NITI Aayog released a report titled ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education through States and State Public Universities’, focusing on enhancing the quality of higher education in SPUs.
Report Overview:
- A first-of-its-kind policy document that offers a quantitative analysis of key indicators like quality, funding, governance, and employability over the past decade.
- The report is based on extensive stakeholder consultations with over 20 States and UTs, 50 SPUs, and several State Higher Education Councils.
Key Insights from Stakeholder Consultations:
- Issues such as funding limitations, governance challenges, and capacity-building needs for Vice-Chancellors, teachers, and staff were emphasized.
- Recommendations aim to improve research quality, pedagogy, curriculum, governance, and industry-academia partnerships.
Role of SPU’s in Higher Education
- While India has IITs, State Public Universities should also strive for excellence, referencing global systems where public universities set benchmarks.
- Implementation of the NEP 2020 and India’s vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047, and the importance of reforming SPUs as they cater to 80% of higher education in India.
- NEP 2020’s goal to double student enrolment by 2035, underscoring the role of SPUs in providing high-quality education to meet India’s future human resource needs.
Initiatives in the Budget:
- The budget included the selection of 10,000 PMRF research fellows, an increase in IIT seats, and the Bharatiya Bhasha textbook scheme.
- PM-USHA program with INR 13,000 crore allocation (2023-24 to 2025-26) to support SPUs in their transition to world-class institutions.
Detailed Policy Recommendations:
- The report outlines nearly 80 policy recommendations across short, medium, and long-term timelines.
- Over 125 Performance Success Indicators to track the implementation progress.
Challenges Identified in SPUs
- Funding Limitations: Need for more investment and improved financial management.
- Governance Issues: Requirement for structural reforms and enhanced leadership capacity.
- Capacity Building: Need for training Vice-Chancellors, teachers, and staff.
Policy Recommendations and Key Strategies
- Improving Quality: Focus on advancing research, pedagogy, and curriculum development.
- Boosting Funding & Financing: Strengthen financial capacity of institutions.
- Governance Reforms: Upgrade governance structures for enhanced accountability.
- Industry-Academia Linkages: Strengthen partnerships to improve student employability.
Significance of the Report:
- The report is seen as a landmark policy initiative to improve SPUs and complement NEP 2020’s broader goals.
- The report’s focus on resolving critical constraints and providing actionable solutions for the growth of SPUs.
The report serves as a comprehensive roadmap for transforming State Public Universities in India, making them more capable of meeting the educational demands of the future while contributing to national development goals.
