General Management @ Knowledge Zone



Educational Policy Reform: The Battle Ahead!

by Prof. P. V. Ramana *

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Part - II

What can one do?

We can fight for reforms leading to autonomy of the entire Higher Education Sector, for in this fight we will get whole hearted support of over 3,000 Institutions (Engineering, Medical, Management and other professional colleges) most of which are owned/ operated by political families who fund the policy-makers!

It is patient litigation by the Pai's of Manipal, which has brought seminal change in the way the courts look at educational policy and practice in India, not news items reporting the angst of the IIM families!

The first legal effort of Sandeep Parekh and Co, has resulted in a brush-off, where the petitioners in mistaken glee welcomed lower fees, and what seemed to a greater subsidy while preserving autonomy for IIMs! It is only a badly worded statement made to the SC by the MHRD ministry, which, has still kept them at play by granting extra time, till April 8, 2004 to be precise. The question is: Can the Petitioners get past the goal post in extra time?

Others such as Vipin Gupta etc. have filed other cases, leading the discussion into some of the areas that I have outlined in my earlier article "The Great Tuition Robbery". More cases are required to draw the SC into a full-fledged review of all the points that affect. Indeed, it appeared that SC was inviting a spate of litigation, so that all cases can be combined into a full-bench review. Believe me, in this battle, our best ally is the SC itself!

If our goal is Reform of Higher Education, then what are our objectives? These can include most of the following: -

  • Higher Education, specially the kind of placement-oriented professional education should be market driven

  • Separation of the bodies for Licensing, Regulation, Accreditation and Funding

  • AICTE as a Licensing body, UGC as the Regulator, and Associations of various professional Institutions as Accreditors/ Auditors

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* Contributed by: -
Prof. P. V. Ramana; BE (Hons) Elec. Engg. from Andhra University, Waltair, India; MBA (Accounting & Finance) from Washington State University, USA; Prof. Engr. (Thermal Power), USA (equiv. to a Doctoral qualification); Receiver of Life Time Achievement award in 2003 for service to Management Education given by World HRD Congress, Boston, USA; he has also founded ITM Group in 1991 and is the current chairman.