India has one of the largest Higher Education System in the world.

Objectives of Higher Education
in a Changing World

Addressing the graduates of the Allahabad University in 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, said:

"A university stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for the adventure of ideas and for the search for truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race toward higher objectives. Universities are places of ideals and idealism. If the universities discharge their duties adequately, then, it is well with the nation and the people."

This statement effectively initiated the formulation of the essential purpose of university education in independent India.

Universities in India have been the living repository of a long-cherished heritage - a heritage continually revitalised by the teachers and researchers by their contribution to and interaction with it.

The higher education system in India has constantly striven to build universities as places of culture and of learning open to all and, above all, reinforcing the theme of learning throughout life. Participating in and contributing to major debates concerning the direction and future of society is seen as a major task, and a moral obligation as well, of the university system.

The first major step taken by the Ministry of Education after independence (1947) in higher education was to appoint a Commission on university education under the Chairmanship of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to report on Indian university education. In its report, the Commission said: "Democracy depends for its very life on a high standard of general, vocational and professional education. Dissemination of learning, incessant search for new knowledge, unceasing effort to plumb the meaning of life, provision for professional education to satisfy the occupational needs of our society are the vital tasks of higher education."

The past is our foundation, the present our material, the future our aim and summit. Each must have its due and natural place in a national system of education.

Growth of Higher Education

The theme of higher knowledge and higher education was fashioned in India by the ancient Rishis and sages in the Vedic Age, the date of which is uncertain but is supposed to be traceable to great antiquity. The early Gurukul* system of education flourished in the Vedic and Upanishadic periods, but a huge University came to be set up at Takshashila in the 6th Century B.C. Two other universities, namely, Nalanda and Vikramsila were established in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D., respectively.

India has had a long tradition of inquiry and articulation of concepts of universe, self, role of state, economy, social order and other related matters. The methodologies adopted were both subjective and objective and included observation, conceptualisation, verification, articulation and teaching.

As a result, India had gone further in science than any other country before the modern era- specially in mathematics, astronomy and chemistry, metallurgy and physics. Indian scientists discovered and formulated and anticipated by force of reasoning or experiment some of the scientific ideas and discoveries which Europe arrived at much later. Ancient India was well equipped in surgery and its system of medicine survives to this day. A vast literature is also available on "Vriksha Ayurveda" (Herbal Medicine). In literature, in philosophy and in systems of yogic knowledge not only ancient India but medieval and modern India reached highest levels of achievement. The higher education system flourished in ancient India well; and it continued to influence developments during its subsequent ages, in spite of diverse forms that developed under the impact of changes in religion, and in social, economic and political life.

Beginnings of Modern Higher Education

The modern higher education system is only 140 years old, when the first three universities were set up in 1857 under the British Rule. Policy guidelines given by Macaulay and Wood's Despatch (1854) shaped the scope and the role of universities in India. To begin with, colleges set up in India were affiliated to British universities. In 1857, for the first time, universities were set up in India. Existing colleges got affiliated to these universities.

The period 1857 to 1947 was the period of slow development of institutions of higher education in India. They were set up mostly in administrative headquarters and port towns. They provided education in literature, history, philosophy, political science, social science and natural sciences. The thrust of development was mainly on liberal arts education. Science education occupied a very small proportion. The rate of development was slow as in a period of 90 years only 18 universities were set up in the country. Most of these followed the model of the three leading universities at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Along with liberal arts, some engineering and medical colleges were also set up. Most of the colleges imparted education as formulated by the universities. The universities also acted as examining and degree granting bodies. The initiative in the hands of college teachers in terms of curriculum development was, therefore, very much limited.

The guiding principles of colonial rulers were slightly modified by Indian scholars who desired to blend Indian culture with western thought. They felt this would make Indians appreciate knowledge both from Indian as well as from the British point of view. These two philosophical approaches simultaneously operated during the colonial period.

But the development that followed was greatly influenced by Macaulay's Minutes, which had crippling effects, and even till today those effects continue to obstruct the process of major reforms that are now felt to be urgent and imperative.

During this colonial period, particularly after 1906, the desire for a national system of education and need for imparting knowledge of India's philosophy, art and literature also gained momentum. Some of the leading persons attempted to establish indigenous educational institutions with the support of the community. A National College was set up by nationalist leaders in 1906 at Calcutta under the principalship of Sri Aurobindo, and some other institutions too came to be established, such as Viswa Bharati by the great poet Rabindra Nath Tagore.

A one year course of national service on farm or factory should be made a part of the curriculum for a bachelor's degree. A system of people's colleges and universities may also be instituted so that grown up persons with a few years experience in some profession can make use of them when they are ready and willing.

The Present Status

University Institutions in India

Andhra Pradesh Goa Kerala Orissa Tripura Arunachal Pradesh Gujarat Madhya Pradesh Pondicherry Uttar Pradesh Assam Haryana Maharashtra Punjab West Bengal Bihar Himachal Pradesh Manipur Rajasthan   Chandigarh Jammu & Kashmir Meghalaya Sikkim   Delhi Karnataka Nagaland Tamil Nadu

Universities in Gujarat

Governance and Management

Significant progress has been made in recent years not only in the development and strengthening of higher education in terms of improved student access, strengthened research and postgraduate programmes, more equitable representation of different social groups, renewed curricula and adoption of new teaching and delivery methods, but in enhanced institutional management and strategic planning capacity as well.

The higher education system has been experimenting with management approaches to deal with challenges arising from internet factors, such as changes in academic disciplines and new instructional methods, and external factors such as population growth, diverse clienteles and changing labour market requirements. Non-university institutions and establishment of open universities and distance learning system have been particularly important initiatives.

Involvement in decision-making by all key stakeholders of higher education institutions is recognised as imperative. To this end, a large measure of autonomy is being stimulated in the system to encourage freedom to select staff and students, determine curriculum and degree standards and to allocate funds; while at the same time being accountable to the system.

Higher education in India is coordinated by several agencies. While the university system falls within the jurisdiction of the UGC, professional institutions are coordinated by different bodies. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is responsible for coordination of technical and management education institutions. The other statutory bodies are Medical Council of India (MCI), Central Council of Indian Medicine, the Homeopathy Central Council, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Indian Nursing Council, the Dental Council, the Pharmacy Council, the Bar Council of India, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), etc. There are also bodies at the state level, such as State Councils of Higher Education that were established recently. There is yet another type of coordinating agency called Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which was earlier known as Inter-University Board of India. All the universities and other equivalent institutions of higher education are members of the AIU. The AIU has no executive powers, but plays an important role as an agency of dissemination of information and as an advisor both to the government and/or UGC and universities.

Pertinence and Quality

In this age of a techno-scientific revolution, when the sheer quantity of knowledge and information is expanding exponentially, when the needs of a constantly growing and increasingly varied student population are burgeoning, the quality of training for teachers and the quality of teaching in higher education institutions demand top priority.

The higher education system in India recognises its key responsibility in training teachers, in establishing links with teacher training institutions at other levels and in training teacher trainers. Efforts are being made to bring in teachers from the commercial and social sectors to facilitate interchange and build links with the education system. The higher education system in India is facilitating access to the common heritage of knowledge and research. It is fulfilling its moral obligation to society in exchange for the resources assigned to it by society. Recently, a Task Force on Fundamental Duties laid down in the Constitution has been constituted so that the same can be reflected in the curriculum. This would also lay down a code of accountability of all stakeholders in the educational system.

The University Grants Commission [UGC] was set up in 1956 as an agency for coordination and maintenance of the standards of teaching examination and research in universities. During the last 40 years, the UGC has taken a number of measures to improve quality and to introduce innovations.

Quality improvement through infrastructural development: Here the policy is to ensure a minimum level of facilities such as laboratories, libraries, classrooms and hostels, by the provision of development grants. Special grants have also been provided to improve in quality humanities, social science and science streams.

Financial support has also been provided for creating new inter-disciplinary oriented universities such as the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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