Participants at the seminar at AN Sinha College in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, April 27: Autonomy is a major component in achieving cutting edge standards in higher education in India.

This was the resolution that emerged at the seminar on “Challenges and opportunities of higher education in India”, organised by East and West Education Society, in collaboration with Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore, on the premises of AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, today.

Azim Behar, vice-chancellor, Azim Premji University, said: “No organisation can flourish with the governing force being outside it. Until the universities and institutions have autonomy, the crisis of quality higher education would continue.”

He cited the example of Nalanda University that has been governed by regulation for decades but is yet to achieve a vibrant environment.

He said: “There is no point in saying that this is not happening. Look the universities in the US. Autonomy is about minimising regulations and financial independence. Most universities in our country are dependant on government funding. They are allowed to invest in research but for their day-to-day expenditure they have to rely on the government.” Behar also said such stringent regulations discouraged research. “In order to keep up with the rest of the world in this era of globalisation, we must produce knowledge through research,” he said.

Janak Pandey, vice-chancellor, Central University of Bihar, was the chief guest at the seminar. He said: “The education system in India is like a bhul-bhulaiya (maze). Students and teachers are trapped in it.” Pandey said he felt sorry for the state government’s attitude towards appointing teachers on contract-basis. “First, the government appoints a large number of teachers. Then, the question of quality is raised and the government initiates tests for them to qualify. There are so many such cases pending in the Supreme Court.

“Students suffer because of such policies. But what is their fault?” said Pandey.

He also said higher education is closely related to secondary and primary education. “Until and unless there is good primary and secondary education, we cannot have good higher education,” said Pandey.

He added the education quality in the state could be divided into three layers — only students of rich families could have access to the topmost layer, as they had the resources to get good primary and secondary education. The second layer comprises the middle class, and they, too, get some benefits of the education system. But the majority have access to only the third layer.

“We do not have too many good teachers these days. As a result of BEd being given so much importance for a teacher’s job, most students with a postgraduate degree or PhD are not opting for a career in academics. It is a great shame for the education system in the country,” said Pandey.

Sudeepto Adhikari, vice-chancellor, Patna University, chaired the session.