People's Democracy
(Weekly
Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 30
July 25, 2004
(Weekly
Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|
Vol.
XXVIII
No. 30 July 25, 2004 |
Withdraw UGC’s Model Act For All Universities
HAVING
crippled the higher education system in India and other developing and
transition countries, the World Bank has evolved a ‘new role’ for itself in
the higher education sector. But the prescriptions for the reforms in the higher
education system are the same that the World Bank has been giving since 1986.
The previous BJP led NDA government had responded promptly through the UGC which
issued a concept paper for a Model Act for all universities in October 2003.
A
World Bank Report ‘Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for
Tertiary Education’ published in 2002 points out that the developing
and transition countries are faced with new trends in the global environment
that affect not only the shape and mode of operation but also the very purpose
of tertiary education systems. Among the most critical dimensions of change are
the convergent impacts of globalisation, the increasing importance of knowledge
as a main driver of growth, and the information and communication revolution.
The challenges that the tertiary
education systems of most developing and transition countries continue to face,
the Report points out, are the need to expand tertiary education coverage in a
sustainable way, inequalities of access and outcomes, problems of educational
quality and relevance, and rigid governance structures and management practices.
Having
witnessed large-scale protests from the students, teachers and people at large
against the policies pursued by their governments, including government of
India, the World Bank is now shedding crocodile tears in order to create much
bigger space for itself in these countries in the area of higher education.
According to the Report, “The World Bank is commonly viewed as supporting only
basic education; systematically advocating the reallocation of public
expenditures from tertiary to basic education; promoting cost recovery and
private sector expansion; and discouraging low-income countries from considering
any investment in advanced human capital. Given these perceptions, the rapid
changes taking place in the global environment, and the persistence of the
traditional problems of tertiary education in developing and transition
countries, reexamining the World Bank’s policies and experiences in
tertiary education has become a matter of urgency.”
The
World Bank, therefore, has put emphasis on the emerging role of knowledge as a
major driver of economic development, appearance of new providers of tertiary
education in a “borderless education” environment, the transformation of
modes of delivery and organizational patterns in tertiary education as a result
of the information and communication revolution, the rise of market forces in
tertiary education and the emergence of a global market for advanced human
capital and the recognition of the need for a balanced and comprehensive view of
education as a holistic system that includes not only the human capital
contribution of tertiary education but also its critical humanistic and social
capital building dimensions and its role as an important global public good.
In
order to meet these challenges, the World Bank directs the governments of these
countries to “put in place an enabling framework that encourages
tertiary education institutions to be more innovative and more responsive to the
needs of a globally competitive knowledge economy and to the changing labour
market requirements for advanced human capital.”
In
contrast to its earlier prescriptions, the World Bank now preaches,
“Investments in tertiary education generate major external benefits that are
crucial for knowledge-driven economic and social development……. Tertiary
education facilitates nation building by promoting greater social cohesion;
trust in social institutions, democratic participation and open debate, and
appreciation of diversity in gender, ethnicity, religion, and social class.
Furthermore, pluralistic and democratic societies depend on research and
analysis that are fostered through social sciences and humanities programmes.
Improved health behaviours and outcomes also yield strong social benefits, and
higher education is indispensable for training the needed health care
professionals.” The Report further points out that the tertiary education
plays a key role in supporting basic and secondary education, thereby
buttressing the economic externalities produced by these lower levels. Improved
tertiary education is necessary for sustainable progress in basic education.
With
the diminishing State funding of tertiary education, a coherent policy
framework, an enabling regulatory environment, and appropriate financial
incentives, student mobility can be encouraged by developing open systems that
offer recognition of relevant prior experience, degree equivalencies, credit
transfer, tuition exchange schemes, access to national scholarships and student
loans, and a comprehensive qualifications and lifelong-learning framework. The
regulatory environment should be one, the World Bank suggests, that encourages
the private sector to expand access to good-quality tertiary education. Rules
for the establishment of new institutions, including private and virtual ones,
should be restricted to outlining minimum quality requirements and should not
constitute barriers to entry. In the public sector, revenue may be generated
from institutional assets, students and their families, and donations from third
party contributors.
DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE BANK SUPPORT
The
World Bank proposes to play a central role by facilitating policy dialogue and
knowledge sharing, supporting reforms through programme and project lending,
and promoting an enabling framework for the production of the global
public goods crucial to the development of tertiary education.
The
World Bank has noted that reform proposals have been met with “fierce
resistance and opposition.” In the formulation of a long-term vision for the
country’s tertiary education system as a whole, it will “play a catalytic
role by encouraging and facilitating the policy dialogue on tertiary
education reforms. This can often be accomplished through preemptive information
sharing and analytical work in support of national dialogue and goal-setting
efforts, as well as through project preparation activities aimed at building
stakeholder consensus during the project concept and appraisal
phases. The Bank can bring to the same table stakeholders who would not
normally converse and work together.”
THE MODEL ACT
The
World Bank basically directed the governments of developing and transition
countries to respond to the necessities of the globalisation, emerging new
trends in the higher education sector mentioned above, and make an enabling
framework common to the entire education system. In return, it promised to bring
about consensus among the stakeholders so that new market-oriented policies are
implemented and not opposed by anyone.
In
this background, the University Grants Commission (UGC) issued a Concept Paper
in October 2003 entitled “Towards Formulation of Model Act for Universities of
the 21st Century in India” with a view “to prepare the Indian University
system for the future.”
Since
the time the BJP-led NDA government came to power at the centre, so many
decisions were taken by the government and the UGC which crippled the system of
higher education in the country. On none of the issues, the then central
government or any of its agencies including the UGC had any debate or discussion
with the academia or any stakeholders: students, parents, and people at large.
All decisions were imposed by notifications and circulars. The fact that this
was the first time that all concerned were called upon to respond to the
questionnaire so that the responses “could be used for the formulation of a Model
Act” gave rise to the suspicion about the intention of the NDA government
at the centre. Contents of the Concept Paper and telegraphically worded leading
questions in the questionnaire which were to be answered in Yes or No confirmed
the suspicion that this was a desperate act of the government towards all round
commercialisation of higher education in India. This debate was to be organised
in accordance with the prescriptions of the World Bank.
The
Concept Paper notes, “Indian Universities, like their counterparts elsewhere
in the world, have been performing many additional functions now a
days, e.g., undertaking sponsored R&D and continuing education,
providing knowledge-based advice and consultancy, preparation / publication of
educational material like books / study reports / research papers and extending
services to society. Of late, the worldwide advances, particularly
in new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), are greatly influencing
the University system in the country. However, major issues like size,
access, equity, relevance, quality and resource constraints continue to
dominate the working of Indian Universities.” Since the “Universities
are becoming complex institutions”, an appropriate strategy needs to
be adopted “for their governance, organisation and management.” Not only the
reasons but also the language of the Concept Paper is derived from the World
Bank Report.
Therefore,
the Acts of Indian Universities should be changed “to bring in
some uniformity in the working of Universities” through a Model Act framework,
so that there is a “smooth transition from the earlier teacher-centric focus
to the required learner-centric educational processes and activities,” and so
that the Universities accept “the challenges of globalization to offer high
quality education and other services in a competitive manner”. The new Acts
of Universities would be “flexible and responsive to rapid changes taking
place in the society (Read: market - Author).” According to the
Paper, the new common Act for all the universities would help the
universities to benefit from ICT revolution and to “become competitive
nationally and internationally” and help “India to become a Knowledge
Super Power by the year 2020.”
While,
University funding by central/state governments has been a well-established
tradition in the country, the Concept Paper points out, “this practice is
steadily declining now a days.” In this era of rapid commercialisation of
higher education, “so far, only a small segment of the University system has exhibited its
readiness to meet the challenges of the 21st century. This makes it necessary
to look into this issue from all angles and correct the situation
urgently, for all the Universities in the country to become Universities of
the 21st century.” This correct the situation means that the
Universities would be forced to change their character which the University
community established in last several decades and respond to the market rather
than the needs of the people at large.
The
Concept Paper advocated “commercial culture and corporate culture”
for the governance of universities. In addition to already existing
traditional functions, the Model Act, applicable to all the types of
Universities in the country, would include “the mobilisation of
financial resources to become self-sufficient” as one of its objects
and would have statutory provisions for raising resources through sponsored
research and consultancy for government, industries and companies, competitive
examinations, etc.
The
Universities would be allowed to set up a “Company or Registered
Society”, and associate and collaborate “with the Private Sector.”
Thus the Vision and Strategy of the UGC in times to come is not only that
the Universities should respond to the market needs, but the universities
should become the part of the market and private sector by setting up companies
and registered societies for revenue generation. Distance education
mode would also be a commercial activity for revenue generation through
audio/video broadcasts and ICT and related new technologies.
The
Concept Paper for the Model Act was designed to implement the recommendations of
the World Bank and Ambani and Birla Report. Since the Universities are proposed
to be the part of market and private sector, a legislation would be enacted “banning
any form of political activity on campuses of universities and educational
institutions.” Even the normal trade union activities will not be allowed.
Further, though the universities will not be funded by the governments, but they
would be controlled through Visitors (Governors) who are political appointees of
the party in power at the centre. (Further details of the proposed Model Act
have been published in these columns earlier.)
The
previous BJP led NDA central government and the UGC wanted to completely
withdraw from the funding of the universities, colleges and institutions of
higher educations. The UGC also wanted the universities and institutions of
higher education to prepare themselves to be part of globalisation and face the
consequences in the event of India becoming part of General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS) and throw open its higher education sector to the
transnational providers of education for profit-making. As a result, a vast
majority of students who come from the disadvantaged and weaker sections and the
lower middle class would be excluded from the benefits of higher education
because these sections cannot bear the exorbitant cost of education.
As
citizens of India, we have to ensure that the new UPA government takes care of
public interests and acts to protect public services like health and education
from the predatory elements that preach the ideology of the marketplace as the
solution to every issue. The attempt to introduce a Model Act was a
desperate attempt of the BJP-led NDA government towards all round
commercialization of higher education in the country. The UPA government must
withdraw this Concept Paper on Model Act so that the process of dismantling the
higher education system in the country is reversed.
