L. N. Mithila University appreciates and welcomes the exercise of the Ministry of Human Resource in asking for inputs on 20 themes defined in D. O. No. F 1-1/2015(secy) dated 24.06.2015 for the purpose of formulating a comprehensive policy document.
Theme 1 : Governance Reforms for quality
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Appointment of persons responsible for running higher education should be based on single criterion of merit through a transparent system and such persons should be given a free hand for a tenure period (3-5 years) for inculcating quality concept and owning full responsibility for it.
- Minimal political interference in institutions of higher learning with full autonomy and responsibility to prove their worth vis-à-vis other similar institutions.
- Fixing responsibility at each level of execution to identify culprits responsible for dilution of quality of higher education.
- Regular and external administrative audit of each institution to keep it on toes for continuous upward mobility.
- Ensuring transparent financial practices to account for expenditure of each penny for assigned job.
2. Quality / Quality improvement in Governance of HEI’s through accountability
Theme 2 : Ranking of Institutions and accreditation
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Ranking and accreditation of HEI by NAAC or any other body is essential as it identifies institutions with potential for excellence and makes it easy for Govt. to provide adequate funds to such institutions to grow as islands of quality education and serve as tools for spreading quality consciousness among other institutions.
- Assessment should be a continuous process and should involve all aspects of an institution i.e. human resource and physical resources.
- Annual self-appraisal by institutions should be related to flow of funds for salary, development and contingent expenses i.e. performance related disbursement for enhancing quality and competency among institutions.
2. Quality consciousness, uniform and judicious assessing system for pan India / Quality improvement of ranking and accreditation through uniform assessment and accreditation taking into account regional parameters
Theme 3 : Improving the quality regulation
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- There should be a single affiliating body for all institutions to attain uniformity of quality improvement (80% centralized control for academics, infrastructure, finance etc. and 20% regionalized control to take care of local variants).
- Uniformity of rules and regulations for maintaining quality will help the issue of migration of students.
- While regulations should be mandatory for each institution for receiving financial grants( tax-payers’ money), each institution should have an independent and autonomous quality assurance cell to monitor proper implementation of these regulations
Theme 4 : Pace setting roles of Central Institutions:
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Central Universities should be islands of excellence for
- Identification of new areas
- Enrichment of faculty
- Internationalization of Indian education
- Interface for industry and higher education
- Seat for production of dedicated faculty and researchers.
2.Application
3.Innovation / CUs can lead by example by sitting on top of pyramid of higher education and maintaining percolation of quality to bottom through state universities and other HEIs
Theme 5 : Improving State Public Universities
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- State Universities with large number of affiliated colleges have become centres for conducting examinations and awarding degrees without any quest for excellence, quality and innovations, hence smaller Universities and autonomous colleges will help to solve this problem.
- Exploding populations and decreasing faculty has brought Student-Teacher ratio to 200-300 : 1 in most of the institutions. Hence appointment of quality faculty either on regular mode contractual mode be made at the earliest.
- Non-performing teachers, officers or non-teachers should be punished to bring accountability.
- Performance-linked payment has become a necessity.
2.Geographical areas covered
3.Population density / Having more SPUs with less number of colleges. Small geographical areas and lesser students would improve the quality and fulfil regional aspirations
Theme 6 : Integrating Skill Development in Higher Education
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Finish College/University programme should be made mandatory within the existing frame work of curriculum. This could be done by providing soft skills (computer literacy, communicative English, pisciculture, mushroom culture, language learning etc.) during vacations/last semester/ industrial training etc.
- Schemes like “ Earn while you learn” or short term employment in colleges/universities to train students in particular trade in order to support his own education as well as get practical training.
- All degree colleges should be converted into Community College for imparting training in one trade.
2.Entepreneurship
3.Job creation / Partial independence during college and universities education will reduce burden on society and produce responsible citizens
Theme 7: Promoting Open and Distance learning and online courses
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Looking at exploding population and minimal enrolment, Open Universities have become a necessity but maintaining quality in these institutions is a big task and needs monitoring through strict rules and regulations.
- Distance mode of education is a very good means for imparting soft skill and short term courses for enhancing employability of students who have discontinued education.
- Starting online short term specialized courses would be a boon for continuing life-long education for professionals.
2.Poor infrastructure
3.Exploding populations / Improving quality and availability of skilled individuals at a lesser investment
Theme 8 : Opportunities for Technology enabled learning
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- It is good to have technology enabled learning but massive investment would be needed to develop infrastructure in most areas of our country.
- Short term measures that will have long term gains can be initiated with free internet connectivity, cheap tabs etc.
2.Infrastructure / Can create small islands of technology enabled learning which can be reproduced with availability of finance and infrastructure
Theme 9: Addressing Regional disparity
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Areas lagging behind like eastern and north eastern states should be given liberal grants to cope up with advance areas.
- Special grants for remote/hilly areas through special schemes like solar power, wind power, connectivity etc.
2.Appropriate technology / Backward areas can come close to advanced areas producing uniformity in quality of education.
Theme 10: Bridging gender and social gaps
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Model colleges/universities exclusively for girls/women to provide them equal opportunity to their growth and empowerment.
- Community colleges for persons with special needs to strengthen their status and bridging gap with normal persons.
- Special schemes for supporting higher education of Tribals/SC and such groups with special emphasis on skill development for employability.
2.Needs of targeted groups
3. Monitoring / Schemes designed for providing equal opportunity to targeted groups (women, SC, ST, OBC, EBC, Physically challenged) and its effective monitoring would bridge the gender and social gap.
Theme 11: Linking Higher Education to Society
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Institutional Social Responsibility (ISR) frame work to be strengthened in each institution to enhance two way flow of information and improve both in quality.
- Participation of society in governance of institutions to know each other and decide upon curriculum, training and outcome.
- Social Internship of graduates and post-graduates before award of degree will produce socially responsible and ethically related graduates and post-graduates.
2.Institutional social and responsibility
3.Evaluation of teachers and administrators / Participation by various stake holders to increase efficiency, transparency, quality and social responsibilities of HEIs.
Theme 12: Developing best teachers
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Annual self- appraisal report of teachers be linked to their increments.
- Annual orientation programmes mandatory for each teacher.
- Preparation of course assignment on regular basis and its evaluation by experts to judge the quality of teachers.
- Preparation of lectures through Power Presentation and its evaluation by experts.
2.Training
3.Motivation / Continuous appraisal, frequent training and enrichment programmes and linking increment to improvement will help in producing quality teachers.
Theme 13: Sustaining Student Support System
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- A basic minimum infrastructure with class room, common room, toilets, library, sport facility and co-curricular activities should be made mandatory for each institution for affiliation/accreditation.
- Regular monitoring through student-guardian-alumni councils for enhancing student support system.
- Well-oiled Counseling and Placement cells to support students in their progression.
2.Counselling
3.Sports
4.Co-curricular activities / Providing basic common facilities for all round development and produce quality students beginning with one model college /universities in each district.
Theme 14: Promote Cultural Integration through language
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Student Exchange Programme on regular basis between colleges/universities located in different regions.
- Promoting admission of students from different regions through system of reservation.
- Youth Festivals and NSSprogrammes should be happening events for cultural integration.
- Teaching of local language/regional language/foreign language as an elective paper.
2.Unity
3.Integration / Real Indian student aware of our unity in diversity background will be produced for cultural integration of India.
Theme 15: Meaningful partnership with the private sector
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Developing curriculum as per requirement of local /national industries/entrepreneurs’ to enhance employability of students.
- Research oriented assignments from private sector would lead to need based research and funding from the institution.
- Training programmes and assistance for poor students under “corporate social responsibility”.
2. Finance
3. Skill Development
4. Entrepreneurs for ancillary units / HEIs with meaningful partnership of private sector can reduce unemployment and poverty.
Theme 16: Financing Higher Education
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Being a welfare state, Govt. has prime responsibility to improve quality OF education and budgetary allocation should be increased for creating more new centres of higher education for growing population.
- Promotion of private investment in higher education is a welcome step but needs strict monitoring for quality control and financial transparency.
- Corporate should come up with institutions for their own needs and should provide quality education to socially backward groups at competitive fees. Even a public-private partnership for developing quality institutions would be a welcome step.
2.Transparency
3. Regional considerations / More dynamic and flexible system can be developed to sustain HE
Theme 17 : Internationalization of Higher Education
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- We should not be copy-cat of western universities rather our universities should develop programmes for international students maintaining best of infrastructure and quality.
- Innovative institutions with complete autonomy should be promoted to grow as international institutions.
- Heritage Universities could be a boon for our continent as everyone seems to be fascinated with rich cultural heritage (Music, dance, drama, architecture, monuments, religion) of Indian Diaspora.
2. Local Technologies
3. Indigenous practices / HEIs based on our traditionalknowledge can bring more international students and will help us to develop international
Students with best practices.
Theme 18 : Engagement with industry to link education with employability
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Short term courses be designed as per needs of local/specific industries as finish school/university programmes for employability.
- Internship programmes with industries would help identification of suitable employable students.
- Providing solutions to industrial problem through research and consultancy will be two-way success story.
2.Unemployment
3. Skill development / Meaningful engagements with local/state/national/MNCs with education will shift pressure from Govt. agencies to provide job opportunities for skilled man power produced through this relationship.
Theme 19 : Promoting Research and Innovations
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Doing obsolete research for providing data to western countries has led to non-fruitful research. Research should be on local problems to mitigate sufferings of local populations and then it should move for national and international arena i.e. research has to be categorized and should not be mere tool for getting Ph.D.
- Incentives to original research/ideas will make innovations pile up and we can overcome shortage of manpower in science & technology, academics and industries.
- Innovative research and innovations should be treated separately, rewarded and evaluated through a slew of measures to make them effective.
2. Grants
3. Awards
4. Evaluation / Promoting original and innovative research through liberal grants with accountability
for product development will level us as “ made in India “.
Theme 20 : New knowledge
Proposed changes / Indicators/ Components / Impacts/ results- Our education system neither promotes original thinking nor allows innovative research. It is time to move away from present system and look for methods for acquiring new knowledge through reinventing our traditional sources.
- If knowledge means strengthening ourselves, it should begin with mother tongue and end up with international language.
- Looking at present and future requirement of a growing India, it appears that there are new areas of knowledge such as nanotechnology, space technology, marine technology, environment, energy, traditional medicines, meditation, yoga that need to be curricularized and spread to quality institutions
2. Emerging areas / Exploring our traditional knowledge and correlating it with
Modern emerging areas will help us to acquire new knowledge as a
tool to declare ourselves real
“ Vishwa-Guru”