Democratising Indian higher education

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This paper seeks to address the problem of expansion of the system of higher and technical education from the perspective of democratising the system and improving the access to higher education for the people as a whole. It analyses how the policymakers are failing to do justice to the dimension of a sustained and meaningful expansion of the system of higher education in India. The pressure of rising demand from the socially and educationally backward classes is also largely traced to the desire of these classes to be a part of the new economy. The policymakers must keep in mind that the pressures from the upper sections of these classes are basically generated owing to the decline of profitable opportunities in the older sectors of agriculture and traditional occupations. They should plan for the system of education to make its contribution to the sectoral revival. Though the Nehruvian framework cannot be absolved of its limitations and negative contributions to the system of higher education, the paper argues that the growing trends of privatisation and commercialisation has damaged the agenda of equity as well as quality of education and has aggravated the crisis in higher education in India. The new institutions have failed to make their contributions to nation building and to self-reliant development. The aggravation of the crisis is reflected not only in the crisis of funding and governance but also in the crisis of purpose and credibility of education being imparted by the institutions of higher and technical education in India. Today the solution lies in addressing squarely the problems through the formulation of a vision and strategy that would enable the policymakers to democratise the higher and technical education system in the interest of the society as a whole.