Title: Greetings from India
1Greetings from India
2WIDENING PARTICIPATION QUESTION OF INCLUSION IN
INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION
- Prof. Nishi Pandey
- Director
- UGC Academic Staff College
- University of Lucknow
- India
3Historical Background
- Takshila, Nalanda and Vikramshila were the
earliest centres of Higher learning in ancient
India during 6th century B.C. and 4th 5th
centuries A.D. - Traditional system recognized four vidyas
- The three Vedas
- Investigative Logic and Metaphysics
- Science of Governance as dandaniti
- Practical arts as agriculture medicine
- commerce.
4Reality Check Contemporary India
- Concerns related to issues of
- served and unserved geographical areas
- caste
- language
- gender
- formal and informal education
- fair chances for life long learning
- a national commitment to a human rights based
approach to development -
contd.
5Reality Check Contemporary India
Contd.
- India has a formal system of education which
produces according to some the largest trained
man power. - Relevant age group 18-25 years
- Access to Higher Education
- India-6.9
- United States of America - 59
- Benefits of the education system,
- appropriated by well to do classes
to strengthen and - perpetuate their privileges.
6University Grants Commission Policy Framework
Comments
- Educational system - dominated by models and
value systems adopted during colonial regime. - Emphasis on
- narrow individualism,
- unhealthy competition to the neglect of social
good, - verbal fluency
- mere acquisition of information,
- neglect of objectives, cooperation, manual work,
training in skills and character building. -
contd.
7University Grants Commission Policy Framework
Comments
Contd.
- System has promoted and maintained double
standards in education. - small minority of educational institutions of
high quality- selective basis of admission
--availed by the top social groups. - Large number of institutions which impose no such
restrictions do not have any standards worth
speaking about. - Formal system of education has expanded
enormously - upper and middle classes are the principle
beneficiaries. - 60 of the population (10 years and over) still
illiterate - does not receive its benefits.
-
-
contd.
8 University Grants Commission Policy Framework
Comments
Contd.
- Of every 100 children of 6 years of age
- 20 never go to schools,
- 55 dropout at an early age
- 25 reach class VIII.
- 70 percent of the seats in secondary schools and
86 of the seats in Higher Education are taken by
top 30 of the income groups. - Through several pre- independence and post-
independence policy recommendations and
initiatives India has repeated its commitment to
a universal, free and compulsory education at
primary levels. - Initiated in 1910 universal, free and compulsory
education at - primary levels is yet to be passed
as a bill by the - Parliament
9Issues to Rejoice
- There has been significant expansion in the
number of educational institutions at all levels,
especially in Primary Education under the
District Primary Education Programme and Sarva
Siksha Abhiyan (Education for all). - The rate at which women's literacy is increasing
is heartening- it is now 15 higher than that of
men. - Gender gap at the level of enrollment in grade 1
has - been rendered almost
insignificant. -
-
contd.
10Issues to Rejoice
Contd.
- 1857- 3 universities- Bombay, Calcutta and Madras
- 1947-20 universities.
- 2008- over 300 universities ,15000 colleges
enrolling 95 lac students - Till 2013 -- In the next five years 1100 Higher
Education centers ( IITs , IIMs , Universities
and Colleges) will be added. - The Indira Gandhi National Open University is the
world's largest Open University providing
opportunity for life long learning. - More Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST),
Other Backward Class (OBC) , Minority and Girl
representation at all levels of education has
been ensured due to consistent, systematic,
structural advocacy and financial support.
11Strategic Concerns for Inclusion / Widening
Participation
- A social revolution is necessary for bringing
about a genuine change along with a political
revolution. --Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar - The patriarchal Indian society is still divided
on Caste, Region and Linguistic lines which
require constant correction. - Gender bias flourishes at all levels. (eg. in a
recent study of 101 universities only 6 had women
in important administrative positions . The
University of the country's capital has an
abysmally low number of women as Professors). - The country's Constitution and its education
policy clearly commit itself to the creation of
an egalitarian society involving removal of all
obstacles in its path, structural or attitudinal.
- Constant efforts are made to remove
bias from text - books, training and pedagogy
especially at formative - levels.
-
contd.
12Strategic Concerns for Inclusion / Widening
Participation
Contd.
- State efforts to encourage inclusion have
consisted in advocating and providing - Free and compulsory education at Primary level.
- Scholarships for the poor, minority communities
(Christian, Muslim etc.) SC, ST, OBC groups at
all levels. - Free text books and uniforms at primary level for
marginal groups. - No tuition fees for girls at all levels of
Education in certain states. - Opening of State run schools and generous grants
to schools including madarsas (traditional
Islamic Schools of learning.) -
-
contd.
13 Strategic Concerns for Inclusion / Widening
Participation
Contd
- Reservation of seats in institutions of Higher
Education (eg.University of Lucknow has 50
reservation of seats for them) - Stepping up of Vocational training courses with
subsidies. - Establishing National Open School and National
Open University for flexible life long learning. - Reservation in Teacher Training Colleges to
ensure representation of marginal groups. - Autonomy to minority institutions with special
packages for modernization. - Kanya Vidya Dhan Scheme (Cash money to families
for education of the girl child) - Providing Girls Hostels in all schools
and colleges and setting - up Residential schools like Kasturba
Gandhi Vidyalaya for - poor girls.
14Widening participation Challenges
- Large number of students in Higher Education are
first generation learners - Large number of students are non urban coming
from semi urban and completely rural areas. - There is only one rural university in India-
Vishwa Bharati, Shantiniketan. - Poor Primary Education and Secondary Education,
with over permissive evaluation has brought a
large number of students in Higher Education
whose basic competencies in Languages Mathematics
and Sciences have not been developed , - Teachers of Higher Education end up
doing a lot - of compensatory/ Remedial
Teaching thereby - quality is compromised.
-
contd.
15Widening participation Challenges
Contd.
- Employment of graduates is a major challenge.
- Market research and man power planning based on
requirements of the future is episodic and non
comprehensive. - Higher education, Technical education and Skill
training are confused leading to confusions in
policy making and funding. - Higher education is necessary to create
analytical, responsible and socially conscious
citizens it is not to be reduced to skill
transfer for income generation. - When issues of inclusion are being
addressed for the - historically marginalized-
intellectuals, policy-makers, - bureaucrats often fall into the
trap of thinking on caste - lines and make policies which
freezes cultural hierarchy.
16What We Need To Do Road Map for the Future
- Develop campus diversity programmes
- Groups of 100 students to meet regularly and
introduce to each other their personal cultural
experiences - Teachers to develop modules responsive to
different needs without compromising on quality
but using innovation. - Create and utilize technology for interactions
Video tapes and other open education resources. - Introduce foundation courses for all students
focusing specially on histories of social
exclusion globally. - Student feed back on teachers must specially
record student's presentation of teachers as
being partisan, biased or fair-minded. - Teacher training to prepare teachers to handle
diversity in class rooms. - Create spaces of interaction
which are exclusive for some groups - but ready to interact with other
groups. -
-
contd.
17 What We Need To Do Road Map for the Future
Contd.
- Develop a Public Private Partnership Fund (PPPF)
to support students with special requirements in
terms of academics. - Regularly document and display achievements of
persons from marginal/different backgrounds to
break stereotypes. - Develop Community Colleges where some of the
special needs are fulfilled and remedial teaching
done before entering the main centers of Higher
Education. - Create virtual classrooms using international
information pathways. - Create more open flexible cafeteria approach so
that the ones who are freshly included have
greater choice. - Revamp courses to match international benchmarks.
- Create networks of universities
with other institutions for a - more hands on education.
-
contd.
18What We Need To Do Road Map for the Future
Contd.
- Special focus on teacher training focussing on
knowledge, attitude and skills required to deal
with diversity and historical disadvantage. - Creation of more research based study material on
global experience inclusion and exclusion. - Gender is a major challenge, besides Women
Studies we need more study on masculinities and
its stress. Inclusive education requires,
research and teaching on gender issues on a much
larger scale. - Carefully avoid patronizing and reverse
discrimination in policy and - planning.
-
contd. -
-
19- India's record in including the marginal has been
steady and fairly non-violent in the post
Independence years but affirmative action and
reservation have met with some very violent
outbursts which require sympathetic and careful
response.
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