WHY INDIA DOESN'T HAVE ANY WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY? WHO ALL ARE ACCOUNTABLE?

WHY INDIA DOESN'T HAVE ANY WORLD CLASS UNIVERSITY? WHO ALL ARE ACCOUNTABLE?

The main reason, probably, for not having a single world class university is the absence of a strong and healthy higher education system in place. The fact that we don’t have any university in the elite group of top 100 varsities globally only supports the above supposition. The best ranking ever achieved is by Punjab University which is still ranked amongst the top 223-250. The so called institutes of national importance have managed rankings amongst the top 351-400.

It is time we abandon the present system and redefine national goals so as to regain our “self-esteem & self-confidence”.

It is right time to identify pseudo intellectuals on priority and not let them continue to damage the education sector. On the other hand, we also need to identify and eliminate all hindrances in developing grass root technology through education and research. We need to produce only “Ranchos” and not the “Chatur Ramalingams”, the two distinct characters of famous Hindi movie “Three Idiots”. Unfortunately our education system is presently in the clutches of “Chatur Ramalingams” and our determination should be to change the long persistent status-quo.

It is time for India to lead from the front and this can be realised only when we as Indians overcome the psychological barriers which are acting akin fetters in the times of rapid industrial and economic growth.

Brain storming should be the key word at every level for achieving this goal; for its education and not literacy that makes a nation strong. We ought to realize our potential through self-reliance and walk on the highway of growth.

·        “Be the leader, rather than a follower”

·       “Innovate or perish”

·       “If they can (western countries), why can’t we?”

The philosophy that “everything from west is always good” is serving as the greatest psychological barrier that we need to overcome. We must “stop looking towards west for technology & solutions”

At the same time, there are areas where we need to redefine our national objectives. One of them is to plug the leakage of foreign exchange taking place for attaining higher education and divert / channelize it to the core areas of Indian economy like defence preparedness and other centric needs. USA’s Per Capita Income for 2013-14 at Rs. 265505/month is 13X that of India at Rs. 20385/month. Per capita income is a measure of a country’s living standard. According to IMF, India lags behind 132 nation-states in terms of per capita income.

As an educationist and innovative researcher, I am of the view that the education sector is one of the major sectors that are contributing to high foreign exchange outflows. We are spending multi-million dollars, without accountability on higher education and research.