Report Launch & Panel Discussion | Reviving Higher Education in India

Brookings India is launching a report on “Reviving Higher Education in India”, followed by a panel discussion. The report provides a unique and comprehensive analysis of the challenges facing the higher education sector in India and makes policy recommendations to reform the space.

Abstract:

In the last two decades, India has seen a rapid expansion in the higher education sector. There has been a dramatic rise in the number of higher education institutions and enrolment has increased four-fold. The Indian higher education system is now one of the largest in the world. India’s gross enrolment ratio in 2018-19 was 26.3%, but it is still far from meeting the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s target of achieving 32% GER by 2022. Institutions have thus far failed to identify the true potential of a high-quality education system. This report highlights five critical challenges—low capacity of institutions with respect to students and teachers, weak governance, insufficient funding, below par research activity and complex regulatory norms—which must be addressed to create globally relevant and competitive institutions that can produce employable graduates.  While also referring to the Draft National Education Policy 2019 and latest data from comparable economies and All India Survey on Higher Education (2018-19), this report makes targeted recommendations to transform the higher education sector in India.

Panellists:

R. Subrahmanyam is the Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development. He has been a true champion and advocate for the expansion of access to and qualitative improvement in higher education in India.

Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao is the Director at IIT Delhi. He is widely published in the areas of nano-scale devices and nanoelectronics and is a co-founder of two deep technology start-ups which are developing products of relevance to the society.

Prof. Pankaj Chandra is the Vice Chancellor of Ahmedabad University. He was also a member of ‘The Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’. His book titled ‘Building Universities that Matter’ studies issues of governance, change and institution building in Indian universities.

Pramath Raj Sinha is the Founder and Managing Director of the Harappa Education. He has been instrumental in establishing many high quality institutions of higher education in India over the past 20 years. Pramath was the founding dean of ISB and is a co-founder and trustee of Ashoka University.

Please find below the agenda for the event:

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