Higher Education in India: What should our priorities be?

1. Higher Education in India: What should our priorities be? Naushad Forbes Forbes Marshall, Pune Science, Technology and Society, Stanford University Higher Education, Dec 2005

2. Overview • India as a huge producer of Technical and Management professionals - some numbers • So much Quantity, and some Quality at the Undergrad technical and management end • What constraints with the current system? • What should our priorities be? Higher Education, Dec 2005

3. The current state of higher education in India • We are a huge producer of Technical and Management professionals – but see this as a BE factory! • We produce more BE s (400,000) than the US and Europe combined, second only to China (650,000) • Quality at the Undergrad technical and management end – the IITs, IIMs and at the second tier a few private and public institutions like BITs, Thapar & Roorkee • Now much focus on building a research culture and graduate (esp PhD) programmes in the IITs • The void outside the technical fields – not even ONE institution that can claim to be anywhere near world-class, either at the graduate or undergraduate level Higher Education, Dec 2005

4. Technical and Management Education • We were an early investor in Technical and Management Education with world-class institutes in the IITs (for undergraduate education) and IIMs and a few others • Massive recent growth in private technical education in some states • 5 states (TN, AP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala) account for 31% of population but 69% of engineers • 5 states (UP, Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa) account for 43% of population but 14% of engineers • This explains why our IT industry is located where it is, but the BE factory has serious quality issues Higher Education, Dec 2005

5. The IITs (and IIMs): Quality in education • Highly selective system ensures truly world-class students at the undergrad level • Not just a selection mechanism, but high quality education • No significant resource constraint • Now a heavy emphasis on graduate education and on building a research culture • Strong recruitment of faculty at some institutes, such as IIT Bombay Higher Education, Dec 2005

6. The difference with Graduate Technical Education • We were also an early investor in Graduate technical education - in 1990, India equalled PhD production in Science and Engineering for China+Japan+S Korea+ Taiwan • China in 2004 second only to US – up from nothing in 1990 • Growth of PhD technical education since 1990 has been very slow, while undergraduate engineering (and MBAs) each grew more than ten-fold • Some signs of life now (expanding PhD programme at the IITs), but a very long way to go Higher Education, Dec 2005

7. University research as end in itself • Doing research in universities as the only way to provide top-class graduate education • Research benefits too - research trainees are developed alongside the best scientists • Trained people are the key linkage between industry and institutes - nothing else can come close, least of all another seminar on Industry-Institute Interaction... • So the key benefit of doing research in the higher education system, is precisely that you get better graduate students: you train researchers Higher Education, Dec 2005

8. How we differ in India • Massive numbers of undergrad engineers and MBAs (350,000 BEs per year, vs 70,000 in US and 100,000 in Europe. And 60,000 MBAs per yr) • Tiny share of R&D in the university system (3%, vs 15 - 25% in every OECD country plus Taiwan + Brazil. China is 10%). The great bulk of R&D is done in autonomous state R&D institutions • Tiny share of Public Medical R&D (1% of public R&D spending, vs 50% in US and some European countries) – precisely an area where we have strong firm R&D, and where we have specific public health needs that private investment will not address adequately Higher Education, Dec 2005

9. Some priorities for reform • Improve the quality of mass technical/management education primarily through competition • Improve graduate technical education by doing public research in the university system • Invest public funds in building full-service research universities Higher Education, Dec 2005

10. Improve the quality of mass technical education • Growth of 20% a year in engineering colleges, and 60% for MBA institutes • A 20% vacancy rate for faculty, and a 60% vacancy rate of officially qualified faculty (the pass rate is currently running at 2 %) • Accreditation as the way forward, with NBA assessment playing a useful role • It is my sense that private institutions do not broadly use pay flexibility, but follow rigid public scales – we have to move to a more performance-based system • Can industry help with endowed professorships? Higher Education, Dec 2005

11. Improve the quality of mass technical education (2) • As a state government • Focus on assessing quality – and do it publicly • Ensure more supply than demand (this is happening in TN, AP, Maharashtra) • Let private colleges compete for the best students and faculty • Allow fees to be set as colleges wish – in a public, transparent manner • Provide scholarships and comprehensive loans to ensure full access • Use a few public colleges to set quality standards Higher Education, Dec 2005

12. Improve graduate technical education through public research • Higher Education accounts for under 3% of national R&D spending - vs 15 - 25% in every other major economy • Give the universities the research budgets that currently go to autonomous R&D institutes • Start at the IITs and IIMs with sponsored research • Change the evaluation systems within colleges to require research - which will be painful, but is essential – how? Higher Education, Dec 2005

13. Building a research culture • All the IITs and IIMs, and the best of the rest too all say they want to do much more research • Growing PhD programmes is one thing, but we could usefully learn from US universities • What they did in the 50s and 60s to build a research culture • First recognise it is difficult, and will be painful • Combine long-term strong leadership with a few committed faculty • Ensure resource availability and have flexibility that is used to reward moving in the right direction – and leaving behind people who don’t • And how competition is used throughout the system • For the best students – we have that in abundance for undergrads • For the best faculty – we are just starting • For research grants – we have too little demand • For funding PhD students, who should not be supported automatically Higher Education, Dec 2005

14. Key elements of vibrant world-class research universities • The bulk of public research is done in the university system • We have a uniquely tiny share of R&D in the university system (3%, vs 15 - 25% in every OECD country plus Taiwan + Brazil. China is 10%). The great bulk of R&D is done in autonomous state R&D institutions • Doing research in universities as the only way to provide top-class graduate education • Research benefits too - research trainees are developed alongside the best scientists • The key benefit of doing research in the higher education system, is precisely that you get better graduate students: you train researchers • Undergraduate and Graduate education is combined • Technical and non-technical fields are equally valued • Professional schools are situated within the university system Higher Education, Dec 2005

15. And building full service universities • Start at the IITs and IISc • The IISc should start a strong undergraduate programme • All six (the five original IITs and IISc) should aim over 20 years to widen into full-service universities • Adding fields is easier than creating a culture of excellence • Perhaps start with social sciences, then add humanities, plus the other professional schools (medicine, law) • But we will have to ensure they are not seen as second-class citizens! • Deepen & strengthen basic sciences (scrap the artificial S T divide) • Provide funds on a purely competitive basis for the existing universities to build research-teaching centres of excellence – are Cochin and Osmania candidates? • Permit private universities – and let them compete for these same discretionary funds Higher Education, Dec 2005

16. Conclusions We have a huge opportunity in higher education • Building quality through competition in a largely private mass technical education system • Building a few public research universities out of our existing IITs and IIMs • Creating some other centres of excellence in other public and private institutes • Balance focus on the technical/professional fields with sciences, social sciences and humanities Higher Education, Dec 2005

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18. Reforming public research • Split Scientific Research Institutes into a Technology Assistance Institute, 100% dependent on industry sponsorship • Move the scientists to universities, and ensure they both research and teach (preferably including undergraduates) • Indeed, let the universities plunder CSIR’s 10,000 scientists as a pool of trained researcher-teachers • Give the universities the research budgets that currently go to autonomous R&D institutes • As a second-class alternative, let the research institutes become teaching institutes – but ensure they teach at least at the Masters and preferably Bachelors level too, not just PhDs Higher Education, Dec 2005

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24. What is true for undergraduate engineering, is true for technical education generally Higher Education, Dec 2005