualities required in their
professional lives. Professional development may also come in the form of
pre-service or in-service professional development programs. These programs
may be formal, or informal, group or individualized. Individuals may pursue
professional development independently, or programs may be offered by
human resource departments. Professional development opportunities can
range from a single workshop to a semester-long academic course. But, the
heart of professional development is the individual's interest in lifelong
learning and increasing their own skills and knowledge.
4.4 ROLE OF INDIAN GOVERNMENT IN HIGHER
EDUCATION SECTOR
Education is a part of concurrent list and the Indian government,
especially the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD),
Department of Higher Education, at Center is responsible for synchronization
and formation of policies that can elevate the standards of higher education or
research, and technical and scientific centers. However, in order to implement
the devised policies, central government has set up certain statutory agencies,
such as Universities Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE), and Distance Education Council (DEC).
As far as the discharge of responsibilities is concerned, UGC is in
charge of looking after the quality of higher education in India through the
process of coordination, maintenance and decision-making. AICTE has
assumed the planning and coordination roles for the technical education
sphere in the country. When it comes to the development and growth of the
Open University and distance mode of learning, DEC takes the charge. The
statutory body DEC scrutinizes the teaching, research and examination system
of these higher education centers.
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Aside from this, there are several other statutory or autonomous
education bodies also which have been vested with significant power and
authority to ensure betterment of the higher education system in India. Some
of these are listed below:
Medical Council of India (MCI)
Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR)
National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)
Dental Council of India (DCI)
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)
Indian Nursing Council (INC)
Bar Council of India (BCI)
Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH)
Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM)
Council of Architecture
Rehabilitation Council
State Councils of Higher Education
This is not all because MHRD also has to take charge in the areas of
data management, capacity building and promotion of the unprivileged
sections including minority group, women, etc. In order to carry out these and
other tasks, the education department has introduced some of the aided
premier organizations / centers, which have eventually become the center of
excellence in their own right. Some of these autonomous institutions through
which the department ensures implementation of its policies include:
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Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
Central Universities, including IGNOU
Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs)
National Institutes of Technology (NITs)
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs)
School of Planning and Architecture
Further, as per the role of state governments in the higher education
sector, the state governments enjoy the power of setting up universities and
colleges in their respective states. They have to build plan and non-plan grants
to ensure the development and maintenance of the institutions.
Undoubtedly, the Central Government is entrusted with the
exclusive legislative rights in the field of higher education. But, when it
comes to effective implementation of policies and the discharge of
responsibilities, both central and state governments have to cooperate and
coordinate with each other; for this purpose, the Central Advisory Board of
Education (CABE) has been formed.
4.5 THE PRESENT FORMAT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN
INDIA
At present, India possesses a highly developed higher education
system which offers the facility of education and training in almost all aspects
of human’s creative and intellectual endeavors such as arts and humanities,
natural, mathematical and social sciences, engineering, medicine, dentistry,
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agriculture, education, law, commerce and management, music and
performing arts, national and foreign languages, culture, communications etc.
4.5.1 Academic Qualification Framework
There are three principle levels of qualifications within the higher
education system in the country which are as under:
4.5.1.1 Bachelor/ Undergraduate level
The bachelor's degree is offered after 12 years of school education.
Generally it is offered in two streams: liberal and professional field of studies.
The liberal studies are generally three years programme offered in arts,
commerce and sciences. Some institutions offer bachelor courses with
honours in liberal studies which are not necessarily longer in duration but
indicate greater depth of study.
Bachelor degree in professional studies is generally a four years
programme offered in agriculture, dentistry, engineering, medicine,
pharmacy, technology, and veterinary. The bachelors in architecture and
medicine take five and five and a half years respectively. There are other
bachelor programmes which are offered only after completion of the first
bachelor degree. These include one year bachelors in education, journalism
and library and information science.
Similarly a Bachelor's degree in law can be pursued only after
completion of first bachelor degree but it is of three year bachelor
programme. The bachelor degree in law is also offered as an integrated degree
lasting five years.
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4.5.1.2 Master's / Post-graduate level
The master's degree is normally of two-year duration in both the
liberal and professional fields of study. It could be coursework based with or
without thesis or research. Now a days to match the skill requirement, fast
track programmes in professional streams such as Executive MBA is also
available to those having 3 to 5 years of experience at managerial level. Some
Master's degree such as in Library and Information Science lasts for one year
while in Computer Science lasts for three years.
4.5.1.3 Pre-Doctoral / Doctoral level
A pre-doctoral programme - Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) is taken
after completion of the Master's Degree. This can either be completely
research based or can include course work as well which is generally of two
years duration. Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is pursued after masters or pre-
doctoral programme and generally takes three to five years to be awarded.
Students are expected to write a substantial thesis based on original research
with or without course work.
4.5.1.4 Diploma
Diploma Courses are also available at the undergraduate and
postgraduate level. At the undergraduate level, it varies between one to three
years in length while postgraduate diplomas are normally awarded after one
year’s study.
4.5.1.5 Distance Learning Programmes
At all the levels, programmes in both liberal and professional fields
are offered through distance learning mode which normally takes longer
duration than their equivalent regular programme.
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4.5.2 Institutional framework
The degree / diploma awarding institutions consist of the following:
4.5.2.1 Central Universities
A Central University in India is established by the Government of
India, by Act of Parliament.
4.5.2.2 State Universities
A State University in India is established by the State Government,
by the State Legislature.
4.5.2.3 Deemed Universities
Institutions which have been accorded the status of a university with
the authority to award their own degrees through central government
notification are called deemed universities.
4.5.2.4 Open University
Open University can be a central or state University imparting
education exclusively through distance mode in any branch or branches of
knowledge.
4.5.2.5 Institutes of National Importance
Some of the higher education institutions are awarded the said status
of Institutes of National Importance by the act of Parliament.
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4.5.2.6 Other Institutions
It Includes the Institutions established by the State Legislative Act
and colleges affiliated to the University, both government-aided and unaided.
The Universities are of various kinds, with a single faculty, or multi-faculties,
teaching or affiliating, or teaching cum affiliating, single campus or multiple
campuses. Most of the Universities are affiliating universities, which
prescribe to the affiliated colleges the course of study, hold examinations and
award degrees. Most of the universities along with their affiliated colleges
have grown rapidly to the extent of becoming unmanageable. Therefore, as
per National Policy on Education, 1986, a scheme of autonomous colleges
was promoted. In the autonomous colleges, the name of the college is to be
included while the degree is conferred. The colleges develop and propose new
courses of study with the University for Approval. They are also fully
responsible for the conduct of examination.
4.5.3 Regulatory Framework
The institutions imparting higher education at different levels are
regulated by the following bodies:
University Grants Commission (UGC) set up under UGC Act
1956 is responsible for coordination, determination, and maintenance of
standards and release of grants to universities and research organizations.
All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has been
established under the AICTE Act, 1987. The council is authorized to take all
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steps that are considered appropriate for ensuring coordinated and integrated
development of technical education and for maintenance of standards.
Medical Council of India (MCI) was set up by the Indian Medical
Council Act, 1956, amended in 1993. The council is empowered to prescribe
minimum standards for medical education required for granting recognized
medical qualifications by universities or medical institutions in India. The
Council is also responsible to give its recommendations to the Central
Government for establishing new medical colleges, opening of new or higher
courses of study and increase in admission capacity in any courses of study or
training.
Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) has established
various research centers in order to meet the agricultural research and
education needs of the country. It is actively pursuing human resource
development in the field of agricultural sciences by setting up numerous
agricultural universities spanning the entire country.
National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) is a statutory
body set up under the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993 to
facilitate planned and coordinated development of the teacher education
system in the country, and for the regulation and proper maintenance of
norms and standards in the teacher education system. The Council is
empowered to grant recognition of institutions offering courses or training in
teacher education.
Dentists Council of India (DCI) constituted under the Dentists Act,
1948, is a statutory body incorporated under an Act of Parliament to regulate
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the dental education and the profession of dentistry throughout India. The
council is responsible for accrediting recognition to dental degree awarded by
various universities and also for maintaining uniform standards of dental
education in India.
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) also known as central council
was constituted under Section 3 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948. The PCI controls
pharmacy education and profession in India up to graduate level. The council
prescribes the minimum standard of education for qualification as a
pharmacist.
Indian Nursing Council (INC) is a statutory body constituted
under the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947. The council is responsible for
the regulation and maintenance of a uniform standard of training for nurses,
midwives, auxiliary nurse-midwives and health visitors.
Bar Council of India (BCI) is empowered to make rules to
discharge its functions under the Advocates Act 1961. The Bar Council of
India rules may prescribe for a class or category of person entitled to be
enrolled as an advocate. The Bar Council of India can also specify the
conditions subject to which an advocate must have the right to practice and
the circumstances under which a person must be deemed to practice as an
advocate in a court.
Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH) was established under the
Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. The council prescribes and
recognizes all homeopathic medicine qualifications. Any university or
medical institutions that desires to grant a medical qualification in
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homeopathy is required to apply to the council. The council is responsible for
the constitution and maintenance of a Central Register of Homoeopathy and
for matters connected therewith. All universities and board of medical
institutions in India are required to furnish all information regarding courses
of study and examination.
Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) is the statutory
body constituted under the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970. This
council prescribes minimum standards of education in Indian Systems of
Medicine viz. Ayurved, Siddha, Unani Tibb. The council is responsible to
maintain a Central Register of Indian Medicine and prescribes standards of
professional conduct, etiquette and code of ethics to be observed by the
practitioners.
Council of Architecture (COA) was constituted under the
provisions of the Architects Act, 1972, enacted by the Parliament of India.
The Act provides for registration of Architects, standards of education,
recognized qualifications and standards of practice to be complied with by the
practicing architects. The Council of Architecture is responsible to regulate
the education and practice of profession throughout India besides maintaining
the register of architects. Any person desirous of carrying on the profession of
"Architect" must register himself with Council of Architecture.
Distance Education Council (DEC) was constituted under statute
28 arising from Section 25 of the Indira Gandhi National Open University
Act, 1985. The Distance Education Council (DEC) is responsible for the
promotion and coordination of the Open University and distance education
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system and for determination of its standards. The Council provides academic
guidelines to promote excellence, encourage the use of innovative
technologies and approaches, enable convergence of all systems and sharing
of resources through collaborative networking for access to sustainable
education, skill up gradation and training to all.
Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) The Parliament enacted
Rehabilitation Council of India Act in 1992. It prescribes that any one
delivering services to people with disability, who does not possess
qualifications recognized by RCI, could be prosecuted. Thus the Council has
the twin responsibility of standardizing and regulating the training of
personnel and professional in the field of Rehabilitation and Special
Education.
National Council for Rural Institutes (NCRI) is an autonomous
society fully funded by the Ministry of Human Resources Development,
Government of India. It was established with a main objective of promoting
Rural Higher Education for advancing rural livelihoods with the instrument of
education based on the values proposed by Gandhiji.
State Councils of Higher Education (SCHE) Following the
National Policy on Education, respective state governments have established
State Councils of Higher Education (SCHE). These councils prepare
coordinated programs of development of higher education in each state. Thus,
they seek to consolidate the efforts and investments of institutions of higher
education in the state.
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4.6 EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF HIGHER
EDUCATION IN INDIA (STATISTICS)
Figure 4.1 Education Structure in India
The above chart 4.1 presents the contemporary education structure
of India which shows all levels of education starting from pre-primary level to
higher education in all the branches of education.
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Figure 4.2 Growth of Higher education: Universities/Colleges/Students
enrollment/Teaching Staff: 1950-51-2010-11
The above chart 4.2 presents the growth of universities, colleges,
students’ enrolment and teaching staff since 1950-51 to 2010-11.
Figure 4.3 Type-wise distribution of degree awarding Universities
/University level Institutions: December, 2011
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The above chart 4.3 depicts the volume of universities under
different category during the year December 2011.
Figure 4.4 State -wise number of Colleges 2010-11
The above chart 4.4 shows the state-wise number of colleges
functioning in India during the academic year 2010-11.
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Figure 4.5 Growth of Higher education Institutions
The above chart 4.5 presents the growth of number of universities
and colleges since 1950-51 to Dec. 2011.
Figure 4.6 Growth of Teaching Staff in Universalities and Colleges
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The above chart 4.6 depicts the growth of teaching staff in
universities and colleges from the academic year 1950-51 to 2010-11.
Figure 4.7 Faculty wise students enrolment in higher education
2010-11
The above chart 4.7 presents the percentage of students enrolled
under each faculty during the academic year 2010-11.
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Figure 4.8 Faculty wise students enrolment (‘000’): Boys & Girls
2010-11
The above chart 4.8 presents gender wise student enrolment under
each faculty during the academic year 2010-11.
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Figure 4.9 Growth of Higher Education: state wise students’ enrolment
2010-11
The above chart 4.9 depicts the state-wise student enrolment during
the academic year 2010-11.
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Figure 4.10 Expenditure on higher education in India (as % of GDP)
The above chart 4.10 presents the expenditure incurred in higher
education since 2006-07 to 2009-10.
4.7 MEASURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER
EDUCATION IN INDIA
Higher education in India is considered to be the one among the
largest education systems of the world. And, in order to enhance this system
further, the Indian government has adopted various measures. These measures
are thought of at numerous levels and then, executed. These include:
Forming National Education Policy and supervising its
implementation
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Making development plans for University, Higher Education
and Technical Education
Emphasizing on the education needs of unprivileged groups,
such as SC/ ST / OBC and girls, physically challenged and
minority groups
Providing scholarships to proficient candidates
Focusing on the growth of all Indian languages
Encouraging international relationship in the sphere of
education (such as with UNESCO)
Promoting books and Copyright Act
4.8 RECENT CONTRIBUTION OF THE INDIAN
GOVERNMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR
In the year 2010-2011, Indian government has assigned 2350.00
crores to UGC under plan grants for extending assistance to state based
universities and colleges. Central Universities (CUs) & Deemed Universities
(DU) are granted Rs. 1980 and 60 crores for providing assistance to Central
Universities, Deemed Universities, etc. Like these, other educational
organizations are also granted aids to help the higher education sector flourish
and grow.