IISc director P. Balaram at BIT, Mesra. File picture

Ranchi, May 23: The country needs a stronger common regulatory body to maintain towering standards in higher education, said the director of Indian Institute of Science, P. Balaram.

The growing demand for professional courses such as medicine, engineering and pharmacy has resulted in unregulated proliferation of institutions in many parts of the country, he said.

“For example, biology has been transformed to a new form, which is now marketed under the name of bio-technology. This transformation allows institutions to charge higher for what is effectively an old course,” Balaram said.

The director was in Ranchi yesterday for the 18th convocation of BIT, Mesra.

India has a complex regulatory system through which medical, legal, engineering and other professional courses are controlled by independent bodies. All India Council for Technical Education oversees engineering courses and programmes while University Grants Commission looks after science and humanities courses. But, Balaram said, “our universities are only a shell of what a true university should be”.

Balaram, a former editor of Current Science magazine, said the country needs a system of strong regulation, accreditation and assessment. “National Knowledge Commission has proposed setting up of an independent regulatory authority for higher education and one day this proposal should be realised. This is all the more required as education is becoming more inter-disciplinary,” he said.

The director, a Padmashree recipient, warned that the gap between India and developed nations in knowledge creation would grow unless the best brains in the country opted for research. “But unfortunately, that is not happening today as more and more graduates are leaning towards easier and better paying career at an young age.”

Balaram applauded the Union government’s initiative with regard to the proposed National Science and Engineering Research Board. “We are running but there is need to run faster when we compare ourselves with other countries,” added the director.