Amartya rues education scenario in state

Amartya rues education scenario in state

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Amartya rues education scenario in state

Amartya rues education scenario in state

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Private players keen to set up universities in state

Punjab is all set to become a hub of specialised universities for different academic streams. At least 10 private players, including the Reliance Industries group led by Anil Ambani, Bharti telecom (Airtel group), Lord Diljit Rana, Chitkara group, Ryat and Bahra group and the SGPC are keen to set up their universities in Punjab.

In fact,they have already sent their proposals to the Punjab regime which has nearly finalised the recruit of the Bill and the policy to be place in place to allow the setting up of universities in the private sector in the state. Earlier, the state regime had allowed the setting up of the Lovely University near Jalandhar and the state regime had then enacted a law with particular reference to that university.

Though, as more and more groups are showing interest in setting up universities, the state regime has chose to place in place a broad policy framework and law in place to enable the opening of universities in the private sector.

The entry of private players in the education sector at such a generous extent in Punjab is a new development. Whether these groups will be able to set up educational institutes of excellence or not is the million dough question. Punjab is already burdened with mediocre kind of educational institutes. It has not a single educational institute of national repute. Punjab needs high quality educational institutions of international standards. Before allowing the setting up of private universities, the state will have to ensure that these are not the run of the mill stuff.

Sources said the Chitkara group, which has opened a number of educational institutions at a complex near Banur on the Chandigarh-Patiala road had stirred the application to set up Chitkara University. The SGPC has applied to set up Guru Granth Sahib University, near Fatehgarh Sahib. The UK-based Lord Diljit Rana, who has made huge investment in setting up a group of educational institutions near Khamano, is keen to set up Sanghol University. Sanghol is correlated to ancient civilisation and said to be a seat of learning of Budhism.

The Institute of Finance and Chartered Analysts of India( IFAI) is keen to set up a university near Gurnekalan village in the Lehragaga area of Sangrur district. Educom is interested to set up a university. Bharti Telecom had sought 500 acres of land from Punjab to set up its university. Reliance Group is keen to set up an IT university near Chandigarh either at Fatehgarh or in Ropar district. A high- level team of this group had visited a number of sites in both districts, it is learnt.

The Ryat and Bahra group, which has set up a chain of educational institutions in the Kurali and Ropar belt, is keen set up a university near Kurali, it is learnt. Another group has proposed to set up a university in infrastructure and yet another aviation university. The regime itself is trying hard to set up a Defense University at Patiala. Already, Punjab, a small state, has Law University at Patiala, Health Sciences University at Faridkot, Animal Sciences University at Ludhiana, Punjab Agriculture University besides deemded Thapar Technical University at Patiala and Punjab Technical University at Jalandhar. Then there is Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

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HIGHER EDUCATION: TO PROFIT, OR NOT TO PROFIT?

The Government has seemingly decided to embark on further liberalising the higher education sector along a patchwork process commenced in 1978, getting the private sector to provide higher education. As has been argued, universities must play a dual role in their mission: creation and dissemination of knowledge as the primary mission, and training of skilled workers as the secondary mission.
But there can also be higher education institutes for the purpose of training skilled workers. The attempt of the government appears to have been to allow those who are able to pay, to buy higher education, by widening the options available to seekers of higher education. Accessibility for bachelor’s degrees should be broadened as there are a large number of qualified students seeking higher education. However, public universities will never be able to fully provide higher education for all due to public funding shortages. So, part of the seekers, at least those who are able to pay, need to be allowed to buy higher education.
For the purpose of widening the higher education options, the country needs to choose an appropriate model. However, the government has still not made it clear to the people of Sri Lanka the kind of model that it has planned to introduce by reforming the existing state university system. Three different models are available for the policymakers. They are: for-profit private universities, non-profit public universities, and not-for-profit public and private universities. First, since the introduction of free university education, Sri Lanka practised a non-profit public university system. Internal undergraduate education was fully funded by the state initially. Since 1978, universities in Sri Lanka have been allowed to sell postgraduate degrees and diplomas, undergraduate diplomas and certificates through external mode in diverse fields. These provisions allowed universities to recover part of their cost while broadening their mission in higher education. In some countries however, there are non-profit private universities which operate through various income generating activities including tuition fees. Revenue sources are donations and tuition fees. In this system, the expenditure always exceeds revenue so that the huge expenditure gap is financed by the state. The second model is the not-for-profit private or public universities. In this system, universities charge tuition and other fees from students meaning that students pay to get a postgraduate or undergraduate degree/diploma. Other revenue sources are donations and government funds. However, the net revenue (revenue minus expenditure) is not distributed as dividends or profits to the owners or shareholders. The net revenue is, in fact, reinvested as scholarships, fellowships, chair professorships, quality improvement activities, and subsidies to the needy etc. The third model is a system of traditional for-profit universities. The objective of for-profit higher education institutes is to make profits which are subsequently distributed among owners and/or shareholders. So, a for-profit university/institute is similar to any manufacturing firm producing goods such as sausages and garments etc. I will try to analyse the system of universities in the United States by way of understanding how each of these models has worked. In order to analyse the feasibility of different models of higher education, I will examine the U.S. system of universities which is one of the best university systems in the world.
The US example
In the United States, there are three types of universities, public non-profit/not-for-profit universities, private non-profit/not-for-profit universities and private for-profit universities. Approximately 2,200 colleges and universities offer bachelors degrees in the U.S. Although more than two-thirds of these are private non-profit institutions, the majority of students attend public universities. The smallest percentage of students attends for-profit private higher education institutes in the U.S. In the fall of 2007, there were 15 million students enrolled in degree-granting undergraduate programmes in the U.S. Nearly 80 percent of these students were studying at public universities, which are known as state universities in the U.S, that were founded and operated by state governments. Every U.S. state has at least one public university, and the largest states have more than thirty. In the non-profit/not-for-profit universities, needy students are either subsidised or exempted from fees. A large number of scholarships are available for students from within the state. More affluent students pay for their higher education while the poor and the middle class get free education to a large extent. There are not-for-profit private universities in the U.S. This model has enhanced the freedom of choice of higher education in the U.S. Not-for-profit public and private universities have also encouraged a lively competition among public and private institutions for the best students and the best academic staff. That competition promotes a high level of quality in education and scholarship. Competition also creates strong incentives for institutions to be rigorously self-critical in periodic assessments of their curriculum and performance.
State-owned universities
State owned universities which are fully funded by the state, possess inherent impediments for university governance thereby reducing academic freedom and independent scholarship. However, autonomous not-for-profit public and private universities can enhance academic freedom thereby strengthening creative and critical thinking. Not-for-profit system of public and private universities in the U.S. has significantly improved university governance. Since universities are not completely relying on government funds, financial freedom exists for taking innovative decisions. As a result of private not-for-profit universities, public universities have also been strengthened and protected from undue political influence on matters such as curriculum and staff appointments, and ensured that the universities, both public and private, remain bastions of independent, creative thinking.
In the model of not-for-profit universities, charities and endowments are performing a central role in the financial health. This is one of the salient features of  most of the U.S. universities. Without depending too much on government funds, most universities have established endowment funds, created through donations. This is one of the leading financial sources of spending in the universities of the United States. The size of endowments in U.S. universities is huge. In 2010, the endowment of Harvard University was about USD 27.5 billion, of Yale University was about USD 16.6 billion, of Princeton University was about USD 14.3 billion, and the University of Texas at Austin was about USD 14 billion. Endowments represent money or other financial assets that are donated to universities or colleges. The sole intention of the endowment is to invest it, so that the total asset value will yield an inflation-adjusted principle amount, along with additional income for further investments and supplementary expenditures. Colleges and universities are frequently controlling an endowment fund that funds a significant portion of the operating or capital requirements of the institution. In addition to a general endowment fund, each university also controls a number of restricted endowments that are intended to fund specific areas within the institution. The most common examples are endowed professorships, endowed fellowships and endowed scholarships.
Often Alumni of universities contribute to the endowment of the bulk of the capital. An endowed professorship (or endowed chair) is a position permanently paid for with the revenue from an endowment fund specifically set up for that purpose. The position is designated to be in a certain department of study. The donor is allowed to name the position. Endowed professorships aid the university by providing an academic staff member who does not have to be paid entirely out of the operating budget of the university, allowing the university to either reduce its student-to-staff ratio, a statistic used for university rankings and other institutional evaluations, and/or direct money that would otherwise have been spent on salaries toward other university needs. An endowed scholarship is tuition (and possibly other costs) assistance that is permanently paid for with the revenue of an endowment fund specifically set up for that purpose. It can be either merit-based or need-based depending on university policy or donor preferences. The amount of money that must be donated to start an endowed scholarship vary greatly. Fellowships are similar, although they are most commonly associated with postgraduate students and visiting scholars. In addition to helping with tuition, they may also include a stipend. Fellowships with a stipend may encourage students to work on a doctorate. Frequently, teaching or working on research is a mandatory part of a fellowship or scholarship.
There are a small percentage of for-profit universities and colleges in United States. Only about ten percen of total undergraduate student population is enrolled in these universities/colleges. Even in the United States, for-profit model has not been feasible. Bloomberg reported on May 27,  that costs in for-profit universities exceed their non-profit or not-for-profit peers. It was reported that the average cost of attending a four year bachelor’s degree in for-profit university surpassed expenses at both U.S. state and private non-profit/not-for-profit universities.  Fulltime student paid an average of USD 30,900 annually at the for-profit university in 2007/2008 academic year, almost double the USD 15,000 average paid at the public universities, according to the U.S. Department of Education. American Congress has been investigating costs and students’ debt burdens at for-profit colleges, which get as much as 90 percent of their revenue from federal student grants and loans. Default rates among former students at for-profit universities soared to 15.2 percent, the biggest rise in the higher education field. Based on historical experience, there is a consensus among policymakers in the U.S. that the for-profit model is not feasible for higher education sector. A large number of higher education institutes that emerged over the last few decades in Sri Lanka offering various diplomas, certificates, and foreign degrees appear to have been established as for-profit private institutes.
For-profit model
However, the for-profit model is very profitable for investors as well as the academia. Though the vice chancellor/president of non-profit or not-for-profit universities in the U.S. are paid high salaries, for-profit peers received even higher pays. The President/Vice Chancellor of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers (a reputed economist), was paid about USD 595,871 in the 2004-2005 academic year. During the same academic year, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President, Shirley Ann Jackson, was paid USD 983,365, University of Pennsylvania President, Amy Gutmann, was paid USD 767,030, Columbia University President, Lee C. Bollinger, was paid USD 685,930, and the Vanderbilt’s President, E. Gordon Gee, was paid USD 1.17 million. Apollo Group’s (the biggest for-profit college operator in the U.S.), CEO received USD 6.75 million and the President/Vice Chancellor of the University of Phoenix received USD 1.8 million as take home salaries, for the 2008-2009 academic year.
Policymakers may wonder why professors in local state universities do not aspire to get these high salaries by allowing the government to adopt the for-profit model. They may be thinking that academics in the state universities would prefer high perks than choosing a collective bargaining action demanding higher salaries. However, it is the altruistic motive of academics that has encouraged them to demand higher salaries and protect the non-profit university system rather than supporting a for-profit private university system. Though a better salary is a must, academics are not much concerned about maximising their own welfare. They are more concerned about maximising social welfare because a larger part of the population in Sri Lanka, the students of the poor and the middle class, will be unable to undergo higher education under a fee-paying system as they are unable to pay, if the for-profit model is adopted. So, current trade union action of the FUTA is highly motivated by altruism rather than self-interest/selfishness.
Given economic, social, and political principles/imperatives governing Sri Lankan society, the appropriate model for Sri Lanka appears to be either a system of non-profit public and private universities or a system of not-for-profit public and private universities. If Sri Lankan society is more concerned about economic/social equality and humanity than mere economic rationality of higher education, it may prefer a system of not-for-profit public universities and not-for-profit public-private partnership universities. It is true that ‘economic justifications’ for a free university education is not very strong, Sri Lankan society may not let ‘economists’ or more specifically ‘neo-liberal economists’ or their thinking and theories to decide the future of higher education. Historical, social, political, cultural and humanitarian values should be considered as crucial in determining the future of free university education.

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Admissions over, many look beyond RU - Times Of India

Admissions over, many look beyond RU

With the third cut-off list announced, the most sought-after Maharani's Girls College has closed its doors to a little over 7,000 students, who couldn't make it owing to less percentage in their Class XII examinations. The college has a total of 2,400 seats for all the disciplines, i.e., commerce, science and arts, and received 9,000 application forms.

The announcement has brought cheers to only a few students as 95% of seats were already filled in first two cut-off lists. The full-fledged new session will likely to begin from Monday. The college's B Com pass course was closed at 90.80 per cent. Even in self finance course the cut-off was a record high 88.62 per cent for the general category. "For the past few years, the cut-off rate has seen an upward trend owing phenomenal rise in percentages in Class XII exams," said Kusum Jain, principal of Maharani's Girls College, and announced that the institute's admission process for 2011-12 was now closed. This year, the college received applications from almost all north Indian states. Surprisingly, many applicants from Delhi had applied due to high cut-offs in Delhi University colleges. Students failing to secure a seat are now looking beyond Rajasthan University (RU) colleges.

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Private universities under UGC radar - Express India

Private universities under UGC radar - Express India

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A case in point - The Times of India

A case in point

Considering the fact that better advocacy skills is the need of the hour, 10 young advocates from acrossIndia will be trained for one month at the National Law University, Delhi (NLUD) under the Rajiv Gandhi advocate training scheme.

Elaborating on the scheme, inaugurated on June 27, Srikrishna Deva Rao, registrar of NLUD says, "The ministry of law has initiated this step of training 10 young advocates who are below the age of 30 at regular intervals. To start with, chief justice of all 21 High Courts and chairmen of all State Bar Councils have selected 10 advocates who will be participating in the programme."

The training programme, which commenced on June 27, will end on July 23 and will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, selected advocates will be taught the basic foundations of law and lawyering skills at NLUD followed by placing them under the guidance of senior advocates.

According to NK Sharma, who is part of the implementation cell of the ministry of law and justice, there were no set criteria for selecting the advocates. The idea, he adds, is to ensure that good advocates belonging to remote areas of our country are given the right opportunity and exposure to learn better.

Selected advocates in the first batch are from six different states, which include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and Orissa. Rao says, "The training for the second batch of advocates will begin from July 3 and end on July 30. This batch will include advocates from Sikkim, Assam, Delhi, Chandigarh (Punjab & Haryana), Ranchi and Jammu and Kashmir. The dates for the third batch are not fixed but it will start sometime in the month of August for which the advocates will be chosen from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka , Kerala and Maharashtra."

"The ultimate goal behind conducting this programme is to train young advocates of our country to become better lawyers. Also, at the time of selection it was decided to include advocates from both general as well as reserved categories," says Sharma.

Anish JP, a 29-year-old advocate training under this programme says, "All of us (selected advocates) are going to learn a lot here, which eventually will help us to deal with different types of legal issues more smartly."

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UGC gets into survey mode to understand higher education

UGC gets into survey mode to understand higher education

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has decided to undertake a nationwide survey on the state of higher education in the country, including the Allahabad University.

In a communication sent to the directors and vice-chancellors all the higher educational institutions of the country, the University Grants Commission(UGC) has urged the respective universities to identify and nominate a nodal officer, who will be assigned the task of coordinating and collecting data of the university and its colleges for the purpose of the survey, said AU registrar, Prof J N Mishra.

"The National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) would be conducting the huge survey that is likely to be completed in a year's time," Mishra added.

The nodal officer should be preferably from Statistics, Mathematics or Management, the communication has mentioned. "The letter concerned has asked the institutions to send the details about the nominated nodal officer to chief statistical officer of UGC," said the registrar.

Universities have also been asked to encourage faculty members, research scholars and senior postgraduate students to volunteer as investigators, who will be trained before they are engaged in the conduct of the survey, the university registrar said.

Explaining the reason behind initiating the survey, Mishra said that NUEPA will collect data from the public as well as private institutions, which would be based on basic profile of institutions like management, affiliation status, courses offered, and income and expenditure of the institutions, besides the data on enrolment and faculty. "The exercise is expected to give a real picture of higher education in the country and would be loosely based on the model of survey of elementary education that is carried out by NUEPA every year," said AU registrar.

He further said that the survey would cover all universities, including deemed universities, institutions of national importance and other institutions of university level, general and professional/technical ones including engineering, medical, dental, veterinary, agriculture, computer, management, law, pharmacy, and teacher training among others.

On being asked who would be the nodal officer for the survey, the registrar said, "We are acting on the said instruction and soon would be deciding on the name of the nodal officer and the same would be informed to the UGC."

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