People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)


Vol. XXVIII

No. 30

July 25, 2004

         Withdraw UGC’s Model Act For All Universities

Vijender Sharma

 

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.

 

THE WORLD BANK REPORT

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.

 

AN ENABLING FRAMEWORK

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

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.

 

REVENUE GENERATION

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-sufficientas 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.

 

POLITICAL CONTROL OF ALL UNIVERSITIES

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.