Autonomy and Accountability in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education always requires constant value creation through providing autonomy and monitoring accountability. The process of value creation in higher education is only possible by regular improvement in the established current higher education system. India after independence specifically focuses on the education and since then three national education policies have been introduced and adopted by the Government. All the education policies have concentrated on inclusion and promotion of subaltern communities, but none of them have focused on autonomy and accountability of higher education. The current research paper explores the prevalent status of autonomy and accountability of higher education in India. Higher education plays a significant role in shaping a prolific, progressive and intellectually fertile nation. It is already established that autonomy and accountability are essentially interrelated with each other. It is assumed that autonomy and accountability go together, accountability is always considered as the consequence of autonomy. Providing autonomy to the different systems in higher education will make sure the accountability of the systems.The paper also throws light on antecedents and consequences of providing autonomy in higher education and illustrates the accountability of higher education towards creating a positive and constructive social, cultural, economical and political context.