The great push to higher education can come about with relaxed regulations to set up more private universities
The underlying cause for Indian underdevelopment, manifesting in poor citizen entitlement, poverty and infrastructure, is the mess in higher education. It is too skewed in favour of the under-regulated private sector, over-regulated but unaccountable and under-performing public institutions such as its pathetic universities and the weak autonomy and leadership in them.
Despite all this, university education leading to degrees in India is overwhelmingly in the private sector — and private sector- managed affiliates of State Universities produce a whopping 84 per cent of all Indian degrees. Private universities operating under the State legislations and deemed to be universities, are now about 250 out of the 700 university- level institutions. The Government wants to enhance the gross enrollment from 18 per cent to 30 per cent in the next 10 years, if necessary by constituting 1000 more university-level institutions.
Meanwhile, it is clear that State legislatures are preferring specialist fragmented universities to comprehensive universities modelled on the world famous Ivy league. Even with the opportunity outlined under RUSA — the national higher education mission — the need to launch 1000 new academic ships in the troubled waters of the Indian provincial polities suffers huge risks of lack of requisite accountability and quality. Besides, the various State Governments are fast allowing universities of all shapes, designs and hues, making the distinction of a university-level institution even more difficult. Presently the UNiversity Grants Commission’s recognition criteria are too vague to discriminate a university generically from colleges or institutes.
One way out could be to mandate by Central legislation what a non-public university ought to be- academically and administratively. Here also the contours need to be defined without exhausting the scope for innovation by the non profits and profits who want to form such new institutions. With the Government mandating three per cent proceeds of corporate social responsibility from profit-making companies towards charities and the experience of Azim Premji’s foundation and Microsoft University, a framework Central legislation is essential now to incorporate universities, much like the incorporation of firms under the Companies Act, to contain the drift.
Unlike the 70 different licensing and 90-day averaged process mandatory under the Companies Act, the new university entities must be able to register with the Union HRD Ministry (or its regulator) in 30 days and through a single-window approach system. The no-objection system from State Governments which might play spoilsport, needs to be done away with. Any organisation, with a valid legal entity such as a society or trust or company, must be able to form a university provided the basic elements of educational organisation are prescribed akin to the process in the Companies Act. The 'Central Private Universities Act' must, therefore, have the following cardinal features.
Its governance must provide for the requisite flexibility and accountability, such that it is not out of the overall design though amenable to changes in each context. The university’s president/chancellor needs to be the chief promoter/CEO or his nominee. The Board of Governors (may have one representative/independent governor each from the Centre and State Government) must appoint the chancellor with a no-objection from the Union HRD Ministry. The chancellor and BoG must then choose and appoint a vice chancellor, pro-VCs if required, registrar, directors and deans.
Such a new entity may have a minimum of five faculties. While the entity may choose to concentrate on areas such as engineering, medicine, law or humanities, the faculties of languages, physical education and ICT, with minimum strength, can be compulsory for all. A minimum qualified faculty of 10 per unit may be insisted in the first three years, when the first provisional registration may be reviewed and made final.
The entity must not be controlled over the fees they fix, which can be decided by the BoG. The minimum qualifications for teachers may be at or above that regulated by the UGC. As beginners requiring high investment in the order of `500 crore or above, they may be allowed infrastructure-level interest rates from public institutions and also allowed to raise share-holding from stakeholders including students from whose parents term deposits may be held during studentship and returned without interest upon graduation.
The BoGs may be accountable to the general body of the university which has representatives of promoters, all students, parents, faculty and staff. This may work as the AGM of the university entity and, there may be a separate academic council and a research council for such statutory work. Subject to the Act, the audit of the corporate university may be left to the auditors appointed by the BoG.
With innovation limits set, such as no retirement age for professors etc, these new entities can alter the face of Indian higher education, and scarce public resources can be then focussed on unreached areas and sectors. If carefully enacted, allowing 2000 such new institutions as well as upgrading existing entities, would ignite the great Indian university rush. This will in turn give the much wanted push to Indian higher education.
(The writer is the Vice Chancellor of a State University)