There is a surging demand for the skills an IIT imparts and no supply side response. It cannot be an issue of funding, because if the government is strapped for funds, these institutions could raise funding directly—their alumni alone would be able to provide billions of dollars. India needs 50 IITs, 100 regional engineering colleges (RECs) and many great colleges to support the needs of the growing economy. [...]
Thus, instead of IIMs setting up campuses abroad, we need on a war-footing to increase the number of top quality institutions in India so that we have children from other countries coming to India to study and the education business works to India’s advantage in an increasingly knowledge-based society of the future. The current apathy needs to end.
That's from Janmejaya Sinha, Managing Director of the Boston Consulting Group, in an op-ed in the Financial Express.
2 Comments:
There's very little educational institutions can do of their own in India. Leave alone State level universities many of which have been driven into mediocrity; even the elite ones have little freedom to build, grow, and develop. Which is probably why they are now looking at setting up foreign campuses - to at least provide and outlet for talented faculty and students. No if India needs 1000s of graduates let the private sector worry about it - being the most dynamic employers - and find a way to generate talent. The government got its sums right until the 80s but has since lost track and will only make things worse. Let no one tell the institutions what they must do. Let them find their own way.
Thanks, Shiva, for your comment. The arguments for vigorous private sector participation in higher education are quite persuasive. Except, of course, that there should be strong regulations that mandate disclosure of all relevant information. The recently discovered problems with Sathyabama and SRM (deemed) universities have shown up the limitations of our current regulatory regime.
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