Special Issue on Higher Education in India
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Special Issue on Higher Education in India
Milestone Education Review (2278-2168) Milestone Education Review (The Journal of Ideas on Educational & Social Transformation) is an online peer-reviewed bi-annual journal of Milestone Education Society (Regd.) Pehowa (Kurukshetra). For us education refers to any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. The role of education must be as an instrument of social change and social transformation. Social transformation refers to large scale of social change as in cultural reforms and transformations. The first occurs with the individual, the second with the social system. This journal offers an opportunity to all academicians including educationist, social-scientists, philosophers and social activities to share their views. Each issue contains about 100 pages. Š Milestone Education Society (Regd.), Pehowa (Kurukshetra) Chief-Editor : Dr. Desh Raj Sirswal Guest Editor of this Issue : Dr. Manoj Kumar Associate Editors: Dr. Merina Islam, Ms. Rajinder Kaur Editorial Advisory Board Prof. B.Krishna (Karnataka) Prof. K.K.Sharma (Haryana) Dr. Ashutosh Angiras (Haryana) Dr.Dinesh Chahal (Haryana) Dr. Manoj Kumar (Chandigarh) Dr. Pitamber Dass (Uttar Pradesh) Dr. Koppula Victor Babu (Andhra Pradesh) Acharya Shilak Ram (Haryana) Ms. Tahira Tariq (Pakistan) Dr. Nidhi Verma(Haryana) Mr. Zakir Hussain (Jammu & Kashmir) Mr. Jayadev Sahoo (Pondicherry)
Declaration: The opinions expressed in the articles of this journal are those of the individual authors, and not necessary of those of the Society or the Editor.
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Special Issue on Higher Education in India
In this issue……….. Title & Author
Page No.
EDUCATION AS A KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: DEEPIKAA
4-8
GUPTA & SWARNJIT KAUR
QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION: S. DEEPA ASSESSING
AND
BENCHMARKING
OF
HIGHER
9-18 EDUCATION
19-28
INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: A BRIEF HISTORY AND MARCH
29-36
INSTITUTIONS: LILU RAM JAKHAR TOWARDS RUSA: REENA KHUSHWAHA TRANSFORMATION OF INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM : NEED
37-41
OF THE HOUR: G.S. SHIVAKUMAR & T. MANICHANDER ROLE OF CSR IN EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA :
42-48
MANOJ KUMAR REFRAMING OF PROFESSIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA
49-55
SHEOJEE SINGH TEACHING COMPETENCY : A SYNTHESIS: DHIRAJ SHARMA
56-61
ASSESSING THE GAP BETWEEN AVAILABILITY AND APPLICABILITY
62-69
OF ICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A SURVEY AMONG STUDENTS OF VARIOUS COLLEGES OF CHANDIGARH: SUMAN DHULL EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS: S. M.
70-75
SHASHIREKHA ROLE
OF
EDUCATION
IN
CREATING
WOMEN
FRIENDLY
76-85
ENVIRONMENT : MOUCHUMI DEKA QUALITATIVE
DEVELOPMENT
IN
HIGHER
EDUCATION:
EN
86-101
EVALUATION OF ROLE OF STATE AND TEACHER EDUCATION: RANJAY VARDHAN 102-103
NEW PUBLICATIONS
104
CALL FOR PAPERS
105-106
PROGRAMMES & PARTICIPATIONS
107
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Special Issue on Higher Education in India
EDUCATION AS A KEY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Deepikaa Gupta & Swarnjit Kaur
Abstract ―Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)‖ is a concept that goes far beyond environmental education. ESD is the educational process of achieving human development (―the three pillars of human development‖ proposed by United Nation Development Programme (UNDP): economic growth, social development, and environmental protection) in an inclusive, equitable and secure manner. It thus includes education for poverty alleviation, human rights, gender equality, cultural diversity, international understanding, peace and many more. We need to apply multiple efforts to strengthen ESD by many making awareness at international and national communities, many challenges remain in the area. But still there is a need a) to mitigate information and knowledge gaps between different parts of the world b) to strengthen co-ordination and collaboration between different levels of education for Sustainable development. c) to integrate sustainable science and education The paper will attempt to analyize the concept of ESD, various international efforts taken in the area of ESD and the possible solutions to the challenges so as to strengthen the ESD concept. Introduction: Education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability. People around the world recognize that current economic development trends are not sustainable and that public awareness, education, and training are key to moving society toward sustainability. People argue about the meaning of sustainable development and whether or not it is attainable. They have different visions of what sustainable societies will look like and how they will function. We often use three terms interchangeably: education for sustainable development (ESD), education for sustainability (EfS), and sustainability education (SE). We use ESD most often, because it is the terminology used frequently at the international level and within UN documents. Locally or nationally, the ESD effort may be named or described in many ways because of language and cultural differences. An important distinction is the difference between education about sustainable development and education for sustainable development. The first is an awareness lesson or theoretical discussion. The second is the use of education as a tool to achieve sustainability.
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Sustainable Development Sustainable development is a difficult concept to define; it is also continually evolving, which makes it doubly difficult to define. One of the original descriptions of sustainable development is credited to the Brundtland Commission: ―Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs‖. Sustainable development is generally thought to have three components: environment, society, and economy. The well-being of these three areas is intertwined, not separate. For example, a healthy, prosperous society relies on a healthy environment to provide food and resources, safe drinking water, and clean air for its citizens. Principles of Sustainable Development Many governments and individuals have pondered what sustainable development means beyond a simple one-sentence definition. The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development fleshes out the definition by listing 18 principles of sustainability. The "Rio principles" give us parameters for envisioning locally relevant and culturally appropriate sustainable development for our own nations, regions, and communities. History of Education for Sustainable Development From the time sustainable development was first endorsed at the UN General Assembly in 1987, the parallel concept of education to support sustainable development has also been explored. From 1987 to 1992, the concept of sustainable development matured as committees discussed, negotiated, and wrote the 40 chapters of Agenda 21. Initial thoughts concerning ESD were captured in Chapter 36 of Agenda 21, "Promoting Education, Public Awareness, and Training." Unlike most education movements, ESD was initiated by people outside of the education community. In fact, one major push for ESD came from international political and economic forums (e.g., United Nations, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization of American States). As the concept of sustainable development is discussed it became apparent that education is key to sustainability. Education for Sustainable Development On December 20, 2002, the UN General Assembly adopted, by consensus, a resolution establishing a United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). The resolution designates the ten-year period as 2005-2014, and proclaims UNESCO as the lead agency to promote the Decade. The Decade aims to promote education as a basis for a more sustainable human society and to integrate sustainable development into education systems at all levels.
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The United Nations DESD is an opportunity to remind everyone – children, youth, adults – that the sustainable development agenda is in fact an agenda for all of us. It is about the way we live our lives, the way we respect the lives of others – far and near, present and future – and our attitudes to the world around us. Education for sustainable development is not a new programme but a call for a process to re-orient educational policies, programmes and practices so that education plays its part in building the capacities of all members of society to work together to build a sustainable future. Education: Promise and Paradox Two of the major issues in the international dialog on sustainability are population and resource consumption. Increases in population and resource use are thought to jeopardize a sustainable future, and education is linked both to fertility rate and resource consumption. Educating females reduces fertility rates and therefore population growth. By reducing fertility rates and the threat of overpopulation a country also facilitates progress toward sustainability. The opposite is true for the relationship between education and resource use. Generally, more highly educated people, who have higher incomes, consume more resources than poorly educated people, who tend to have lower incomes. In this case, more education increases the threat to sustainability. Simply educating citizens to higher levels is not sufficient for creating sustainable societies. The challenge is to raise the education levels without creating an ever-growing demand for resources and consumer goods and the accompanying production of pollutants. Meeting this challenge depends on reorienting curriculums to address the need for more-sustainable production and consumption patterns. Education directly affects sustainability plans in the following three areas: Implementation: An educated citizen is vital to implementing informed and sustainable development. In fact, a national sustainability plan can be enhanced or limited by the level of education attained by the nation's citizens. An educated workforce is key to moving beyond an extractive and agricultural economy. Decision making: Good community-based decisions - which will affect social, economic, and environmental wellbeing - also depend on educated citizens. Quality of life: Education is also central to improving quality of life. Education raises the economic status of families; it improves life conditions, lowers infant mortality, and improves the educational attainment of the next generation. Thrusts areas to begin with the work of ESD Education is held to be central to sustainability. Indeed, education and sustainability are inextricably linked. ESD was first described by Chapter 36 of Agenda 21. This chapter Page No.6 |
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identified four major thrusts to begin the work of ESD: (1) improve basic education, (2) reorient existing education to address sustainable development, (3) develop public understanding, awareness, and (4) training. Improving Basic Education - The First Priority: The first priority of ESD as outlined in Chapter 36 was the promotion of basic education. The content and years of basic education differ greatly around the world. In some countries, for instance, primary school is considered basic education. In others eight or 12 years is mandatory. In many countries, basic education focuses on reading and writing. To achieve this, basic education must be reoriented to address sustainability and expanded to include critical-thinking skills, skills to organize and interpret data and information, skills to formulate questions, and the ability to analyze issues that confront communities. Reorienting Existing Education - The Second Priority: The term "reorienting education" has become a powerful descriptor that helps administrators and educators at every level (i.e., nursery school through university) to understand the changes required for ESD. An appropriately reoriented basic education includes more principles, skills, perspectives, and values related to sustainability than are currently included in most education systems. Public Understanding and Awareness - The Third Priority: Sustainability requires a population that is aware of the goals of a sustainable society and has the knowledge and skills to contribute to those goals. In today's world, people are surrounded by media (e.g., television, radio, newspapers, magazines) and advertisements (e.g., bill boards, banners on World Wide Web sites, and logos on clothing). Training - The Fourth Priority: Training was also stressed in Chapter 36. The world needs a literate and environmentally aware citizens and work force to help guide nations in implementing their sustainability plans. All sectors - including business, industry, higher education, governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and community organization - are encouraged to train their leaders in environmental management and to provide training to their workers. Conclusion The following quote from Gro Harlem Brundtland emphasizes the importance of teachers in the ESD reorientation process. But first and foremost our message (sustainable development) is directed towards people, whose well being is the ultimate goal of all environment and development policies. In Particular, the Commission is addressing the young. The world‘s teachers will have a central role to play in bringing this to them. (Foreword, Our Common Future, 1987.)
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To support global implementation of ESD, we need international cooperative programs for administrators, curriculum developers, teacher educators, and lead teachers. References: Bhagat, L.N. (1989), Role of Education and Value Systems in Economic Development of Tribals : A case study of Oraon and Kharia Tribes of Chotanagpur, in K.Roy (Ed.), Education and Health Problems in Tribal Development, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi. Colclough, C. and Lewin, K. (1993), Educating All the Children: Strategies for Primary Schooling in the South, Clarendon, Oxford. Das, R.C. (1987), Education in values, Journal of Indian Education,Vol. 13(4), pp37-42. Ji Gopal & Bhakri, Suman (2005), Statistical Data on Indian Economy, Taxmann Allied Services Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. Mehta, A.C. (July 2006) , Elementary Education in India, (Analytical Report 2004-05), National Institute of Education Planning and Administration, New Delhi. Mehta, A.C. (January 2006), Elementary Education in Rural India, Where do we stand ? (Analytical Tables 2005) , National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. Sinha, Shabnam (2004), Elementary Education in India, in J.S. Rajput (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Indian Education, Vol-I(A-K), National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, pp.628-643. Web link: www.esdtoolkit.org/discussion/default.htm retrieved on 12th, August, 2014.
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QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION S. DEEPA
Introduction Quality Assurance is not the destination, but a journey to continuously improve and exhibit excellence. Higher Education is a life line of any society. The output of human capital depends on the effectiveness of Higher Education. The core values of Quality Assurance (QA) for Higher Education are national development, fostering global competitiveness, including ethical values, promote use of technology and creating an atmosphere and quest for excellence. Quality Assurance ensures students achieve their goals and satisfy the need of society. Also, it leads to performance excellence and total quality management. A major challenge, developing nations face today is that of creating an environment conducive to the cultural, economic and social development of their people. Historically, education has been a determining factor of the progress of human civilization. The modern world is using education increasingly as an instrument for all-round development. There is a growing and welcome realization amongst the developing countries that education is the key to development. Our rapidly changing landscape means that it is no longer helpful to think about quality merely in terms of maintaining standards. Instead, higher education institutions, like many other organisations, are being encouraged to take a developmental approach to quality. This implies that organisations, as well as individuals within those organizations, are continually changing and learning as they cope with new situations and expectations. QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION Quality impacts the content of higher education, its processes, its output or product, as it seeks to develop human resources with required skills, excellence in performance and is capable of delivering the goods as a unit of the workforce. Today there is a strong feeling that the skills of graduates do not match the needs and the expectations of the employment sector. In the developing countries unemployable graduates pose a greater problem than unemployment itself. What are these skills, which are expected by the employers of the graduate workforce? What are the skills, which describe ‗quality education‘ and in which such an education is capable of fostering in its products? The five top skills identified by employers and required of the educated work force are: (1) (2) (3) (4)
Time Management Ability to work under pressure Accuracy and attention to details Oral communicator skills and Page No.9 |
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(5)
Managing different tasks at the same time.
DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION Quality as we know so far was originally developed in the manufacturing industry. In the area of higher education, the adoption of quality control has been superficial and diluted by the exercise of academic freedom. Further, the prevailing culture of universities is often based on individual autonomy, which is zealously guarded. Thus, it is usually difficult to apply the features of quality to higher education considering the fact that quality requires teamwork. However, the quality of higher education is very important for its stakeholders, not only providers, students, staff and employers of graduates are important. In this section, we will discuss quality from the perspective of three groups and distill a common framework for the dimensions of quality in higher education. The most commonly grouped dimensions of quality are product, software and service. PRODUCT QUALITY DIMENSIONS Garvin proposed the following eight dimensions for quality that, as he stated, can define both product and service quality.
Performance
It is concerned with the primary operating characteristics of product. For example, for a TV, the performance comprises of sound and picture quality. In higher eduction performance is the abilities expected of a graduate
Features
Those characteristics that supplement the basic performance functions are called features. In higher education, flexibility of course offering could be a feature.
Reliability
It is the probability of the product working fault-free within a specified time period. In higher education, it can be considered as to what extent the knowledge gained is correct, and up-to-date.
Conformance
It is the extent to which a product meets the established specification/standard. For higher education, it can be defined as the extent of meeting the established educational standards and its own promises to the client.
Durability
The product‘s assumed life to perform satisfactorily is durability. In higher education, it can be defined as the depth of learning.
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It is concerned with the repair and field service of the product. In higher education, it is concerned with handling of complaints from students, staff and industry. Some also emphasize the continuous updating of their alumni as evidenced by professionals like the Chartered Accountants through their magazines, newsletters and continuing education to provide after training service.
Aesthetics
In the context of product, it is concerned with the design, looks, colour and presentation, and how the customer views it. In higher education, it may refer to the creative and innovative spirit of the learners.
Perceived quality
This is yet again subjective like aesthetics and ‗customers‘ opinion is more appropriate in service quality dimension. For a product too, through branding, the customer perceives a certain degree of confidence on quality. Software Quality Dimensions The characteristics of software as an intangible product are more consistent with higher education. The software quality dimensions widely used in software engineering are: correctness, reliability, efficiency, integrity, usability, maintainability, testability, expandability, portability, reusability and interoperability. Watts, Owlia and Aspinwall apply these quality dimensions to higher education. They are: Dimensions
Definition in higher education
Correctness
The extent to which a programme /course complies with the specified requirements
Reliability
The degree to which knowledge/skills learned is correct, accurate and up to date
Efficiency
The extent to which knowledge/skills learned is applicable to the future career of graduates
Integrity
The extent to which personal information is secure from unauthorized access
Usability
The ease of learning and communicativeness in the classroom
Maintainability
How well an institution handles customers‘ complaints?
Testability
How fair examinations represent a subject of study?
Expandability
Flexibility
Portability,
the
degree
of
reusability The degree to which knowledge/ skills learned is
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applicable to other fields
Service Quality Dimensions in Higher Education The service dimension of quality is probably more akin to the educational processes. We know that unlike physical goods, services are ephemeral to the extent that they can be consumed only as long as the activity or the process continues. Thus, there is inseparability of production and consumption. Thus, services can‘t be stored and are perishable. The consumer is also an integral part of the service process. Thus, in higher education, this framework is more applicable as the teaching learning situations are more like a service. Owlia and Aspinwall based on a review of service quality dimensions, present a comprehensive list with their interpretations for higher education. They are: Dimensions
Definition in higher education
Reliability
The degree to which education is correct, accurate and up to date. How well an institution keep its promises? The degree of consistency in educational process.
Responsiveness
Willingness and readiness of staff to help students
Understanding Customers
Understanding students and their needs.
Access
The extent to which staff are available for guidance and advice
Competence
The theoretical and practical knowledge of staff as well as other presentation skills.
Courtesy
Emotive and positive attitude towards students.
Communication
How well lectures and students communicate in the classroom?
Credibility
The degree of trustworthiness of the institution
Security
Confidentiality of information
Tangible
State, sufficiency and availability of equipment and facilities
Completeness
Supplementary knowledge of skills, use of computer
Flexibility
The degree to which knowledge skills learned is applicable to other fields.
Redress
How well as institution handles customers‘ complaints and solves problems? Page No.12 |
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A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Based on the review of literature on the three different approaches to quality in higher education, Owlia and Aspinwall present a conceptual framework that covers six criteria to depict quality dimensions. These are tangibles, competence, attitude, content, delivery and reliability. These dimensions are indicative of the areas that should be of concern to ensure quality in higher education. Dimensions
Characteristics Sufficient equipment / facilities Modern equipment/ facilities
Tangible
Ease of access Visually appealing environment Support services( Accommodation, sports,) Sufficient(academic) staff theoretical knowledge, qualifications
Competence
Pratical knowledge Up to date Teaching expertise, communication. Understanding students needs Willingness to help
Attitude
Availability for guidance and advice Giving personal attention Emotional, courtesy Relevance of curriculum to the future job of students Effectiveness
Content
Containing primary knowledge/skills Completeness, use of computers Communication skills and team working Flexibility of knowledge, being cross-disciplinary Effective presentation Sequencing, timeliness
Delivery
Consistency fairness of examinations Feedback from students Encouraging students
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Trustworthiness Reliability
Giving valid award Keeping promises, match to the goals Handling complaints, solving problems
System’s View of Quality Every educational institution is a dynamic system and must be seen in its own uniqueness and totality for quality management. In order to look into the different aspects of quality of higher education institutions, it is essential to understand the systems approach to education. The notion of a system is a theoretical abstraction, and can be defined as an organized unitary whole composed of a set of interdependent, interrelated and interacting synergetic elements or sub- systems and delineated by identifiable boundaries from its environmental supra-system. Accordingly the components sub systems (which are independent themselves) in an integrated/ holistic manner from the system. Thus, the whole is not just a sum total of the sub-systems cannot. To translate this in this educational context, the educational institutions exhibit the behaviour of an open system, which has an environment that inputs some form of energy to the system, which undergoes transformation to give some outputs into the environment. Thus, we can consider that higher education institutes have an input sub-system, a transformation subsystem and an output sub-system. As open systems are highly dependent on the environment or external forces, the higher education institution too depends on constant interchange with the environment factors. The inputs to the system are human resources (both students and teachers), physical resources in terms of infrastructure and financial sources. Then educational processes and activities related to the curriculum, management and support mechanisms from the transformation sub-system, and the outputs in the system are employable graduates, growth in knowledge through research publications, economic developments, etc. Quality Assurance in Higher Education In an environment of global competitiveness it is important that Indian products of the higher education institutions are as competent as graduates of any other country. Not only in their scholastic attainments, but also, in terms of the value system and richness of their personality. Unless the quality and standard of Indian higher education institutions is enhanced zealously and sustained at a high level through innovation, creativity and regular monitoring, it seems to be difficult for the Indian academics/professionals to compete in the world scene. This calls for suitable assessment and accreditation mechanisms to be available in the country to ensure the quality and standard of the academic/training programmes at higher educational institutions. The assessment has to be continuous and the process has to be transparent to gain the acceptance of the society at large.
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Implications of Quality Assurance
Helps the education institution to know its SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) via a formal review process. Promotes Academic-Industry partnership and inter-education institutional interlocks Industry can be assured of the quality of the prospective employees Give Institutions a sense of direction and value system Outcome provides funding agencies objective data for performance funding. Initiates institutions into innovative and modern methods of pedagogy. Student Empowerment Research & Development improvements and Funding Transparency and Accountability Effective Performance framework for benchmarking Induces Institutions to provide optimal programs Benchmarking and checking efficiency of education system. Modern learning environment and teaching aids Computer - aided learning, self-instruction courseware, virtual laboratories etc Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things, designing, constructing, planning, producing and inventing. Provide common reference points for quality assurance for institutions and agencies Create a register that will make it easier to identify professional and credible agencies
Challenges of Quality Assurance In the globalised environment, the emergence of trans-national institutions and use of electronic media for delivery of programmes through distance mode, pose a greater challenge to quality assurance agencies for (i) clarifying issues pertaining to the procedures for quality assurance and (ii) evolving acceptable criteria for assessment of learning attainments. A joint effort between the institutions and the accrediting bodies would be needed to ensure good coordination and communication, so that they can adhere to an ethical code of good practice and be objective, fair and rigorous in the task of accomplishing quality assessment and accreditation. The evolving Internet architecture & other electronic media allow delivery of lectures independent of time and distance, often to populace who otherwise would not benefit from such resources. Dissolution of traditional educational hierarchies and other systems designed as much to exclude certain population as they were to assure "quality" have opened the higher education "club" to a vast new population. This new paradigm creates great opportunities for both educators and learners in terms of accessibility and flexibility. As a result of the challenges, academic accrediting bodies like NAAC are working to bridge the traditional accrediting paradigms and new educational realities. The table given below lists the differences in old and new paradigms of Higher Education:
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Table Old Vs New Paradigms of Higher Education Old Paradigm
New Paradigm
Teacher/Institution Centered Centralized Hegemonistic One Size Fits All Closed Us versus Them Quantitative Prescriptive Time as Constant/Learning as Variable Teacher Credentials Consolidated Experience Regional/National Static Single Delivery Model Process Infrastructure
Learner Centered Local Deferential Tailored Open Collaborative Qualitative Flexible Learning as Constant/Time as Variable Teacher Skills Aggregated Experience International/Global Dynamic Distributed Delivery Model Outcome Services
Suggestions: A few suggestions are offered for quality assurance. They are: 1. Curriculum Planning and Management should be studied in the perspective of knowledge management. 2. Integrated approach by involving experts from different fields with major focus on sharing of experiences in a holistic framework and having dialogues at different levels such as at core committee level and at subcommittee level. Multidisciplinary curriculum must be developed with a view to cater to the needs and fulfillment of expectations of learners, teachers, parents, employers and society in general. 3. Decentralization must be encouraged with a broad frame work of University system. 4. Every university must have its own curriculum. There should not be any mechanism for central curriculum framework at higher education level. Context, specificity and inquiry oriented experience must be reflected in the curriculum. Learners' participation in the generation of knowledge must be the focus of constructivist curriculum. Problem solving abilities must be developed through experimentation life-like situations.
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5. Augmentation of Cognitive capital through the University curriculum will be the indicator of quality education. 6. Indigenous knowledge system must be kept in mind while adopting scientific and technological developments as core components of University curriculum. Context specificity and global developments must be visualised with a holistic perspective. 7. Curriculum construction should transact in an authentic and real environment. 8. Curriculum transaction should involve social negotiation and mediation. Encourage group activities and make optimum use of peer as resources of higher learning. 9. Knowledge and skills must be developed with a view to provide relevance and meaningfulness. 10. Learners involvement must be encouraged to link previous experience with present learning. The learner should have full opportunity to scrutinize the learning experiences. 11. The principles of self-regulation, self-mediation and self-awareness on the part of learners must be reflected in curriculum transaction. 12. Teachers should plan a mentor's of guiding learners to learn instead of directing them or instructing them all the time. 13. Learners must have ample scope to formulate their own queries and have multiple interpretations of knowledge through self-search and experiential learning. 14. During curriculum transaction learners should be assessed formatively on a continuous basis to create the basis for acquiring new experiences. Conclusion In an environment of global competitiveness, it is important that Indian products of the higher education institutions are as competent as graduates of any other country, not only in their scholastic attainments, but also in terms of the value system and richness of their personality. Unless the quality and standard of Indian higher education institutions are enhanced zealously and sustained at a high level through innovation, creativity and regular monitoring, it would be difficult for the Indian academics/professionals to compete in the World scene. If we are to have viability and credibility in whatever quality assurance measures we adopt in the 21st century, we must open ourselves and the process to other stakeholders: the community, employers, professional organizations, peer institutions, and especially the students themselves. Globalization has created a global market place for students and scholars. Globalization has resulted in massive expansion of higher education especially in the developing world. Universities and institutions of higher education have to produce graduates for the global market requiring content, method and structure meeting international norms. Indian Page No.17 |
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higher education is widely recognized and respected across the globe. The educational institutions have to take care of providing quality education which should be in par with the international standards. By making their respective Quality Circles more efficient and effective every educational institution can get optimum benefits in ensuring quality in education. References:
Access to Higher Education website. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Business, Innovation and Skills. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Information about the Quality Code. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Government list of recognised bodies with degree awarding powers. Department for Government's list of bodies providing higher education. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Retrieved March 5, 2014. Profile of Anthony McClaran. Retrieved June 6, 2014. QAA strategy 2011-14. Retrieved March 6, 2014. QAA's Memorandum and Articles of Association. Retrieved March 6, 2014. Tier 4 general visa regulations. Indian government. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
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ASSESSING AND INSTITUTIONS
BENCHMARKING
OF
HIGHER
EDUCATION
Lilu Ram Jakhar
Abstract Quality is the key to India‘s future growth as in the knowledge society the economic growth has started dominating. It is pertinent to mention here that Indian Higher Education System is found wanting as far as quality of higher education is concerned. The major consequence of the lesser number of quality higher education institutes is that the industry does not get enough people with specialized knowledge and skills. Because of poor quality education the employability also declines. Government is trying to enhance the accessibility by increasing the Gross Enrollment Ratio from present 21.1% to 30% by 2020. Government of India recently have taken lot of initiatives to increase access, equity and quality of higher education. Some of the steps include establishment of the central universities, restructuring of central funding agencies, establishment of community college scheme, Rasthriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) for funding research and higher education institutes to improve quality. For quality education, assessment and accreditation is being linked with funding of the institutions. The institutions are asked to get assessed and accredited for financial support from central funding agency such as UGC and other national bodies. Benchmarking and assessing the institutions across the world promotes competition and therefore enhances the quality of education accessible to the public.
Introduction Higher education in India has undergone a sea change over the years. It gives people an opportunity to ponder on the key social, economic, cultural, moral and spiritual issues facing society. It contributes to the national development through dissemination of varied and specialized knowledge and skills. The focus of higher education across the world has also undergone dramatic change over the last few decades in respect of the issues of quality assurance and quality enhancement. Despite differences in the size and stage of development of the higher education sectors in India, the government feels that the Indian institution needs to be assessed regularly to set up benchmarks in the higher education quality. It is felt that the traditional academic controls are inadequate to today's challenges and that more clear-cut assurance about quality is needed. There are just over 30 million children who desire to go for higher education today. If our school education system had worked properly, this number would have easily been doubled or tripled. The higher education in India is now becoming more responsive to the needs of the emerging global trends. This has been accomplished by changing the content of programs, redesigning the programs, and building in more flexibility and introducing more skill based subjects and incorporating training. New opportunities in completely new areas, such as business and accounting, modern macro and micro-economics, nursing and pharmacy were introduced. To overcome the problem of Over-specialization and Page No.19 |
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over-enrollment in certain technical and engineering disciplines interdisciplinary programs have been introduced. More flexibility has been added by introducing short term programs, restructuring the training and skill development programs and modifying the continuing education programmes. To further enhance the utility and accessibility as well as accountability of the higher education institutions, a mechanism need to put in place to assess and certify the institution in a comprehensive and transparent manner.
Assessing Quality in Higher Education The term quality in higher education is ambiguous due to the interchangeably adoption of conceptually different terms such as quality, accountability and assessment. Initially, institutions of higher education have adopted the internally focused resource view determining quality by the assessment of their internal resources, such as the number of books in its library, the number of faculty with terminal degrees, size of the endowment and reputation neglecting the influence of the changing external environment and the emergence of sophisticated higher education customers (Seymour, 1992). However, the increased competition, cost-efficiency, accountability and service orientations forced higher education to gradually swift its focus on a value added or performance approach of excellence, where quality is determined by its outcomes, such as efficient allocation and use of resources and producing highly satisfied and employable graduates (Koslowski, 2006). In an attempt to synthesize diverse quality perspectives, Seymour (1992) interpreted in the higher education context the five different types of quality proposed by Garvin (1988), as follows: 1. Transcendent quality is a result of educator‘s reputation and expertise; however, it is internally focused ignoring the role of external agencies as well as the public. 2. Manufacturing-based quality is based on service conformance (type of degree, courses, curricula etc.) to specifications and implies that the provider is capable of appropriate self-regulation. 3. Product-based quality reflects student learning, produced by the curriculum and faculty. It is closely linked with assessment due to its foundation on measurable and objective indices and once agreed upon by administration and academia can advance teaching and learning. 4. Value-based quality refers to acceptable or above expectations performance at an acceptable price, meaning that higher education customers may consider the expected salary after graduation in comparison with tuition fees. 5. User-based quality is determined by the customer‘s needs, wants, desires, and preferences. There are wide differences among countries in their approaches to quality assessment. Many countries have developed accreditation systems, while others have established evaluation committees or commissions that carry out number of periodical and comprehensive assessment. These variations in the approach of quality assessment Page No.20 |
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reflects political and cultural preferences within each country, differences in governmental leadership, as well as varying stages of development for the higher education sector. As far as India is concerned the assessment as well as accreditation responsibility is entrusted to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, Banglore. Indian Higher Education System Due to unprecedented knowledge explosion, higher education has to become more dynamic and continuously enter into untouched domain areas. The higher education system in India has grown remarkably, particularly in the Post-Independence period, to become one of the largest systems of its kind in the world. Substantial achievements have been made in increasing access, ensuring equity and improving quality of higher education. There has been phenomenal growth of higher education in India since independence. Let us look at an important aspect of quality in Indian Higher education system. Quality of education is the key to India‘s future growth as knowledge economy start dominating all over the world. The Indian Higher Education System is being found to be most wanting in the quality dimension. The major consequence of the lesser number of quality higher education institution and hence poor skilled professionals is that the industry does not get enough quality people. In the present knowledge-driven society, the Indian economic growth is not able to realize its true potential. Because of the lack of quality of graduates India is not being able to achieve the status of R&D house of the world. The quality of India's superior higher educational institutions were tested recently, with a report, released by staffing company Team Lease, assessing the country's labour force and its preparedness. The report stated that India is not able to properly educate its workforce, especially beyond the high school level. According to the report, India's gross enrolment ratio (GER) — the number of students enrolled versus the number of eligible students — for higher education was a mere 13.2 per cent in 2003. It is now projected to rise to 21 .1 per cent, still it is substantially lower than the global average, marking slow progress in the government's goal of attaining a GER of 30 per cent by 2030. India is a lagging behind when compared even to other developing countries, whose GER averages 36 per cent. And there are many districts where the GER is even lower than the fairly abysmal national average. Table 1: Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education All Categories (%)
Year
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
GER
11.61
12.39
13.1
13.7
15.0
18.8
20.4
21.1
Source: AISHE provisional report 2012-13
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The graphical presentation of GER is shown in figure1 below. This shows a steady growth of GER over the years but lack the required impetus needed to match the global parameters. Figure1: Gross Enrolment Ratio in Higher Education
The higher educational institutions also suffer from large quality variation as NasscomMackinsey Report (2005) has said that not more than 15% of graduates of general education and 25-30% of Technical Education are fit for employment. Since only a small number of Universities and colleges are eligible for funding by UGC and hence monitoring for quality by NAAC for ensuring quality standards set by it. A vast majority of institutions of higher learning are under no quality monitoring and control except what is provided under university regulations and occasional university team visits with no set parameters for quality assessment.
Assessing Indian Higher Education Institutions While assessing quality of education, the NAAC follows methodology that looks into how the various policies and processes of the institution determine the educational provisions and consequently, the quality of its performance. The focus is on both the functioning of the institution as well as the outcome of the institutions. There are seven criteria, under each one of which, the NAAC has identified the elements of the best practices that contribute to the efficient and effective functioning of the institution and they are called criterion statements. They serve as benchmarks. The criterion statements for the seven criteria are as below: 1.
Curricular Aspects
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This includes clearly stated goals and objectives; consistency of programmes with its goals and objectives, adequate academic flexibility, feedback from academic peers and employers, review and redesign of programmes. 2. Teaching-Learning and Evaluation This aspect comprised of factors such as institution facilitates the effective running of the teaching-learning programmes, well-conceived plan for monitoring student progress continuously, reliable and adequate faculty, open and participative mechanism for evaluation of teaching, research and work satisfaction of the faculty and the opportunities for continued academic progress and professional development of teachers. 3. Research, Consultancy and Extension In this dimension the aspects covered are: institution promotes research culture among faculty and students, encourages faculty to publish in academic forums, promotes faculty participation in consultancy work, and institution is responsive to community needs and conducts relevant extension programmes. 4. Infrastructure and Learning Resources The assessment of this aspect requires that the institution has adequate physical facilities to run the educational programmes efficiently, growth of the infrastructure keeps pace with the academic growth of the institution, effective mechanisms for maintenance and optimal use of infrastructure, adequate library and computer facilities and other learning resources. 5. Student Support and Progression This area caters to whether the institution provides clear information to students about admission and completion requirements for all programmes, the fee-structure and refund policies, financial aid and student support services, has sufficient and well-run support services to all its students, Student progression is monitored effectively and has an effective mechanism to use student feedback for quality enhancement. 6. Organization and Management This dimension of the assessment demands that the offices and departments of the institution are governed on the principles of participation and transparency, proper academic and administrative planning in the institution, relevant welfare schemes for all, fair and expeditious grievance redressal mechanisms at all levels, effective resource mobilization and planning development strategies, judiciously allocated and effectively utilized finances, regular and standardized budgeting and auditing procedures. 7. Healthy Practices This area is about how the institution displays sensitivity to changing educational, social and market demands, geared to promote an ambience of creativity and innovation, adopts quality management strategies in all academic and administrative aspects and strives to promote value-based education, social responsibilities and good citizenship.
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The assessment by NAAC takes a holistic view of all the inputs, processes and outcomes of an institution. The different aspects are assigned the weightages as per the table 2 below. Table2: Weightages of assessment aspects S. No.
Aspect of Assessment
% weightage for % weightage for % weightage for University Autonomous Affiliated College College
1.
Curricular Aspects
15
15
10
2.
Teaching-Learning Evaluation
and 20
30
35
3.
Research, Consultancy and 25 Extension
15
15
4.
Infrastructure and Learning 10 Resources
10
10
5.
Student Support Progression
and 10
10
10
6.
Organization Management
and 10
10
10
7.
Healthy Practices
10
10
10
100
100
100
Total
Source: NAAC guidelines, Banglore.
The accreditation status of the assessed HEIs is decided using the weightages detailed above Institutions will be assessed and graded on a four point scale and qualifying institutions accredited and graded on a 3- letter grade as follows: Table3: Grading Criterion of Institutions Range of institutional
Letter
Grade
Performance Descriptor
3.01-4.00
A
Very Good
(Accredited)
2.01-3.00
B
Good
(Accredited)
1.51-2.00
C
Satisfactory
(Accredited)
>1.50
D
Unsatisfactory
(Not Accredited)
Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
Source: NAAC, Bangalore
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The Institutions which secure a CGPA equal to or less than 1.50 and graded ―D‖ does not qualify for accreditation. Such unqualified institutions will be intimated and notified by the NAAC as ―assessed and found not qualified for accreditation‖. On the basis of criteria stated above by the year July, 2014 only few institutions were accredited out of which less than 30% falls into grade A. Therefore, the quality institutions are still a distant dream in Indian higher education system. There are other agencies which carry out assessment of the institutions of higher learning and one such agency is Times Higher Education. The Times Higher Education prepares a list of top ranking institutions of the world every year on the bases of quality assessment parameters. It is very disheartening to note that none of our so called quality institutions figure in top 100 institutions of the world. The table 4 shows the sorry state of quality in our higher education sector. Table4. World Ranking of Indian Higher Education Institutions Year
Rank 1-200
Rank 201-300
Rank 301-400
2010-11
0
-
-
2011-12
0
0
1
2012-13
0
2
1
2013-14
0
1
1
Source: Times Higher Education Report on Ranking of World Universities, 2013.
Future of Indian Higher Education: Vision 2030 The FICCI in its report on ―Vision 2030 for Higher Education in India‖ has stated that India would be a largest provider of global talent, a global magnet for aspiring learners, and a role model for high-quality affordable educational system. The Indian higher education sector would be governed by the highest standards of ethics and accountability with every single institution being peer-reviewed and accredited. Chairman, FICCI Higher Education Committee in his writing is of the view that Fifty per cent of our youth would be in the higher education system, at least 23 Indian universities would be among the global top 200 and 6 Indian intellectuals would have been awarded the Nobel Prize. Our country would be among top 5 countries globally in cited research output, its research capabilities boosted by annual R&D spends totalling over $140 billion. In order to realise the goals we have to move to a differentiated academic system with a three-tiered structure comprising highly selective elite research universities, comprehensive universities and specialised institutions and an array of highly accessible and high quality colleges. While the first tier of universities would cater exclusively to Page No.25 |
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furthering India‘s intellectual capital, the others would focus on delivering economic and social value, respectively. The 2030 vision for each tier is illustrated as follow: 1. The top tier universities would develop as the centres of excellence for creation of new knowledge in multidisciplinary areas such as biosciences, the environment, climate change, material sciences, urban development, among other areas. The faculty and students would be a diverse mix of highly talented and research oriented groups with the ability to attract national and international research grants and funding and further collaborative research with top-rung universities around the world. These universities would also provide seamless access to high quality content and curriculum through open source such as the Massive Open-Online Courses (MOOCs) model. 2. The second tier of industry-aligned professional education institutions needs to expand, producing highly employable graduates with technical know-how, critical thinking and problem solving skills. To correct the current model that promotes narrow specialisations, a freedom of choice coupled with a liberal arts component needs to be integrated within the curriculum. Engineering and professional graduates would take a comprehensive view, looking at the environmental, socioeconomic, funding and regulatory aspects apart from the domain-specific issues. The focus of these institutions would be more on content delivery, where faculty borrows from the best open-courseware and customises it to the needs of students. The faculty would be a mix of academics, researchers and industry professionals. 3. The last cluster or third tier of broad-based highly accessible foundation universities should be designed to expand the reach of higher education to all eligible and deserving students to address access and equity. They would provide holistic education to varied student populations with significant regional and linguistic diversity and gender profile. The institutions would rely heavily on online methods of teaching and learning, collaborate with ITIs, polytechnics and other vocational training providers to impart skill based training and offer both part-time and full-time options. The system would enable seamless mobility of students, faculty, researchers and professionals across institutions of all types. It would offer the students a variety of unique and quality programmes at both the graduate and under-graduate levels and hone the natural flair of entrepreneurship in Indians. Apart from solving the academic issues, planned expansion too is important. Our future cities should tightly integrate in their urban planning, creation of education cities where several universities are able to colocate in a single campus and share the common facilities. Campuses should be located in the heart of the cities and embedded in communities. To make rapid progress in this direction over the next two decades would indeed require a committed and concerted effort from academia, industry, government and most importantly the student. In the light of above vision 2030 statement prepared by FICCI, it is clear that we have to made whole hearted efforts to reach to the global level in terms of quality higher Page No.26 |
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education. The bottlenecks and impediments needs to be checked for the growth of higher education in India. It needs to be free from, nepotism, corruption, job-insecurity and political interference. The institution be allowed to expand as per the market demands and skills requirement so as to pick up with the global higher education. Independence and transparency in the functioning of the university ensure greater participation and sharing of student population, provided the universities are allowed financial autonomy. Conclusion Despite differences in the size and stage of development of the higher education sectors in India, the government feels that the Indian institution needs to be assessed regularly to set up benchmarks in the higher education quality. It is felt that the traditional academic controls are inadequate to today's challenges and that more clear-cut assurance about quality is needed. It is very disheartening to note that none of our so called quality institutions figure in top 100 institutions of the world. The focus of assessment of NAAC is on both the functioning of the institution as well as the outcome of the institutions. There has been some effort to address each of these emerging trends, especially in some major systems of quality assurance, but much remains to be done.
References: 1. Agarwal, P. (2006). Higher education in India: The need for change. New Delhi, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. URL: www.icrier.org/publication/working_papers_180.html . 2. Annual Report (2007). Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Cameron, K. & Smart, J. C. (1998). Maintaining Effectiveness amid Downsizing and Decline in Institutions of Higher Education. Research in Higher Education, Vol.39, pp. 65-86. 3. Draft Report of Working Group on Higher Education for the XI Plan, Planning Commission, Government of India (2007). 4. FICCI Higher Education Summit (2013) report on ―Higher Education in India: Vision 2030‖ retrieved from http://www.ficci.com/spdocument/20328/FICCI-EYReport-2013.pdf on November 7, 2014. 5. Garvin, D. A. (1988). Managing quality. The Free Press, New York, USA. 6. Jha (2006). Higher Education in India-Restructuring for increased innovation, Document prepared for the World Bank, June 2006. 7. Koslowski , F. A. (2006). Quality and assessment in context: A brief review. Quality Assurance in Education, Vol.14, No.3, pp. 277-288. 8. Prasad, V. S. & Antony Stella (2004). ―Best Practices Bechmarking in Higher Educaion for Quality Enhancemenr‖ retrieved from http://naac.gov.in/docs/Best%20Practise%20in%20Higher%20Education.pdf on 7th Nov., 2014.
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9. Report of Time Higher Education (2013). World ranking of Higher Education Institutions URL:http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-universityrankings/2011-12/world-ranking . 10. Report of MHRD, Govt. of India (2012). ―Manual for Universities‖ retrieved from http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/documentreports/Manual_for_Universities_23012013.pdf on 7th Nov., 2014. 11. Selected Educational Statistics (2004-2005). Ministry of Human Resource Development Government of India (2007). 12. Seymour, D.T. (1992). On Q: Causing Quality in Higher Education, Macmillan, New York, NY.
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INDIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: A BRIEF HISTORY AND MARCH TOWARDS RUSA Reena Khushwaha ―Our university system is, in many parts, in a state of disrepair...In almost half the districts in the country, higher education enrollments are abysmally low, almost two-third of our universities and 90 per cent of our colleges are rated as below average on quality parameters... I am concerned that in many states university appointments, including that of Vice-chancellors, have been politicized and have become subject to caste and communal considerations, there are complaints of favoritism and corruption.‖ — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2007
Abstract India since ancient time is known for its culture, value and education. In ancient period, unlike present system, there was no hierarchy in education system and pupils while living with guru and his family they learnt how to live lives with dignity and perform their duties well. Worldwide famous Nalanda University proves the story of higher education in India. But with the passage of time, education transformed from open to institutional and then become more systematic. After its independence, several policies and programs have been implemented (e.g. SSA,MDM, RMSA etc.) Just after 1950, the educational policy of the nation focused on the expansion of higher education. . From 1992, Programme of Action was implemented after the New Education Policy was formulated. In 1994, NAAC was set up with its headquarters in Bangalore. By 1998, NAAC began to set certain standards and benchmarks and grading also started seriously. RUSA is one of the step to bring equity, access and quality and moreover tries to eradicate existing obstacles in higher education system. This paper draws a brief history of development of education system in India and gradually leads to critically account for the need and significance of RUSA. Keywords: RUSA: Rashtriya Ucchatar Shisya Abhiyan, SSA: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, MDM:Mid Day Meal . PoA :Programme of Action, NAAC :National Accreditation and Assessment Council.
Introduction If we peep into the history of India in educational point, we find a rich history in this context dating back several millenniums. In old period, Knowledge was prepared and propagated through oral tradition by Rishi-Muni. These Rishi-Muni acquired knowledge through tapsya(note: that time no eligibility test for teaching like UGC-NET, SLET etc.).
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Though in the third and 2nd BC Bharat flourished with the establishment of institutions of learning. Taxila, now in Pakistan, became the seat of learning where scholars journeyed to learn and to be educated. Nalanda in eastern Bharat became famous for the Buddhist University where several religious conclaves were held. In the 10th century, Persian became the court language and the educated elites became conversant in Farsi and Arabic. The dual traditions of Sanskrit and Farsi education were kept alive till the colonization of India by the British. The present education system was laid during British colonialism in India. The British established schools to teach English and the sciences. In 1857 three universities were established in three metropolitan cities, Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Madras (now Chennai) following Oxford or Cambridge as models. Another university was established in 1887 in Allahabad. These universities imparted education in the liberal arts and sciences. The main outcome seemed to be to prepare people for careers in the civil service, legal profession and in medicine. The British also established the first industrial school attached to the Gun Carriage Factory in Guindy, Chennai (Madras) in 1842. Education after Independence Though during India Liberation movement, several social movement were launched by social reformers like Swami Vivekananda, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chand Vidya Sagar, Anni Basent and others. Our National Father Mahatma Gandhi also advocated for Education. Once he said, ―Education means all-round drawing out of the best in child and man—body, mind, and spirit.” As such, education becomes the basis of personality development in all dimensions—moral, mental, and emotional.‖ Education, according to Mahatma Gandhi, was not exactly a pursuit of freedom of expression, but a modified method to specifically suit the goal of nation building of the new India. Due to his insistence National Educational Conference was held at Wardha in as early as 1937 to set the ball rolling. A Committee of distinguished educationists, headed by Dr.Zakir Hossain, was entrusted with planning a syllabus for basic education. The report of the Committee along with the detailed syllabus was published in 1938. The Indian National Congress at its 51st session in 1938 at Haripura accepted, certainly under guidance of Mahatma Gandhi, the principle of Basic National Education, and authorized the formation of an All-India Board to work out a practical implement able program.1 In the 20th century, Indian Government has understood well that only its rich population which is going to succeed China can contribute greatly to becoming India as emerging power. That‘s why it has been emphasizing more reform in education system so that potential Knowledge source can be build up and able to compete at global level. In order to meet international level, the current Education system has been modeled on British
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system and some the technical institutions in engineering and management are on the US system. Indian Society is diversity in nature. It has several cultural, religion and regional language. At primary level, there is provision to teach in three languages (Hindi, English and mother language). Though, it is seen that Institutions of higher education use English as the medium of instruction for most courses, particularly in the technical fields, though the regional language and Hindi are applicable in Arts stream. Present education system is based on hierarchal model as given below:
Though, the institutional framework of higher education is complex in India. There are several types of institutions: universities, colleges, post-graduate institutions and polytechnics. Only the universities are generally authorized to grant degrees. By special acts of Parliament, the institutions of national importance have been authorized to grant degrees. In the earlier period, 70% population of India dependent upon agriculture. Agriculture profession was transferred from one generation to other generation. There was no need to go school and college to get degree in Agriculture. But with the passage of time great changes has been occurred young generation no more depend upon parental profession. They choose their profession according to their interests. Modern India is also modernizing itself in its every sphere. As per concerned to Education, she tries to establish career oriented programmes so that her youngster at international level to be fit to survive and contribute their potentiality to become Bharat a superpower countries. In India after its independence, several institutions in Arts, Science and technology have been established and their remodeling has been done from time to time. Page No.31 |
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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) launched in 2001 for elementary education and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched in 2009 for secondary education produced great results in the educational developments. For higher education University Grants Commission (UGC) has a provision for routine innovation and development fundings. UGC funds are quite adequate for centrally funded universities and colleges, which are recognised under sections 12B and 2(f) of UGC Act. However, as of 31 March 2012 statistics, the higher education sector in India consisted of 574 universities and 35,539 colleges, out of which 214 universities are not covered under 12B of UGC Act, and only 6,787 colleges are registered under 12B and 2(f). Thus a larger number of higher institutes run by state governments, which are limited in their own management, are not provided with sufficient financial support to enhance their facilities for educational reforms. Therefore a separate scheme for state/UT-managed universities and colleges was proposed by the National Development Council (NDC) as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2012. There are 42 central universities, 287 state universities, 129 deemed universities, 115 Private universities at present. Centre government has planned to create 278 new universities and 388 new colleges. ―We will be creating about 278 new universities and 388 new colleges. Some of these colleges will be motivated to become universities‖, Raju said at an all India conference of higher education ministers on Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a flagship scheme of the UPA government. A total of 316 state public universities and 13,024 colleges will be covered under the Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan, a plan to manage funding for higher education. What is RUSA? India achieved a Gross Enrolment Ratio of 18.8% in higher education by 2012 through expansion schemes under the XIth Five Year Plan. Recent higher education surveys have documented three aspects. (1) Quantitative expansion has not always led to quality enhancement. (2) Employability of engineering graduates ranges between 20% and 40%, but that of arts and science graduates is only around 10%. Three, a survey revealed value degradation and decline in gratitude to teachers by 61%. A multidimensional reforms package has been evolved by UGC in its XIIth FYP document in order to erase the mismatch between expansions vis-a-vis quality of employable, value-inculcated graduates and to bridge the quality. For example: As 94% of students‘ pool is through 33,023 colleges affiliated to 316 universities, which are seats of expansion, innovative reforms in colleges and in the process of affiliation to universities have been formulated in XIIth FYP. These have been further necessitated by the compounded load of affiliated colleges i.e. Osmania University has 901 affiliated colleges and Pune University 811. The system is, thus, stifling quality enhancement of state universities.
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After assessment of the requirements for these reforms and the limitations of UGC and considering the success of SSA and RMSA, the government has evolved the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a centrally sponsored scheme for higher education, in a mission-mode to focus on state higher educational institution which reflects these realities: expansion, equity and excellence. Over the next five years, every aspect of higher education is being reorganised and remodelled: funding, leadership and management, quality assurance, accountability, relationships with industry, international collaboration and the way teaching and research are conducted. Emphasis is being placed on strengthening existing institutions. In arguably the biggest reform in the governance and funding of state universities, an ambitious programme is underway to devolve authority and budgets for higher education from federal government to the state governments. Besides, certain other reforms have also been initiated. These include a proposal to limit the number of colleges to be affiliated to any university to 100; encourage large autonomous colleges to develop into universities; create college cluster universities by clustering a minimum of 50 colleges in a city or district; and allowing Central and state universities to have 5-10 constituents, autonomous colleges, to be mentored by the parent university as ―model colleges‖.These schemes are being funded with proportionate participations of state governments. RUSA envisages elevating 45 out of the 441 autonomous colleges as unitary universities, establishing ‗model colleges‘ in educationally backward districts and infrastructure strengthening of state colleges. A 25,000-crore package of quality rejuvenation schemes for state universities and colleges has been approved by which 316 universities and 13,024 government and aided colleges would receive performance-linked funding. It is for the first time since Independence that state-level higher education institutions are being funded by the Centre with a budget of `1,28,000 crore. The skewed funding pattern as of the XIth FYP by UGC can be better understood by the fact that `5,606 crore of the `6,776 crore (82.7%) was provided to Central universities and their colleges which are producing only 6% of the total students, while state universities and colleges which contribute 94% of students‘ pool are provided with only 17.3% of UGC funds. Hence RUSA is an excellent opportunity to the state universities to upgrade educational and research ambience of infrastructure, knowledge resources and skill development expertise to produce international quality manpower. It should also be underscored that the upgraded colleges and universities would be mentored for high-quality research outputs with fund-associated expertise through RUSA. Objective of RUSA The main objectives of the RUSA: (a) RUSA aims to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.
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(b) It is proposed to improve the GER from 19% at present to 32% by 2022, while incentivizing states to increase Plan investments in higher education. (c) Aid reforms in state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at state level. (d) Promoting autonomy in state universities and improving governance. (e) Improve the overall quality of existing state institutions by ensuring that all institutions conform to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework. (f) Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions. (g) To curb the regional imbalances in access to higher education through setting up of higher education institutions in unserved and underserved areas. (h) Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities to socially deprived communities. (i) Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher education as well as to create an enabling atmosphere in higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovation. (j) To create opportunities for States to undertake reforms in the affiliating system in order to ensure that the reforms and resource requirements of affiliated colleges are adequately met. (k) Reforms in the areas of governance of universities, academic and examination reforms and affiliation system of state universities are other important components of this scheme. These include limiting the number of colleges that can be affiliated to a university and provision of more autonomy to universities. (l) The three-tier institutional structure at the national, state and institution levels would facilitate the monitoring of RUSA at the respective levels. Government of India will conduct annual reviews of the project, based on action plans prepared by each project institution and achievements made on a set of norms defined in the institutional plans. A Management Information System will also be established for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation. Key Features of RUSA RUSA is an umbrella scheme to be operated in mission mode that would subsume other existing similar schemes in the Education sector. It will support all state universities and colleges (both 12B and 2(f) and non-12B and non-2(f)) from all states and Union Territories (UTs) across the country. As per concern to institutional structure for RUSA comprises of institutions at the national, state and institutional levels. At the national level, there are four bodies - the RUSA Mission Authority, Project Approval Board, Technical Support Group and the Project Directorate (in MHRD) - for overall guidance, policy decisions and project management, coordination and implementation. At the state level, the key entity would be the State Higher Education Council (SHEC), to be supported by the Project Directorate (in the State Government) and Technical Support Page No.34 |
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Group for management, coordination, implementation and monitoring of the project at the state/UT levels. And at the institutional level, the Board of Governors (BoG) and a Project Monitoring Unit would be the main institutional structures for RUSA. The main functions of the State Higher Education Councils will be to develop State Higher Education Plans. These include longer term Perspective Plans as well Annual Plans. The plans would be each state‘s strategy to address issues of equity, access and excellence in higher education. They would be based on aggregated institutional plans as well as a super layer of state component. According to RUSA an institution will get fund on the basis of quality of infrastructure as well as for quality improvement. All funding under RUSA would be norm based and future grants would be outcome dependent. The funding to states would be based on appraisals of State Higher Education Plans, and performance in key result areas (access, equity and excellence) in relation to norms set by the plans. The central funding would flow from MHRD to institutions, through SHEC. SHECs will be the key institutions at the state level to channelize resources to the institutions. CentreState funding will be in the ratio of 90:10 for North-Eastern States, J&K, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and 65:35 for other states and Union Territories. Funding will be available to even private-aided institutions, for permitted activities based on certain norms and parameters, in a ratio of 50:50. Why RUSA? Despite being several efforts have been made to improve quality, access and expansion, At state level, in order to meet challenges given below; perhaps it would prove as medicine for higher education system.
Try to fill up the gap between supply and demand. To improve the low quality of Teaching and learning. To provide all possible facilities to be high quality of Researchers. It has been found that there are few opportunities for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary working, lack of early stage research experience; a weak ecosystem for innovation, and low levels of industry engagement. RUSA will provide more opportunities to address these challenges. Access to higher education is uneven with multidimensional in enrollment across population groups and geographies. Improve its GER rate .There are several key issues with respect to the higher education system in India which need to be tackled if the target of achieving a GER of 30% in higher education is to be attained. Amongst the major factors responsible for the challenges facing higher education in India is the poor status of state higher education systems. In particular, they face issues relating to inadequate financing, ineffective planning at the state level and lack of autonomy.
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Conclusion The launch of RUSA by the Government definitely will introduce a significant shift in the approach towards development of higher education in India. The key difference with the introduction of RUSA is with respect to funding higher education in state universities, which have been receiving a disproportionately small share of central government funds in relation to central government institutions for long time. Additionally, Funding system based on performance will make institutions more responsible and pragmatic. However, the success of the scheme will depend on whether it can be managed and executed effectively According to some critic, it is long process and it would create complexities if not executed properly. Students will face problem. Some believe that there are so many other complexities and obstacles which needs to be addressed. . What is apparent is however, that if the stated goals are achieved, RUSA could well become a turning point for the Indian higher education system as it seeks to achieve higher enrolment rates and address access, equity and quality related concerns. References: 1. http://uttarayan.myfreeforum.org/archive/vision-on-education-gandhi-and-tagorethe-indian-response__o_t__t_311.html 2. http://www.careerindia.com/news/2013/05/27/higher-education-in-india-past-andpresent-005112.html 3. A Report on Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan ,Sept.2013.
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TRANSFORMATION OF INDIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM : NEED OF THE HOUR Shivakumar G.S. & T. Manichander Abstract Education includes literacy, but it is not confined to literacy alone. It is the acquiring of knowledge or learning together with the equipment, which provides the skill and the inclination for making profitable use of knowledge. Since the acquiring of knowledge and improvement of the skills for its application are parts of a dynamic process, education is a lifelong exercise. the higher education system has lots of responsibilities to respond to augment the standards of society in the contemporary area.70% of the population in India who live in rural areas do not have access to higher education. Today‘s competitive environment demands better quality of education. In order to compete in the global market, it is necessary to bring about qualitative improvement in the system of our higher education. Now the time has come to create a second wave of institution building and of excellence in the fields of education, research and capability building. We need higher educated people who are skilled and who can drive our economy forward. When India can provide skilled people to the outside world then we can transfer our country from a developing nation to a developed nation very easily and quickly. Key Words: Technology, Globalization, Higher education. Introduction India's higher education system is the world's third largest in terms of students, next to China and the United States. Unlike China, however, India has the advantage of English being the primary language of higher education and research. The advent of expanding engineering colleges, increasing intake of IIT‘s and spread of non formal computer education, the general higher education in the affiliated colleges is losing its strength. The country has to face challenges of globalisation and pressure of liberalisation-GATS and WTO agreements, while continuing its fight against poverty and illiteracy. India is a country of larger youth in world. On this ground, in the present paper attempt has made to highlight some of the important challenges before Indian higher education system and provides an agenda for the preparedness for facing these challenges through flexible and market led curriculum development. India educates approximately 11 per cent of its youth in higher education as compared to 20 per cent in China. The main governing body at the tertiary level is the University Grants Commission (India), which enforces its standards, advises the government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state. Universities and its constituent colleges are the main institutes of higher education in India. At present in 2011, there are 227 government-recognized Universities in India. Out of them 20 are central universities, 109 are deemed universities and 11 are Open Universities and rest are state universities. Most of these universities in India have affiliating colleges where undergraduate courses are Page No.37 |
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being taught. However Jawaharlal University is a remarkable exception to this rule. Apart from these higher education institutes there are several private institutes in India that offer various professional courses in India. Distance learning is also a feature of the Indian higher education system. In India, it seems to be a case of one step forward and two steps back. While the government has introduced various bills in the Parliament, each of these seems to be stuck at various levels. Bills, such as National Commission for Higher Education and Research, National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions, and Foreign Educational Institutions, if passed can bring much needed structural changes. There is an urgent need to debate these bills and ensure that they are passed. Most importantly, a change in mindset is required. Perhaps, time has come to remove the stigma associated with profits in the education sector so that legitimate private enterprises can have access to capital and set up world-class institutions that the country needs so badly. A lot of debate has taken place on 'affiliation', 'accountability', 'autonomy', and so on. Everyone seems to agree that a radical overhaul of the higher education system is much needed. Time has now come to walk the talk. Or else India's youth will be left behind in the global race. Improving Quality of Higher Education Expansion of a differentiated university system In less than 20 years, the country has created additional capacity for a mammoth 40 million students. While the scale of this expansion is remarkable in itself, what sets it apart from earlier decades of equally aggressive expansion is a deliberate strategy and an organized design. India‘s higher education system has finally broken free of decades of colonial overhang. In recent years, the country has undertaken massive structural and systemic changes that have started to yield encouraging results. About 15 years ago, India consciously moved to a differentiated academic system with a three -tiered structure comprising highly selective elite research universities at the top, comprehensive universities and specialized institutions in the middle, and an array of highly-accessible and high-quality colleges at the bottom. While the first tier caters exclusively to furthering India‘s intellectual capital, the other two focus on delivering economic and social value respectively. Intensive use of technology The Indian higher education system has undergone massive expansion to become the largest in the world enrolling over 70 million students. Such expansion would have been unimaginable without the extensive use of ICT tools. To illustrate, if India were to create this additional capacity through increase in brick and mortar institutions alone, it would have had to build six universities and 270 colleges each and every month in the last 20 years – a feat that would have been impossible to achieve with India‘s limited resources. Instead, India chose to go the MOOCs way.
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Reforms in governance The imperative of the previous decade towards ‗good governance‘ in all realms – has resulted in dramatic changes in the governance framework for higher education in areas both internal to institutions (their management and leadership structures) as well as areas external to institutions. Diminishing role of government in governance Over the years, the government has gradually withdrawn from direct management of public institutions, devolving governance to boards compromising academics, alumni and external members. Instead, it exerts indirect forms of control based largely on mechanisms such as performance--linked funding and quality recognition. Compulsory accreditation The move towards regulating outcomes has been accompanied by the introduction of a more sophisticated quality assurance system based on the establishment of a national accreditation agency for higher education and also several other agencies with a specialized focus. As a result, claims to quality can no longer be based on internal judgment by institutions themselves but have to be justified by an external process of peer review and assessment by quality rating agencies. Enabling environment for private and foreign participation About ten years ago, the distinction between ‗private‘ and ‗public‘ among universities had effectually started to blur, with recommendations from the Narayana Murthy Committee Report being a first step in this direction. Today, foreign education providers are also treated on par with Indian institutions, they too being subjected to the same accreditation norms. Curricula and pedagogy Adopt a learner-centered paradigm of education. Introduce liberal arts approach and multi- -disciplinary courses for students to get a holistic exposure. Adopt a liberal arts and experiential approach to education, equipping students with the skills needed to adapt to changing environments. By introducing multi-disciplinary courses to enable students to get broader exposure and develop a holistic worldview. Provide exposure to multiple subjects to get multi-faceted exposure across a variety of topics relating to the political, economic and social environment. Introduce ‗industry-oriented‘ courses and skill- -based training to enable enhanced employability. Introduce courses in entrepreneurship and social sciences for economic and social development. Promote continuing education for working professionals and introduce blended learning model using Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).Adopt the flipped classroom model to improve learning in classroom. In the learner-centred paradigm of education, students are encouraged to take greater responsibility for their learning outcomes. The professor ceases to be the fount of knowledge filling the empty receptacles of students‘ minds; instead, students actively participate in the discovery of knowledge. They are encouraged to be reflexive and Page No.39 |
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thoughtful learners, learning from themselves, their peers and their immediate environment just as much as they would from their professors. Accordingly, the teachinglearning methodology involves less lecturing and rote note taking and more hands-on activities to allow for experiential and interactive learning. Faculty Ease recruitment norms. Retain high-quality faculty by implementing tenure –based system and providing incentives. Introduce faculty development and exchange programs with top-end institutions. Research Adopt the mentor model for developing research capabilities and incentivize international institutions to collaborate for research. Develop centers of research excellence and promote collaborative research within academia as well as between academia and research centers. Develop industry and academia collaborations to promote applied research. Attract high-quality research oriented faculty by offering incentives and a conducive research environment. Collaboration / partnerships Strengthen industry-academia linkages and tie- -ups between higher education institutions and skill- -based training providers. Physical Infrastructure Increase capacity of the higher education system, targeting specific outcomes by setting up new institutions and increasing intake of existing ones. Incentivize high-quality private and foreign players to enhance quality capacity in the higher education system. Digital Infrastructure Develop technology-based models such as virtual classrooms to widen access to highquality education on a mass scale through the MOOCs platform. Utilize existing infrastructure and schemes to increase access and improve quality of education imparted. Financial assistance Provide competitive research grants from government and encourage corporate endowments. Increase individual-centered funding and implement outcome-based public funding. Encourage alumni funding. Governance/Leadership Introduce reforms in the regulatory framework governing higher education to reduce ambiguity and promote self regulation. Promote disclosure of information by all higher education institutions to make the system accountable and transparent. Introduce reforms in the leadership structure of institutions.
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Conclusion India is today one of the fastest developing countries of the world with the annual growth rate going above 9%. In order to sustain that rate of growth, there is need to increase the number of institutes and also the quality of higher education in India. To reach and achieve the future requirements there is an urgent need to relook at the Financial Resources, Access and Equity, Quality Standards, Relevance and at the end the Responsiveness. We do not claim that the ideas expressed above are something new. Some of those have already been implemented with reasonable success in some parts of India knowing what to do and not caring to do have caste shadow on our national endeavour. The ultimate strategy for our endeavor is to upgrade the standards of education in three fold forms- first, moving from survival to stability; second, from stability to success; and the third, from success to sustainability. The present pattern of investment in higher education requires a drastic redirection to enable out stock of human resources to cope with the challenges of global competitive environment by 2020, world would need to depend only on the scientists, engineers and professionals from India and China. The time has now come to join hands together to develop a partnership for funding, distribution, public relations and sharing intelligence so that we can protect the future generation. References: Altbach, Philip G. (2006). The Private Higher Education Revolution: An Introduction, University News. January 2-8, 2006. Vol. 44 No. 01. Anandakrishnan, M. (2006) Privatization of higher education: Opportunities and anomalies. ‗Privatization and commercialization of higher education‘ organized by NIEPA, May 2, 2006. New Delhi. Bound, K. & Thornton, I. (2012). Our frugal future: lessons from India‘s innovation system. NESTA. C. Thangamuthu, (2007). The Indian Higher Education: Retrospect and Prospect. Das, S. (2007). Higher education in India and the challenge of globalization. Social Scientist 35(3/4), pp. 47-67. Ernst & Young (2011). 40 million by 2020: preparing for a new paradigm in Indian higher education. EDGE report. Government of India, University Grants Commission (2012). Higher education in India at a glance. Higher Educational Institutions, University News, Vol.45, No.35 in Accredited Institutions, NAAC. J. Madegowda: NAAC‘s New Methodology for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions, University News, Vol.45, No.35. Miner, J.B. (1980) Theories of Organizational Behavior, Dryden Press, Hinsdale. NAAC (2005) Guidelines for the creation of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell. Stella Antony and Gnanam, A: Assuring Quality and Standards in Higher University News, Vol. 45 No. 06. Page No.41 |
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ROLE OF CSR IN EXPANSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA Manoj Kumar
Abstract The governments in India, whether State or Central, have more or less retained the responsibility for education sector especially Higher Education in India. The ambitious programmes like RUSA have been launched recently for the expansion of higher education in India in terms of quantity as well as quality. The attention paid to higher education in the XI th plan and later have resulted in significant increase in number of universities, colleges and other higher educational institutions. The ambitious goals set up in these plans by the government, however, seem impossible to be achieved if not based on the coordinated efforts of the trio of government, private sector and the society. The author contends that the private sector companies need to be encouraged to be partners in expansion of higher education, The mandatory contribution laws which compel companies to invest in social sector are welcome in this regard. However, the higher education sector in any country is important instrument for intellectual development and social change in a country. The companies must be involved in providing meaningful intervention in this sector keeping into account the social values, aspirations and capabilities of the youth. It can not be left alone to the open competition among corporations to guide the key factors of higher education such as research, curricula and other academic preferences of the higher education institutions for the sake of earning profits.
Introduction Corporate social responsibility is another name for corporate conscience and responsible business. The growing realization of the importance of Companies in development of any country leads us to the idea is that the corporate houses do not exist in vaccum. They infact exist in the society. It is argued that ultimate aim of all the institutions should be the welfare of the public at large and they have to be responsive to the society at large. Historically, education has been a determining factor of the progress of human civilization. The modern world is using education increasingly as an instrument for allround development. There is a growing and welcome realization amongst the developing countries that education is the key to development. The investment in Higher Education has increased significantly since the XIth plan. This is perhaps due to the realization that we are lacking behind several countries of world in the field of higher education both in terms of quantity and quality of our institutions and human resource development.
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Since higher education is a life line of any society. The output of human capital depends on the effectiveness of Higher Education; there is need for greater role of private and foreign companies in terms of their CSR for development and expansion of system of higher education in India. Expansion of Higher Education in India Higher education in India has witnessed an impressive growth over the years. The number of higher educational institutions (HEIs) has increased from about 30 universities and 695 colleges in 1950-51 to about 700 universities (as of 2012-13) and 35,000 colleges (as of 2011-12) as per a recent UGC report. With an annual enrolment of above 25 million (including enrolment under Open and Distance Learning system), India is today ranked as the third largest higher education system in the world after US and China. The break-up of number of HEIs in the country shows that the share of state universities is the highest (44%) followed by private universities (22%), deemed universities (18%), institutes of national importance (10%) and central universities (6%). The increase in number of private HEIs has also resulted in an increased private sector share in the total enrolment. The share of private sector in terms of total enrolment has grown from 33% in 2001 to 59% in 2014. While the number of private HEIs account for about 64% of the total HEIs, the share of private sector in total enrolment stands at 59%, The central and state government institutes on the other hand account for 2.6% and 38.6% of the total enrolments, respectively. Rashtriya Uchtar Shiksha Abhiyaan recently started by government is an ambitious project. It aims at re-organising and remodeling every aspect of higher education like funding, accountability, relationships with industry, leadership and management, quality assurance, international collaboration and the way teaching and research are conducted. Emphasis is being placed on strengthening existing institutions. This accompanied by other programmes may result in growth in higher education at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.46% till 2019. The growth will result in increase in higher education population and enrollment rates, increased government expenditure, use of technology, and demand for private education. The passage of The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010 will lead to boost it further. CSR and Higher Education India is one of the few countries of the world to make provision for mandatory contribution by private companies towards Corporate Social Responsibility. The Companies Act, 2013 for the first time formally recognizing the role of CSR in social development. Schedule-7, clause 135 of companies Act says ―The Act encourages Page No.43 |
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companies to spend at least 2% of their average net profit in the previous three years on CSR activities…‖ Presently, according to Confederation of Indian Industries, among the top 100 companies, education and health are the two main focus areas for their CSR activities, with 87 firms implementing interventions in education and 80 firms in health thus illustrating that Indian companies may already be supporting the causes outlined in the act. In India 74% of top 500 Indian companies are involved in CSR activity in education sector. The estimated spend by these top 500 companies is around Rs 4000 crores and this figure is increasing day by day. Another study finds that 20% of the investments in case of education have gone into higher education. This is a welcome sign for the education sector in the country. The number of private universities has risen to more than 180 till August 2014 is another encouraging fact. Some of the CSR initiatives in the field of Higher Education sector in India are: The Ford Foundation is funding research in social sciences. The Tata Institute of Social Sciences is set up to promote research in social sciences The Project Shiksha (Rs.100 crore or US 20million dollar), launched by Microsoft to improve computer education in India, NERF – ‗Nirma Education and Research Foundation‘ was set up in 1994 which aimed at its contribution by providing help for the innovative programmes in higher education. TCS is doing much work for the ‗Adult Literacy‘ by opening ‗Adult Education Centers‘ in an Andhrapradesh and Tamilnadu, also providing latest technology to the teachers of these centers for teaching. ‗GE Foundation Scholar Ship Scheme‘ is awarding students of engineering and schools about $4000000, motivating them free higher education in these fields too. The ‗Azim Premji Foundation‘ has also set up training institutes for school teachers as it believes in improving school performance by improving quality of teachers and school infrastructure. Justification for CSR in Higher Education Although a lot has been done in the form of CSR activity in the field of higher education in India. Higher education is facing a challenges because there has been a huge demand and supply gap. India would have to increase four times the number of existing college seats and the number of professors to achieve the 20 percent GER (Gross enrollment ratio) by 2014 cited in the Venture Intelligence report. There is a huge gap between the
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Aspirations and Availability as actual growth rate in education has been 11.3% as compare to 37% required by Eleventh five year plan set by govt. (Planning Commission). The big question arises here is that how can we with Rs. 40,000 crores of investment only for 2.5% of the relevant age group solve the purpose of Higher education. The huge investment required can come only through private-public partnership or investments by companies in the form of their CSR activities. There are however certain risks involved in this process, most of the companies want some profit from these social investments. The profit driven companies take education as another business industry. The companies, however, need to understand that investment in education sector is not merely a technical process like building infrastructure of a country. The interference in Education sector is bound have profound impact on the various social and cultural institutions of any country. Indian society is characterized by hierarchy, familism, casteism, cultural diversity and religiosity. The corporate sector has to take into account the influence of these institutions on the enrolment and working of the proportion of rural population and the number of the youth form a unique characteristic of its demography. The corporate can help in the inclusive growth of society do good to the Indian society by understanding elements of its social structure. Further, the leaders in the corporate world need to understand that purpose of higher education is production and distribution of knowledge. The knowledge produced has to be socially relevant. Further, the knowledge has a delicate relation with power. The asymmetrical distribution of knowledge to the weaker sections of the society power has had consequences for the society. The gender gap and lesser no. of enrolments for SC, OBC and tribal populations is a major challenge for Indian society. . One of the targets of CSR should be to promote inclusive education thereby targeting the weaker sections of the society. The corporate have a responsibility to understand the culture of any country where they operate and try not to intervene with the basic elements of culture of that society However, the corporates can discharge their social obligations by selective interference in the in the element of hierarchy in the Indian society. This will help the lower sections and marginalized groups to be productive and gain some respect in the society which has degraded them for centuries. Another major risk involved in corporate investments in education sector is the loss of control by the scholars and governments.. Corporate funding sometimes results in repriortization of areas of research. More participation by companies means threat to the academic freedom. The universities and colleges may include the skills required by the companies as part of their curricula however, they can not be just left to the control of these corporate groups.
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This can happen if the corporate make country specific plans in addition to their general plans for helping the citizens of the world. This will help them attract more consumers and also generate profits besides giving a sense of belongingness to the world community at large. In particular reference to India, the corporate have a major role to play in order to bring about woman empowerment, equality for the socially and economically backward classes. The role of civil society becomes very important in case of huge corporate social investments. Since most of the companies like to be mediated by the local and global Non Governmental Organisations to guide their social investments.. Many NGOs however are neither really effective nor serious in dealing with the problems of society. Apart from the above mentioned expectations, the companies need to account the history of education system in India. Some more Challenges for Corporate in Higher Education The education in India has to be linked to the Industry. For that skill development of the population is necessary. Corporate Sector can play important role in the promotion of education based upon skills amongst the students Some of the problems and challenges which corporate sector investing in education must take into account especially when investing in India are the social diversity, history of Indian education system. Apart from it the corporate and private universities must address the following problems. It is very commonly observed fact that the people are not ready to learn. Interest of students and residents towards the education has to be created. Another challenge is to provide the educational institution to this group at easily accessible distance from their habitat. The major focus of our educational curriculum is on rote memory. the higher level of learning i.e. understanding and reflective levels play weak roles in that which make sit monotonous and away from the real objectives of leaning . A rigid and standard curriculum for all some times became a reason of increase in the no. of drop outs, as with the geographic conditions and individual differences the curriculum does not match the subject. The private sector has to do something serious to make education interesting. Training of the teachers catering to the needs of the students should be a priority as new methodology of teaching and learning with the effective use of supplementary devices can do wonder to attract and to set interest of the learner at a great height.
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Hardly people in India know about CSR and its role for the society. The concept of CSR has been explained differently and set a misconception in the minds of the general public. Thus to make aware of the people about CSR is an important challenge for the corporates. Conclusion The increasing relevance of CSR in India has stemmed from the fact that a business cannot succeed by ignoring the human and social. The private sector companies and corporations can become major partners in the development of education sector in the country particularly, the higher education. The companies need to understand the social structure and value system of the countries where they operate. This will help them be involved with the government and the civil society in uprooting the social evils and transcending the redundant cultural practices of the host countries. The commercialization of education is fraught with a lot of skepticism. People visualize, intrusion of private sector in education is diluting the spirit of education, as their chief concern is money making. It is true or false, is not sure but if we review the contribution of the corporates in education sector, we can quote hundred of examples for the same cause in India. The corporates however have to be provided with congenial atmosphere free from bureaucratic hurdles, if the real investment has to be invited. There should be clear cut policy regarding aspirations and limitations of corporate investment in education. Only with the help of state Govt. and local community the corporates can do their best in helping the Govt. achieve its goals in education such as Education for All Education for all and Sakshar Bharat, Saksham Bharat. References:
Arora, D. and Rana, G.A., (2010), ―Corporate and Consumer Social Responsibility: A Way For Value Based System‖, Aims International Conference On Value Based Management. Brown, E., (2009) ―Corporate Social Responsibility In Higher Education‖, ACME: An International E-Journal for Geographies,8(3). Dhiraj Sharma (2012), Corporate Social Responsibility in Education Sector : Assessment and Challenges in Manoj Kumar edited, Corporate Social Responsibility : Contemporary issues in India, Adhyayan Publishers, New Delhi. Kotler, P. & Lee, N., (2005), ―Corporate Social Responsibility. Doing the Most Good for Your Company and Your Cause‖, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey. Muhammed Shafi. M.K. Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Indian Higher Education: Issues and Challenges International Journal of Recent Research in Commerce Economics and Management (IJRRCEM) Vol.1, Issue 1, pp: (36-46), Month: April-June 2014. Vackayil,J., (2007), ―CSR Is The New Growth Mantra‖, Business Line 17 June. Page No.47 |
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―Higher Education in India -Issues related to Expansion, Inclusiveness, Quality and Finance‖ - A report Printed and Published by Secretary, University Grants Commission, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 2008. http://www.acme-journal.org/vol8/BrownCloke09.pdf http://www.aijcrnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_3_March_2012/10.pdf http://www.mmbgims.com/docs/full_paper/49_Bhavana%20Vaidya_pp.pdf
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REFRAMING OF PROFESSIONAL HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA Sheojee Singh Abstract Indian Higher Education has shown tremendous growth in recent years, particularly in its trend of public private partnership. Earlier, the state was having full control over all aspects of higher education, but with the recommendations of NKC and impact of ICT and globalization added with the inability of the state to meet the growing demands for institutions of higher education of comparatively high quality, privatization has come into picture. The universities and colleges in the private sector are doing good jobs in professional fields, but with increasing commercialization of education, the profit motive has taken the lead in the affairs of the institutions of higher education and the concept of education as a public good is being questioned. The need of the hour is to instill the true spirit of professionalism in the higher education sector so as to enable the youth of the country become competent and skillful in their chosen fields. At the same time, with the provisions and regulations of the GATS, foreign universities and institutions are becoming another major challenge to Indian Higher Education. This paper analyzes such and many other recent trends in Indian higher education and discusses the lacunae in the system. The author then devises feasible ways and means to reorient privatization as well as globalization of higher education in India and instill in the system a self correcting mechanism in order to infuse the spirit of excellence as the guiding force behind these institutions for making India one of the most preferred destinations for higher education. It concludes with emphasis on assuring quality in higher education, promoting equal access and empowering learners for informed decision making as the key challenges for our higher education in a more globalized environment through the judicious use of ICT. Introduction Indian Higher Education has shown tremendous growth in recent years, particularly in its trend of public private partnership. Particular mention must be made here of professional higher education – be it technical education, medical education, management education or teacher education-where the growth in the number of institutions have been unprecedented in the last two decades. But the spirit of professionalism, where the focus is on producing excellence, is somehow not visible. This is increasingly making the mockery of professional higher education in the country. Earlier, the state was having full control over all aspects of higher education, but with the recommendations of NKC and impact of ICT and globalization added with the inability of the state to meet the growing demands of institutions of higher education of comparatively high quality, privatization has come into picture. The universities and colleges in the private sector are doing good jobs in professional fields, but with increasing commercialization of education, the profit motive has taken the lead in the affairs of most of the institutions of higher education and the concept of education as a public good is being questioned. At the same time, with the provisions and regulations of the GATS, foreign universities and institutions are becoming another major challenge to Indian Higher Education. The number of students seeking higher education is growing exponentially, but the quality of higher education institutions is not improving at the desired rate. There is growing complacency in the Page No.49 |
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government sector except at a few places safely termed as islands of excellence. The number of legislations for improving the quality has gone up with every committee and commission in Independent India. The latest in the row have been the National Knowledge Commission and Yashpal Committee for overhauling Indian higher education for making India a truly Knowledge Society (Bhushan,2009). Recent Trends in Indian Professional Higher Education: Indian Professional Higher Education system is passing through a period of transition. The domination of government controlled institutions is slowly giving way to privately established and managed institutions. The policy framework is also being guided by the demand for quality and responsive higher education system in the country. In the last two decades, there has been phenomenal growth in the number of autonomous colleges and deemed universities offering professional education. But the quality concerns are being expressed in the context of privatization because the motive behind the establishment of private universities and colleges is not always educational. Although there are corporate houses and industrial groups, which have come forward in this area under their corporate social responsibility agenda realizing their obligations towards the national development through higher education, but there have also been instances of fake institutions/ universities luring the youth in the name of quality higher education. Chhattisgarh Private Universities episode, MCI granting affiliation/ recognition to unscrupulous medical colleges and consequent arrest of Chairman MCI, Dr. Desai, mushrooming private Engineering and Management colleges, particularly in Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and other areas point to the gravity of situation in professional higher education today, where the privatization has not geared education towards excellence. The only benefit has been the large scale availability of opportunity for higher education to all who can afford financially without much emphasis on quality. Globalization of educational content and methodology has been another trend which has become imperative in the context of revolution in ICT in general and global exchange of information in particular. Distance and Open Education has made it possible for people to get education of high quality at their doorstep with the use of internet and interactive educational media widely available today. Choices are many but what is essential is to develop the power to exercise the choice judiciously. Moreover the lopsided development of educational infrastructure and benefits of technology reaching only a marginal section of people is also a major concern in higher education ( Singh, 2010). There is an urgent need for re-examining the sustainability of the model of development advocated so far by professional higher education in the country. The cultural and spiritual foundation is getting eroded in the information superhighway model of professional education on one hand and on the other hand we are claiming that spiritual intelligence is the highest type of intelligence needed for humanity today. Moreover, it is beyond doubt that imparting professional degree to the youth without the corresponding processing in skills and competencies is tantamount to extreme form of violence to human society at large.
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Impact of Global Trends in Professional Higher Education: The growing realization that more and more can be achieved in the material as well as social aspects of human life by opening up rather than by functioning as individual closed systems has led the world towards globalization. Today with treaties and agreements for open trades and services and especially due to advance ICT facilities, the idea of globalization is being translated into practice in the field of education. The world is becoming a global information society with round the clock access to vast resources of information, communication and knowledge. This phenomenon has resulted into large scale information exchange at global level, resource sharing, expertise availability without barriers, better services to the learners due to increased competition, quality enhancement and content enrichment with diversity of choice. But this has also led to many untoward developments like undermining local needs, one way traffic from the western to the eastern and third world countries, commodification and commercialization of education worldwide. The developing countries are facing the problem of being the victims of globalization as the markets of developed world institutions in the field of higher education. There is real danger of colonization of education of developing countries. This is because educational providers from the developed world are in far stronger financial, technical and managerial positions to dictate terms in the long run. The developed and developing nations are not at a level playing field and thus globalization of educational services without protecting the local interests in the field of higher education is going to be a disturbing development. Moreover, the concept of private investment in higher education has been successfully tested and implemented in the developed west because they have attained a certain level of economic prosperity for masses. The universities in the private sector are working in their chosen areas of expertise with a focus on excellence whereas it is not possible to do the same in India as the client-base is not uniform in socio-economic parameters. Hence we have to tread cautiously and let the higher education system develop indigenous models of working with primary aim of excellence in the given situation. Private Investments and Initiatives in Higher Education: With a large number of people in age group 15-35 semi-literate and out of the ambit of professional higher education, government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of providing quality professional higher education to the masses. Even as back as 1882, Hunter Commission has recommended that there should be careful withdrawal of the government from the field of higher education, which should be taken over by the private enterprises, while the state paid more attention to primary education. The government has to concentrate its efforts in developing the basic foundation of education system through quality elementary education, vocational education and non-formal education, while the vertical growth upon an expanded foundation thus built by the government may be through the private sector. Even the RUSA document has outlined very clear steps for achieving 30% enrolment of students in higher education on the average by 2015, which currently stands at around 19% in the higher education.
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In many cases, the private institutions also provide a benchmark for many government institutions to improve their quality, for example the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, CMC‘s in the field of Medical Education, Nirma University of Science and Technology etc. IISc., Raman Research Institute, TIFR and IIMs were also earlier in the nature of private efforts towards excellence in higher education. Moreover, with the entry of foreign educational providers becoming a reality after ratification of GATS, it is necessary to promote private sector for providing quality education. The government institutions on their own may not be able to compete with foreign universities flooding Indian educational scenario because on one hand there are only a few such institutions with limited seats known for their quality and on the other, there are thousands of aspirants who can afford high expenses and avail foreign educational services. This will result into drain of finances along with students from the country and at the same time neglect of the local needs and concerns. Hence private investment as a trend must be encouraged but with excellence and local concerns as the guiding principles. Professionalization versus Commercialization of Professional Education: In order to meet the manpower needs of various sectors, higher education offers specializations through many of professional colleges and universities. But as the number of aspirants is huge with respect to the number of institutions in the government sector, private involvement is imperative. There are many corporate houses offering quality professional courses in management and other areas, but of late the trend has been unhealthy in the sense that in the name of professional education, commodification and large scale commercialization of education is being promoted. The rich farmers, traders, contractors and industrial houses prefer to invest in the field of professional education because of the promises of heavy return. At the same time, many unwanted developments also take place like teachers being hired and fired at will, those without proper qualification are recruited and underpaid, money is exorted from the students on various pretexts (Shashtree, 2010). The entire processing aspect of education is compromised in quality and education thus no longer remains a sacred activity but a money minting exercise aiming at more and more profit for the investors. Hence there is an urgent need to address the professionalism of Indian higher education without equating it with purely commercial venture with profit as the sole motto. This will be possible only when excellence becomes the buzz word in the system of higher education providing necessary directions as and when needed. Recent call by the Government of India under the RUSA (2013) is a welcome step in this direction. But, for this mission to be truly fruitful, all stake holders must come forward and collaborate for the sake of the youth of the country. Drawbacks in the System of Professional Education: The system of higher education has come under scanner of public scrutiny and in the case of professional education; the quality aspect is being monitored by various statutory Page No.52 |
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bodies like AICTE, UGC, NAAC, NCTE etc. But with the entry of many substandard private players (deemed universities and self financed colleges), fetching a degree without slogging for it has become easier than burning the midnight oil over it, these days. For a little knowledge may be dangerous thing, but disguise it under a fake degree and it becomes a profitable proposition (Ghosh, 2001). In fact, as Chandra and Karuppayil (2001) opine, functioning of the mediocre academic institutions has resulted in the production of half -baked graduates who are ill trained and less motivated. This is a grave injustice to generations of students coming out of these institutions. There must be a mechanism in place to safeguard the interests of the youth and create a responsible as well as accountable system of teaching learning in higher education. It is indeed urgent not just because the public money is involved, but also because the expectations are pretty high from the system of higher education. But the external mechanism for quality control itself seems to be a failure as well as misfit in higher education. Unless the system becomes self regulating and self correcting, it is unlikely that the rot can be rectified. Higher education is supposed to be a system comprising self governing intellectuals, and therefore unless the concept of responsible self efforts towards excellence become a norm and culture for higher educational institutions, it is bound to create imbalances in society. Need for Professionalism in Higher Education: Higher education in India has shown very unique trends so far in the sense that demand supply correspondence has rarely been established. General education has been linked with government jobs and professional education has almost been static in its growth over a long period of time. Professional higher education has rarely been linked to commitment towards excellence in the chosen profession in our country. But, with increasing competition from global players as well as demand of the domestic market, excellence is a need today in all walks of life. Higher Order thinking Skills in general and critical as well as reflective thinking in particular have become the order of the day in higher education. Critical thinking is not only for the chosen few, not only for the academically inclined but for every human being aiming at better performance in life (Sen, 2010). And higher education is a platform to nurture these abilities for a fulfilling life. We need higher education not just to enjoy life materially through the use of natural resources but also to understand our true nature and lead a contented, happy and harmonious life through everyday efforts towards excellence in whatever we undertake. Hence excellence must be the guiding principle today. With the integration of technology in life, globalization and competition ruling the roost, it is not possible even to survive without excelling in one‘s chosen area of activity. Higher education is actually meant to impart the skills and develop the attitude of excellence among the learners in order to help them become constructively contributing members of society and at the same time capable of leading the society to new heights in consonance with changes around the world without losing contact with the true nature of the self .
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Some Practical Suggestions: Hence the following suggestions must be incorporated in the professional higher education system to make it more responsive, responsible and accountable to the larger social aspirations without compromising on the flowering of individual talents: 1. Learner Centred Approach and Focus on Skill-Development. 2. Constructivist Curriculum and Strategic Support to the System. 3. Creative and Innovative methods of teaching learning. 4. Non-judgmental but progressive evaluation of Students and Teachers. 5. Social accountability infused in the system for greatest good of the greatest number. 6. Judicious use of ICT for promoting self directedness in individual and collective growth. 7. Inbuilt mechanism of self-renewal and adjustment towards excellence. 8. Keeping man at the centre of all education with Global Exposure to the Students and Teachers. 9. More emphasis on emotional and spiritual intelligence in higher education. Thus with the above strategies, it may be possible to create a truly learning environment for maximum people in our society and excellence will be the base of all our educational endeavors. Conclusion: In the end, it can be said that privatization, globalization, liberalization and professionalization are the ideas which are going to be the integral part of professional higher education in the coming years all over the world. But in order that the professional higher education in our country fulfils its promise of making man develop his unique potentialities, competencies and skills and lead the Indian society towards a glorious phase of collective good in the history of life on this troubled planet, it is essential that private involvement be promoted with excellence as the guiding principle of man making education. The true spirit of professionalism must be inspired, nurtured and carefully promoted in all professional domains of higher education. If we succeed in having a galaxy of truly competent and good professionals (doctors, teachers, engineers, lawyers, managers), India is bound to achieve the superpower status is all fields very soon , but if we leave this urgent task unattended for long, we will miss the bus as well as the joy of journey in life collectively. References: Sen, M.(2010): An Introduction to Critical Thinking; Pearson Education, New Delhi. Shashtree, N.K.(2010):A New painting in the Knowledge Horizon: Foreign Education Providers in India; University News48(37), Sept.13-19,2010. Singh,C.B.P.(2010):Transformational Change in Indian Universities; University News,48(28); July,12-18,2010. Ghosh,A.K.(2001): Let Universities Pass Some Examinations Themselves; University News,39(36); Sept.3-9,2001. Page No.54 |
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Karuppayil,S.M. and Chandra, S.(2001): Higher Education in India-An Analysis; University News,39(36).Sept.3-9,2001. Bhushan, S.(2009): Restructuring Higher Education in India; Rawat Publications, Jaipur (India). RUSA Document (2013): Govt. of India, MHRD, New Delhi.
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TEACHING COMPETENCY: A SYNTHESIS Dhiraj Sharma Abstract Teaching is a relationship, which is established among three focal points in education – the teacher, the students and the subject matter. Teaching is the process by which the teacher brings the students and the subject matter together. The teacher and the taught are active, the former in teaching and the latter in learning. Modern teaching is not a mechanical process. It is exacting and intricate as well. Teaching is not ―telling and testing‖. Teaching is a complex art of guiding students through variety of selected experiences towards the attainment of appropriate teaching-learning goals. Thus teaching can be defined as an art of influencing behavior of the learner through skilled interaction of transferring knowledge. It is the transportation of the knowledge from the source to the beneficiaries, where the teacher acts as a mean of transportation of knowledge from the source to the students with the help of his/her teaching competence. Key words : Teaching, Competency Teacher performs number of activities in and outside the classroom. To make these activities effective a teacher must possess good knowledge, attitude and skill. This is known as teaching competency. In other words teaching competency is an art to impart knowledge to the students. Teaching is an important part of educational process, its special function is to impart knowledge, develop understanding and skills. Teaching is usually associated with 3R‘s i.e., Reading, Writing and Arithmetic-imparting knowledge of school subjects. Education, on the other hand, has a broader connotation in terms of 7R‘s, i.e., Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Rights, Responsibilities, Relationships and Recreation. In teaching, we limit our outlook omitting those more important means of education which are involved in the school as a systematically organized social community, including its tone or general moral atmosphere, its government and discipline and that potent influence – the personality of the teacher. Teaching Teaching has been defined by different psychologists and educationists in different ways. Some of the viewpoints are as under:Morrison (1934) "Teaching is an intimate contact between a more mature personality and a less mature one, which is designed to further the education of the learner." Smith (1962) "Teaching is a system of actions intended to produce learning." In view of Flander & Simon (1969), ―Teaching is an interacting process. Interaction means participation of both teacher and students and both are benefited by this. The interaction takes place for achieving desired objectives‖. Gage (1972) "Teaching is a form of inter-personal influence aimed at changing the behavior/ potential of another person." Teaching is a relationship, which is established among three focal points in education – the teacher, the students and the subject matter. Teaching is the process by which the teacher brings the students and the subject matter together. The teacher and the taught are Page No.56 |
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active, the former in teaching and the latter in learning. Modern teaching is not a mechanical process. It is exacting and intricate as well. Teaching is not ―telling and testing‖. Teaching is a complex art of guiding students through variety of selected experiences towards the attainment of appropriate teaching-learning goals. Thus teaching can be defined as an art of influencing behavior of the learner through skilled interaction of transferring knowledge. It is the transportation of the knowledge from the source to the beneficiaries, where the teacher acts as a mean of transportation of knowledge from the source to the students with the help of his/her teaching competence. Competency Short (1985) attempts to clarify the confusion by presenting four different concepts of competency. Firstly, competency is taken as behavior of performance, the doing of particular things independently of purpose or intent. Secondly, competency is taken as command of knowledge or skills, involving choosing and knowing why the choice is appropriate. Thirdly, competency can be seen as level of capability which may fluctuate. Fourthly, competency involves the quality of a person or state of being, including more than characteristic behaviors, performance, knowledge skills, levels of sufficiency etc. The term ―competency‖ or ―competency‖ is frequently used when we talk about any profession or work that express one‘s quality of being competent, possessing adequate professional skills, knowledge, qualification or ability. Competency is the ability to perform a specific task, action or function successfully. It is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. When we talk about the teacher or his profession, we come to understand that teaching constitutes one of the major tasks of a teacher ―teaching competency‖.
Teaching Competency Haskew & Wilson (1956) Teaching competency includes knowledge, attitude, skill and other teacher characteristics used for effective teaching. Medley & Mitzel (1963) perceive teacher competency as teacher behaviors that produce intended effects. Ebel (1969) the term 'teaching competency' has also been a debatable term. It refers to the criteria that determine teacher effectiveness, although the reviews of research on teacher effectiveness point out the futility of efforts in identifying teacher effectiveness. Rama (1979) defines teacher competency as 'the ability of a teacher manifested through a set of overt teacher classroom behaviors which is a resultant of the interaction between the presage and the product variables of teaching within a social setting. Teaching competency has various dimensions such as content knowledge, instructional planning, student motivation, presentation and communication skills, evaluation competencies and classroom management skills. Teacher possessing all these skills to reasonable extent can be a competent teacher. Thus from the above definitions we can conclude that existence of teaching is not alone but it is of dual as well as a multidimensional term. Page No.57 |
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Considering the definitions of the term it may be pointed out that teaching process is determined by knowledge, a set of abilities, attitudes and skills (presage variables) which in term determine pupil outcomes. Thus, the term ―teaching‖ can be defined as a set of observable teacher behaviors that facilitate or bring about pupil learning and ―teaching competency‖ means an effective performance of all the observable teacher behavior that bring about desirable pupil outcomes. Hence for the purpose of this study ‗teachingcompetency‘ would mean: “Effective performance of all observable teacher behaviors that bring about desired prospective pupil outcomes.” In today‘s world, teacher must develop the essential skills such as the "4 Cs" of 21st Century skills which are now very important for the 21st century teacher as well as for the learner as - Creativity and innovation, Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication and Collaboration CLASSIFICATION OF TEACHING COMPETENCIES There seem to be different ways of classifying teaching competencies. One has to look at it in terms of teacher functions. Essentially, teachers have two major roles in the classroom: the first we could term as the 'enabling' or management function and the second, the instructional function. In practice, it is very difficult to separate the two and often, one performs both functions simultaneously. While teaching management includes motivation, organization of the learning group, discipline and evaluation. The instructions includes different presentations and teaching skills like lecturing, questioning, explaining, using aids etc.
Fig. 1.2: Functioning of Planning and Interaction in the classroom One more way of classifying teacher competencies, according to the National Council for Teacher Education (N.C.T.E) are contextual competencies, conceptual competencies, content competencies, transactional competencies, competencies related to educational activities, evaluation competencies, management competencies, competencies related to
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parents and communities. In the present scenario of teaching the teacher should have links with number of fields which directly or indirectly influence his teaching competency. As directly or indirectly the network of a teacher social, emotional and technological influences his teaching competency. As compare to a traditional teacher. Alec Couros (2006)from the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina in his doctoral thesis created a diagram to signify the different ways in which teachers network influence his teaching. In the diagram he compared the network of the traditional teacher with that of modern teacher, he depicted in it how the traditional teacher had limited network for the enrichment of his knowledge where as the modern teacher has more resources as- digital media, social network sites, online communities. Recently, Mishra & Koehler (2006) innovated Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) as a framework for the integration of the teaching competencies of the teacher knowledge. The TPCK framework describes how teachers‘ understandings of technology, pedagogy, and content can interact with one another to increase teaching competency. In this framework the three interdependent components of teachers‘ knowledge: Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), and Technological Knowledge (TK).
Fig. 1.4:
The TPCK framework and its knowledge components.
Content Knowledge (CK) Content knowledge (CK) is teachers‘ knowledge about the subject /topic to be taught to the learners. Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) Pedagogical knowledge (PK) is teachers‘ knowledge about the teaching learning exercises practiced in the classrooms. Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) PCK is the art/knowledge with the teachers to Page No.59 |
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impart the content knowledge with the help of pedagogical knowledge. Technology Knowledge (TK) ) is teachers‘ knowledge about the innovative information technology can be used for teaching learning exercises practiced in the classrooms. Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) is the art/knowledge with the teachers to impart the content knowledge with the help of technological knowledge, also known by educational technology. Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) is an effort to bring change in teaching learning process by the use of specific technology. Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) TPACK takes birth with the simultaneous understanding among the content, pedagogy, and technology. This can be the highest level of teaching skill when a teacher teaches content under the influence of pedagogy and technology. The different innovations and the detailed study of the teaching competency indicate that there are so many factors responsible for the competency in teaching and a teacher should keep in touch with the innovations in this field for the attainment of this highest level of skill. The study, awareness and practice may lead to these competencies. References: Anand, C.L. and Piloo, Buch. (1991). Research in Higher Education: A Trend Report in Fourth Survey of Research in Education, Ed. M.B.Buch, New Delhi: NCERT. Bhardwaj,A.P. (2010) Needed Competencies for the Teachers In The 21st Century, University News, 48(42) October Pp.18-24. Bhargava,A. (2011). Perception of Student Teachers about Teaching Competencies. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 1, 71 – 77. Buch, M.B. (1979). Second Survey of Research in Education, Society for Educational Research and Development, Baroda. Buch, M.B. (1987). Third Survey of Research in Education. New Delhi: NCERT. Buch, M.B. (1991). Fourth Survey of Research in Education. New Delhi:NCERT. Couros,A.V.(2006). Examining The Open Movement: Possibilities And Implications For Education Phd ,Education,University Of Reginia, Canada, pp 171-173. Dennis G., Katherine K., .D.R. Knuth. (2000). Teacher Competence in Using Technologies: The Next Big Question, Prel Briefing Paper, Resources For Education And Learning Corporation .U.S. Ebel, R. L. (1969). Encyclopedia of Educational Research. (Fourth Edition). The Macmillan & Company, London. Flander, N.A. & Simon [1969]. "Teacher Effectiveness in Robert Etels." Encyclopedia of Educational Research, 4th edition. London, Mc. Million, 142-143. Gage,N.L.(1972).Hand Book of Research in Teaching, Rand Mc Nally and Company,Chicago Haskew, L. D. (1956). This Is Teaching. Scott, Foresman & Company, U. S. A. Medley, D. M. And Mitzel, H. E. (1963). Measuring Classroom Behavior by Systematic Page No.60 |
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Observation, In N. L. Gage (Ed.) Handbook of Research on Teaching. Rand Mcnally, Chicago. Mishra, P., & Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Integrating Technology in Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Morrison, H.C. (1934). Conceptual Inputs for Secondary Teacher Education, II Ed., Vol. 10, Pergamon Press. Rajameenakshi, P.K. (1988). Factors Affecting Teaching Competency of B.Ed. Trainees in Teaching Physical Science, Ph.D. Edu., Madras U. Rama, M. (1979). Factorial Structure of Teaching Competencies among Secondary School Teachers, PhD. M. S. University of Baroda. Satishprakash & Shukla,S. (2010). Effect of Simulated Practice Teaching on Teaching Competency of Student Teachers of B. Ed. International Referred Research Journal, Sept., II ,20. Short.E.C. (1985). The Concept of Competence: Its Use and Misuse in Education. Journal of Teacher Education, 36(2)2-6. Smith,W.I.(1962). Programmed Instruction, D. Von Nostrland Company, Inc.,N.J.
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ASSESSING THE GAP BETWEEN AVAILABILITY AND APPLICABILITY OF ICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A SURVEY AMONG STUDENTS OF VARIOUS COLLEGES OF CHANDIGARH Suman Dhull Abstract Young people‘s lives are increasingly mediated by social technologies at home, at school, and in the community (av Tuija Marstio & Susanna Kivelä , 2014). It is indicated that the Net Generation (youth aged 12– 30) considers technology a natural part of the social environment (Tapscott 2010). Technology is reshaping the form and functions of school, work, and even democracy. This generation is also labelled ‗digital natives‘ as opposed to those not born into the digital world (digital immigrants) (Prensky, 2000). The digital age students learn differently from their predecessors. The primary goal of this study is to better understand the student experiences with information technology and inform the leadership of higher education system if the efforts in information technology are focused appropriately. Another aim is to examine emerging technologies for their potential impact on and use in teaching and learning within higher education settings. Students‘ experiences and opinions concerning information technology are collected from various undergraduate and post graduate students and are reported in this paper. The study finds that maximum students in the urban colleges have access to ICT and they prefer a moderate level of technology use in their class room and personal study. It is also found that students use available ICT resources more for connectivity with others and entertainment as compared to education and study. Students study behavior is not driven by technology. Students will make more use of ICT tools and resources and rate them as helpful when they relate well to the method and practice of teaching (e.g. pedagogy) and assessment requirement of the course or module they are studying( Siragusa & Dixon, 2008). Such studies can be helpful in designing higher education policies for the country. Introduction: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is basically an umbrella term that encompasses all communication technologies such as internet, wireless networks, cell phones, satellite communications, digital television etc. that provide access to information (Nana Yaw Asabere, 2012). During the past few decades, ICT has provided society with a vast array of new communication capabilities and has fundamentally changed the way we live now. We find a world of difference in the practices and procedures of various fields such as medicine, tourism, banking, business, engineering, etc. as they operate differently now in comparison to how they operated two decades ago. In contrast, the impacts of ICT on education in India, however, have been far less and slow (India Education Review.Aug-2014).
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The most fundamental cause seems to have been the deep-seated belief that teaching is an art or at best an imperfect science with no role of technology in the design or delivery of instruction. But now times have changed and the paradigm of education and learning has changed from art or science to technology-mediated instruction and learning. ICT can, therefore, be perceived as a big change agent for education. In order to use technology to help achieve the goals of education in a better and more effective way, one has to be first of all clear about what our expectations are from the education system, what and how do we want our students to learn and what type of individuals our classrooms should produce - rote learners or those with an analytical mind having an in-depth understanding of the subject. Indian higher education, currently the third largest in the world, is likely to surpass the US in the next five years and China in the next 15 years to be the largest system of higher education in the world. Indian higher education has a complex structure riddled with many contradictions, still has great possibilities.(― Higher Education ...‖, 2014) By 2030, India will be amongst the youngest nations in the world. With nearly 140 million people in the college-going age group, one in every four graduates in the world will be a product of the Indian education system. A sound higher education sector plays an important role in economic growth and development of a nation. Some challenges for the education system are massification, internationalisation, diversification, and marketisation of higher education (Kian-Sam Hong and Peter,2011). ICT enabled Education, an Overview: The general view is that ICT can be pivotal in tackling the impacts of massification, diversification, internationalisation and marketisation in higher education (International Association of Universities, 1998; Thune & Welle-Strand, 2005). The 4Ws: What and how students learn, When and where students learn, who the new faces of students and lecturers are, and Ways to reduce the cost of education become very important here.( Kian-Sam Hong and Peter, 2011). In the current information society, people have to access knowledge via ICT to keep pace with the latest developments. The various kinds of ICT products available and having relevance to education, such as teleconferencing, email, audio conferencing, television lessons, radio broadcasts, interactive radio counseling, interactive voice response system, audiocassettes and CD ROMs can be used in education for different purposes (Bhattacharya and Sharma, 2007). There are endless possibilities with the integration of ICT in the education system. It is important that teachers or trainers should be made to adopt technology in their teaching styles to provide pedagogical and educational gains to the learners. Successful implementation of ICT to lead change is more about influencing and empowering Page No.63 |
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teachers and supporting them in their engagement with students in learning rather than acquiring computer skills and obtaining software and equipment. ICT enabled education will ultimately lead to the democratization of education (Jayanta Mete,2012). Technology will play a bigger role in transforming higher education imparted by universities to the next level. (Horizon Report: 2014 ).Universities and colleges can take advantage of social media for education. Education paradigms are shifting to include more online learning, blended and hybrid learning. Institutes can engage with students who are already familiar with the technology. Objective and methodology: The primary goal of the study is to better understand the students‘ experiences with information technology and inform the leadership of higher education system if the efforts in information technology are focused appropriately. Students‘ experiences and opinions concerning information technology are collected from various undergraduate and post graduate students and are reported in this paper. For the purpose of this survey, information technology refers to ―personal electronic devices such as laptops and hand held computers, cell phones and institutional devices such as computers and associated devices. Total 115 students were selected at random from various educational institutes of Chandigarh for filling the questionnaire. Some of the institutes own smart class rooms and well trained teachers for using the ICT (Information Communication Technology) in education while others may not have that smart infrastructure and technical support to the students. The respondents are from different disciplines like social science, humanities, fine arts, life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and education etc. All the respondents are above 18 years old. Survey result: The survey results revealed that almost every student studying in urban colleges of Chandigarh has good access to one or another electronic device. As per survey more than 79% students own either a desktop or a laptop or both, 34% students own a smart phone too which they use for entertainment and education both.
Figure 1: Percentage of students who perform various ICT related activities in routine for more or less time.
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Students were asked to share information about how many hours each week do they normally spend on various kinds of activities using an electronic device. 31% students spend considerable amount of time and 44.8% spend little time on electronic devices for class room activities and study. 11% students do not use such devices at all for class room activities and study. More than 70% students play computer games out of these 30% spend long hours on playing computer games. Other than playing online/offline computer games the three most common activities among students are instant messaging (94% students use their time and device for this), downloading and listening to the music/video (98.3%) and surfing the net for pleasure (90.6%). A large percentage of students (63.8%) use their devices for online shopping too.
Figure 2: Percentage of students who perform various ICT related academic activities.
Students were asked to tell how much time do they spend on various kinds of ICT related academic activities .The most common and favourites activities among the students are email (89.7% students use e mail service for less or more time), word processing (83.7%), creating power point presentation (86.3%), surfing net for accessing information related to the course (89.7%). Little less common activities are creating spread sheets and charts ( 37.9% not using at all), creating graphics (25% not using at all) ,creating web pages (33.6% not using) and using library resources( over 50% not using) to complete class assignments.
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Figure 3: percentage of skilled students in using computer programs and applications.
Regarding the skill level in using computer programs and applications, students are found more skilled in activities like email ( 83.6% are skilled),Instant Messenger (84%), Web Surfing (75%), Word Processing (79.4) and the Presentation Software (84.7%). Students are little less skilled in the activities like Spread Sheet/ Excel etc. (71.7% know how to use), Graphics Photoshop/ Flash etc. (56.4% know), creating and editing Audio/VideoDirector/i_movie etc. (45.2% know), creating web pages DreamWeaver/Front Page etc. (36.3% know) and how to use online library resources (35.3% know). 72.3% respondents prefer a moderate level of technology (e.g. class lecture notes online, computer simulations, Power Point presentations, streaming Audio/Video etc.) use in their classes. Regarding their experience in the classes it is found that 39% students like to spend more time in activities that require them use of technology. 41.7% students are found satisfied with the use of technology in their class, 58.2% students feel that use of technology by the teacher has increased their interest in the subject matter, 78% students use ICT to improve the presentation of their work, 52.1% feel that they receive better grades in the subject they use technology and 42.3% feel the need of in-class training for the use of ICT in class. When asked about to what extent the use of information technology in class helped them, 49% students agreed that ICT helped them in understanding the complex and abstract concepts however 51% were neutral or disagreed. More than 50% found agreed that ICT helped them to better communicate with the instructor, 62.3% agreed that ICT provides better channel of communication with class mates. 51.6% find ICT as good channel of feedback from instructor, 40.7% agreed that ICT provides better opportunities for practice and reinforcement, 58.2% agreed to that ICT focuses on more real world tasks and examples and 66.3% agreed to that ICT allow them to take greater control of their class room activities. Regarding benefits of using information technology in class are improved learning (34.7%), save time (25.6%), convenience (27.5%), managing class room activities Page No.66 |
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(18.29%) and 1.8% respondents claimed that ICT did not benefit them at all. The most common barriers for using information technology in the class are not sufficient access to a computer and a printer (20.6%), not having a reliable internet connection (18.9 %), technical support not available (12.9%), feel extra work with little connection to the course (12.9%) but 27.5% respondent feel there are no barriers at all. Data Analysis: The educational institutes in the region can be classified into three stages of ICT development. Some institutes are already integrating the ICT in higher education system (e.g., Panjab University Departments, Post Graduation Government Colleges in Chandigarh etc.). Others are starting to apply and test various strategies (e.g., Panjab Engineering College Chandigarh, some other private colleges of Chandigarh like D.A.V. College Chandigarh, S.D. College Chandigarh etc.). Lastly, there are institutes which have just begun and are more concerned with ICT infrastructure and connectivity installation (e.g. many of the graduation/ post graduation and engineering colleges of the region). Thus, success stories, experiences and lessons learnt from the use of ICT in higher education will be of immense importance for educators and administrators at the forefront of integrating ICT for higher education in countries in the region. The survey reflects a gap between the availability of information and communication technology resources and their effective use in higher education. Availability of electronic equipments and infrastructure is not a big problem for students of higher education in and around Chandigarh. They use their systems more for downloading/ listening music/video, surfing net for fun and chatting instead of educational activities. It is found that more than 70% student have necessary skills for using common computer applications. Still they prefer moderate level of technology in class room study. A large percentage of students were found neutral in their responses of the questions related to their experiences in the classes. No doubt a larger percentage of students agree with benefits of ICT in higher education, also they agree to that teacher‘s use of technology in class room has increased their interest in the subject. Again the students feel the need of more in-class training for information technology use in class. Education undoubtedly is the driving force for the economic and social development in any country. Thus, it is very necessary to find ways to innovatively integrate ICT in higher education, to ensure that good quality, accessible and affordable higher education is available to people in the developing countries (Hattangdi & Ghosh, 2008). More and more Higher Education institutions are using ICT to develop course materials, deliver and share course content, lectures and presentations, facilitate communication among lecturers and students, encourage pedagogical innovation, increase cooperation and collaboration, conduct research, enhance professional development, and provide administrative and management services. However, information on how ICT has been and can be used to enhance the design, the delivery and the management of higher education programs in India is not readily available (Uttam Kr Pegu 2014). Page No.67 |
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Limitations: India has very different educational scenario in rural and urban areas. Urban areas have more private educational systems with better education and technology features. In contrast to that there are very less number of higher education institutes in rural areas. Also the quality of education and infrastructure is less seen there. There is significant disparity in ICT usage between institutions in urban areas and those in semi-urban/rural parts of the country. The quality of ICT infrastructure and its use is limited in a large percentage of Autonomous/Affiliated Colleges especially due to lack of trained IT staff, connectivity issues and shortage of funds. This study is a regional study which includes only the colleges from the urban areas. In future study can be expanded and experiences or opinions of students from rural areas can also be collected and compared (IT Adoption..., 2014). Conclusion: A large percentage of neutral replies are an evidence of the fact that there exist two separate issues: one is technical skills and familiarity with the technology. Many young people have good access and familiarity. Second is intellectual skills e.g. digital literacy for education. There exists little evidence that use of ICT for social and entertainment purposes develops competencies appropriate for higher education. Students study behavior is not driven by technology. Students will make more use of ICT tools and resources and rate them as helpful when they relate well to the method and practice of teaching (e.g. pedagogy) and assessment requirement of the course or module they are studying. Assessment is the primary driver of students‘ behaviours. It is the main determinant of what gets studied by students and how it gets studied. Learning quality can be improved by learning and knowing things differently. The use of ICT develops autonomy and self direction in learning. It develops life skill among the stuents. Difference in the teacher‘s attitude to the adoption of innovations influences on how ICT is used. ICT is often seen just as the means of delivery ((―ICT in higher........‖,2013). Many teachers need to reconsider their beliefs and practices for enabling learning. Policy makers in higher education need to be clear about aims and purposes of using ICT. References:
Asabere Nana Yaw (2012). ―Towards a Perspective of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Education: Migrating from Electronic Learning (E-Learning) to Mobile Learning (M-Learning)‖ International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research, ICT Journal , Volume 2 No. 8, pp. 646-650.
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Adrian Kirkwood (2013). ―ICT in higher education: policy perspective‖, The Open University, U.K. http://www.slideshare.net/CEMCA/ict-in-highereducation-adrian Ashish Hattangdi and Prof. Atanu Ghosh (2008) ―Enhancing the quality and accessibility of higher education through the use of Information and Communication Technology‖.www.iitk.ac.in/.../Strategy%20Learning-01Ashish%20Hattangdi,%20% av Tuija Marstio & Susanna Kivelä (2014). ―Technology enhanced learning in a higher education context – Building bridges by student empowerment and regional development‖ Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy 01/2014 side no 67-78. Bhattacharya, I. & Sharma, K. (2007). ―India in the knowledge economy – an electronic paradigm‖ International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 543–568. Sharad Jaipuria (2014). ―Higher Education in India: An introspection‖ , The Times of India, Jul 21, 2014, 07.09AM IST . Samantha Becker (2014) ―Horizon Report: 2014‖, Higher Education Edition, Posted January 28, 2014 by http://www.nmc.org/news/its-here-horizon-report2014-higher-education-edition A.K. Bakhshi (2014). ―ICT in Education: Need of the Hour‖, India Education Review.com Aug-2014 (magazine article). ―IT Adoption Challenges, Benefits and our offerings to universities‖ downloaded on 23rd July 2014 from education.calsoftlabs.com/downloads/ict-role-indianhigher-education.pdf Jayanta Mete, Ajit Mondal (2012). ―ICT in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges‖ December 6, 2012, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal. Kian-Sam Hong and Peter (2011). ―ICT in the changing landscape of higher education in Southeast Asia‖ Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(Special issue, 8), pp.1276-1290 . Prensky, M. (2001). ‗‗Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.‖ On the Horizon, Vol. 9. No 5, pp.1–2. Siragusa & Dixon (2008). ―Planned behaviour: Student attitudes towards the use of ICT interactions in higher education‖ Lou Siragusa and Kathryn C. Dixon School of Education Curtin University of Technology Proceedings, ascilite Melbourne 2008 pp.942-954. Tapscott, D. (2010). Syntynyt digiaikaan. (in Finnish) Translation from the original edition: Grown up Digital, Porvoo: WS Bookwell. Uttam Kr Pegu (2014). ―Information and Communication Technology in Higher Education in India: Challenges and Opportunities‖ International Journal of Information and Computation Technology. Volume 4, Number 5 (2014), pp. 513518.
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EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS FOR SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS S. M. Shashirekha Abstract To avoid difficulties in the workplace or teaching profession, one who wants to undertake teaching profession must have the employability skills like language skills, academic skills, personal skills, team work skills, life skills, soft skills and ICT skills. Awareness in these skills helps them to succeed in teaching and learning process. To enhance skills needed to meet the demands of the workplace as well as present society.This paper exactly explores what is employability skills, skills required to undertake career as second language teachers and why those skill are important to be a second language teacher. Introduction English is an International language extensively used in India. It has a long history which is traced back to the early 19th century in India. The importance English has increased comparatively because it is a tool of inter-state communication and a tool of empowerment. Learning English has become a symbol of status. It empowers an individual to communicate in global language. Adavancement in science and technology increases the job opportunities in the country. Proficiency in English language is essential to get into employment in the country. English language evolved around the primary emphasis on its viability as a communication skill to help acquire jobs, promote business, etc. To sum up, English language is essential passport to get employment in the competitive world. ―It is not unemployment that is the major problem; it is the question of unemployability that is the major crisis in this competitive arena (A P J Abdul Kalam)‖. There is widening gap between the skills required by employers and skill acquired by students in the classroom. It is difficult for the most of our graduates who are leaving the higher education institutions and try to join the industry because they are not aware of the skills and expectations of the employers. This paper explores answer for questions like what are employability skills. What are the skills employers looking for? Why these skills are important for employability in teaching profession? It is necessary to empower and enrich our youngsters in language skills, academic skills, personal skills, team work skills, life skills, soft skills, and ict skills are essential for employability in teaching profession. The National skills development Corporation (NSDC) has been launched by the Government of India in 2008-2009 in order to fulfil the gap between demand and supply of skills and to meet the growing need in India for skilled manpower across the sector. 1.1 Objectives of the study a) To familiarize what are employability skills? b) To list out the skills required for employability as second language teachers. c) To familiarize why language skills, academic skills, personal skills team work skills, Page No.70 |
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life skills, soft skills, and ict skill essential for employability in second language teaching? What are employability skills? The employability skills identified are generic skills, attitudes and behaviours that employers seek in employees. The word employability has two words employ + ability = employability which means the ability to be employed. Employability skills are foundation skills needed to perform effectively at work. These skills are essential for learner to be better prepared to progress in the world of work. 1.2 Employability skills for second language teachers: - Language skills - Academic skills - Personal skills - Team work skills - Life skills - Soft skills - ICT skills 1.3 Why employability skills are essential to take career as second language teachers? Language skills: Listen to understand and learn: It is an important skill which is required for employment. Without learning this skill it is very difficult to get into employment. First step to get into employment is every individual has to face the interview. Interviewer will ask many questions related to their area of specialisation. Individual should be able to respond to questions asked by them. It is not possible without proper listening comprehension. So it is most essential skill that the individual should learn which is essential for him to get into any career. After that he/she should listen to the head, colleagues, student‘s problems, and other staff members. He/she needs to comprehend message conveyed by them, in turn respond to them in a proper way. It is a basic skill which is required for an individual to succeed in his/her career. Employers want employees who can listen to a students learning problem and find out the solution to the problem of learning. Speaking skill: Speaking is fundmental to human communication. In daily lives an inidividual speaks more than he writes. Nunn (1991) observes "success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out conversation in the English language". Any individual Page No.71 |
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who wants to get into employment and succeed in that should possess good communication skills. Good communication means it should be clear, concise, constructive, correct, courteous, and complete. Communicator should know the purpose, recipient, place, context, objectives, and reaction. They should be in position to speak to others and share information using a range of information and communications technologies e.g., voice mail, chatting, video conference etc. Use relevant scientific, technological, and mathematical knowledge and skills to explain or clarify ideas. Reading skill: The purpose of this skill may be to gain or verify information, assess a claim made by some one, collect factual information related to individual area, predict something on the basis of given facts, to enhance the knowledge of the area so on. If interviewer gives a test to the interviewee to know the understanding level of the particular task, without the comprehension he/she is not able to respond properly. Identification, referencing, inferring, and processing, and besides these, decodingrecongntion-perception and comprehenstion are essential to an individual to succeed in his/her career. Not only these skills the knowledge of study skills like gathering, storing, and retrieval skills are essential. One should be able to read and understand information presented in a variety of forms e.g., words, graphs, charts and diagrams. Vocabulary: The main function of a language is communication. To communicate and comprehend the communicated information individual need enough vocabulary. Without the vocabulary it is difficult to clothe his/her ideas effectively. Vocabulary is indeed one of the important elements of any language. "Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed (Wilkins 1972.p.111)". a) Form: Pronounciation, spelling. b) Meaning: Basic and literary meaning. c) Usage: He/she should know the usage of words. Writing skill: It is regarded as the most challenging of the four skills of language. Writing should be impresssive. In writing graphemes, spelling, punctuation marks play a very important role. One should be aware of elements of language like vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation. These are micro skills of writing and proper practice in these skills is essential. Meta skills like organisation and unity are essential requirements effective communication. Macro skills like the content of the text should be clear, correct and complete. Individual should posses the creativity in expressing their ideas in its conciseness. Grammar usage: Grammar plays an important role in combining units of language to form sentences. Grammar is a vehicle for expressing meanings. Form, meaning and usage mastery over all these three dimensions are necessary. The communicator should have the knowledge about language, units and rules of language that makes the communicator recongnize, produce and comprehend well formed structures. Page No.72 |
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1.3 Academic skills: Those skills which provide the basic foundation to get and keep progress in work to achieve the expected results. Communication skills: This skill refers to ones ability to listen attentively and give appropriate feedback and to negotiate and write effectively, speak fluently and communicate formally and informally with people from different backgrounds. They should have the ability to undertake an activity independently, express their own ideas clearly, effectively and with confidence. In a working place they need to use English language as colleagues may be from diverse linguistic background. To communicate effectively he/she needs mastery over certain skills. Without learning these skills it is difficult to succeed in their career. Critical thinking: Critical thinking skill helps individual to get into the employment and succeed in that. Critical thinking is not an easy concept to define. Think critically about an issue is to consider that issue from various perspectives. It is necessary to hone the rest of the skills such as having an open mind, sense of humor, resilence, acceptance, and get into employment and succeed in it. Critical thinking is the ability and tendency to gather evaluate and use information effectively (Beyer, 1985). Critical thinking as the ability to analyze facts generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make comparisions, draw inference, evaluate arguments and solve problems(Chance,1986). Reasoning, problem solving, decision making, creative thinking, challenging, analyzing ability are essential at work place. To facilitate these aspects teacher can give practice via variety of reading material. Reading skill is important skill through which teacher can develop critical thinking skill among learners. These skills helps individual to think about problems, understand and solve problems, and make decisions in their career. For teaching profession, who are open to new ideas and directions should have better professional perspectives. Perpetual Learning: The face of the world is changing very quickly. Technology is influencing all aspects of human life, way of living, and therefore everything changing very rapidly. We observe more influence in the field of education, economy, social and cultural climate. It is era of information, to meet this changing need and succeed in chosen career one should be perpetual learner. Management skills: The ability to lead the group and supervise the member of the group. They should have the ability to optimize use of resources and complete the assigned work in stipulated time. Besides these, ability to plan, co-ordinate, organize a project and monitor group members to achieve targets. Plan and implement an action plan, work under pressure, work independently and deliver expected results. Manage information: Locate, gather, and organise information using appopriate technology and information system. Access, analyse, and organise knowledge and skills from various disiplines. Decide what needs to be measured or calculated. Observe and record data using appropriate methods, tools and technology. They need to continually gather information from various sources for realsing the vision and mission of the Page No.73 |
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institution. 1.4 Personal skills: Positive attitude and behaviour: The individual, who want to get into career and succeed in it, should have positive attitudes and behaviours. They should have self confidence and self esteem. Besides this they should be honest in his/her career. They need to know what is right and wrong. They need to inculcate good attitude towards learning and innovative way of realising goals. Individual needs to work hard to complete the assigned responsibility and to help in realising insitutional goals. Responsibility: Individual who wants to get into teaching profession and succeed in it, they have the ability to set goals and priorities in work. To achieve the goals they need some skills to plan and manage their time, money and resources. They should have the ability to take responsibility for their actions. Adaptability: Individual should have positive attitude towards change. Respect the ideas and opinions of others who are working in the institution. They have the ability to understand other individual, ability to negotiate with subordinates or colleagues, create and share their ideas with others, work with others and contribute to the work as member of the institution. Encourage and motivate others, ability to work in a diverse environment, and deal with superiors and manage others and have network. 1.5 Team work skills: It refers to those skills needed to work with others in an institution and to achieve the expected results. One needs to understand and contribute to the institutional goals, understand and work within the culture of the group, plan and make decisions with others and support the outcomes. Respect the thoughts and opinions of others in the group, inculcate give and take to achieve desired group results, lead when appropriate mobilizing the group for high performance. 1.6 Life skills: Knowledge of life skills is essential for every individual who want work and stay in the teaching career. In order to meet challenges in and out of the institution. To achieve desired outcome from the work one should be happy, prospersous and outstanding. Education in life skills is designed to help young people to learn the skills, they need to deal with the likely demands and challenges of modern life, help youth to develop a broad range of personal, social, cognitive and environmental skills. 1.7 Soft skills: The importance of Soft skills has increased due to liberalization, privatization and globalization. With rapid growth in school education it is necessary to have knowledge of soft skills besides the knowledge and certificate. But there is paradigm shift in the demands of the corporate world. To meet the requirements of this every individual who seek job need to possess the soft skills. To seek potential candidate that with sound technical knowledge as well as efficiency in soft skills is essential aspect. 1.8 ICT Skills: The use of ICT is need of the hour in every field of education. Every Page No.74 |
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teacher is required to meet the present needs of learners. One who wants to undertake teaching profession must have the knowledge of using technology efficiently in teaching and learning process because most of the students prefer to learn by seeing. Research studies reveal that most of the students are visual style of learners. To sustain their attention and create interest in learning activity every individual who wants to undertake teaching profession must have ICT skills. It also helps them to enhance their student‘s technological literacy. Conclusion: Society is in need of teacher who is principled educational professionally committed to ensuring all students learn. It is necessary to foster 21st century knowledge and skills among students. To compete and prosper in the global world students expect high quality learning experience in the present context. To prepare students to meet the present needs and principled citizen of the country, we need the individual with certain employability skills as pre-requisites. The employability skills helps to gain more knowledge, enhance working skills and competencies required to succeed in teaching profession. References:
Anderson, Anne and Tony Lynch, (1998) Listening: Oxford University press.
Beyer, B. K. (1985). Critical Thinking: What is it? Social Education 49(4),270276.
Bygate, M. (1987) Speaking. Oxford University Press.
Byrne, Donn, (1988). Teaching writing skills, London: Longman.
Chance, P.(1986). Thinking in the Classroom: A survey of Programs, New York: Teachers college, Columbia University.
Doff Adrain, Christoper Jones and Keith Mitchell (1997) Meaning into words, Cambridge University Press.
Nuttall, Christine,(1983).Teaching Reading skills in a foreign Language. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.
Nunan (1991). In Sharda Kaushik and Bindu Bajwa (2009) (ed.). A Handbook of Teaching English, Orient Blackswan Private Limited, ISBN 978 81 250 3659, New Delhi.
Wilkins. (1972). In Sharda Kaushik and Bindu Bajwa,(2009) (ed.). A Handbook of Teaching English. Orient Blackswan private limted, ISBN: 978 81 250 3659, New Delhi.
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ROLE OF EDUCATION IN CREATING WOMEN FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT Mouchumi Deka Abstract Education is one of the important factors for human resource expansion. The world is unique for every human being. But, women‘s lives vary from those of men because of patterns of socialization which relates to gender. In the entire world, women play different roles in the society as well as in the natural world around them. Women contribute their life, time, energy, skills and personal visions to family and in community development. Women‘s experience makes an invaluable source of knowledge and proficiency on management and in all actions. The mental and physical contact of women with life is much more comprehensive than that of men. Changes began with environmental changes and with the specific role of women. But women were neglected or ignored. Women are much more likely to be victims of sexual harassment. Women faced vulnerable and insecure positions, lack self confidence, or have been socialized to suffer in silence. Women are the beautiful creature of nature without them world will be an empty vessel and Education may play a very significant role in creating a women friendly environment. Therefore to understand why women suffer harassment and the role of education in creating a friendly environment, the following objectives are made. They are such as Objectives: 1. To study what are the harassment against women in the society. 2. To study the role of education in creating a women friendly environment. 3. To suggest some solutions regarding harassment problem faced by women. This paper will through light on the ways in which education helps in creating a women friendly environment in the society. Key Words: Women, Harassment, Education, Society. Introduction: Woman is the builder and molders of a society. From younger age, women start to learn about some of the best human qualities like kindness, self awareness, sacrifice, devotion by observing own mothers, grandmothers and other women in their lives. Education is one of the important factors for human resource development. The world is unique for every human being. But, women‘s lives differ from those of men because of patterns of socialization which relates to gender. In the entire world, women play different roles in the society. Women‘s contribute their life, time, energy, skills and personal visions to family and in community development. Women‘s experience makes a precious source of knowledge. Women are expertise on management and in all actions of life. In both rural Page No.76 |
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and urban area, women and girls are working in domestic and commercial work environment. Women share dedication, consistency, hard work & honesty towards society. Today, Women got to the space of equality in the work place, achieving their own dreams, then becoming equal financial contributors in their families. But still women‘s are fighting against the sufferings which they faced in life. Women do not have the same position as like men. Though much progress has been made in the society to bring women where they have equal rights, equal reimburse and equal independence but still it is not achieved. Though it may appear that women have a great deal of freedom and independence, but overall condition of women in the world is not as it showed. Equality requires that those women who are the liberated from bondages come forth in the world in all aspects of life. Women make themselves known, make their values known, and influence the society. Women save the human in the society from devastation. But today, women are harassed and it is become a very serious issue which affects every corner of the world. The most familiar type of harassment experienced by women is sexual harassment. But there are other types of harassment such as mental harassment, sexual orientation harassment, cyber harassment, and work place harassment. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an unpleasant nature. It is generally understood as behaviour intended to disturb, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found aggressive or disturbing. Harassment refers to constant and unwanted sexual advances, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very harmful to the victim. Harassment on women is a punishable crime in all countries. Harassment approaches, intimidating, or touching a woman in a way that implies sexual activity or rape. Sexual harassment is most prevalent in all section of the society. The harassment of girls are especially vulnerable to sexual harassment in the school from peers, teachers and other school staff members. Harassment is common in workplaces, on streets, over phone, by giving sms, by giving gesture etc. The harassment of women has occurred all the way through history and it till continued. As societies developed and become more sophisticated, harassment also increases. But it is hope that harassment will slowly decline with the help of education. By acquiring self defense training and staying up to date knowledge about the laws relating to the harassment of women, they can protect themselves from harassment. Rationale of the study: Change in human society will occur in a great magnitude. In the society women‘s played a very significant role. Women are sacrificing their life for others. It is true that this may vary from individual to individual. Sometimes many women have gone far in their carriers or in their political position having to adopt many mannish traits and practices. In those situations they are suffering from pain and desire. This is because they have been oppressed even though they may be very successful. They have been oppressed as women. Women have been taught to suppress their emotional variations. Women sacrifice a lot in her life. These are hardships of women in society where they have to take better stand for themselves. Education is important for everyone to understand its critical Page No.77 |
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area of empowerment for women. Education is much more than reading and writing and also essential for women to make their life secure. Therefore, efforts should be given to give education to women to improve the quality of life and safe themselves from unwanted problems. Objectives of the study: The objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To study what are the harassment against women in the society. 2. To study the educational role in creating a women friendly environment. 3. To suggest some solutions regarding harassment problem faced by women. Methodology: In this study documentary survey has been made and various problems have been analyzed to find out the suggestive measures regarding harassment. For documentary survey various books, articles and other study materials had been studied. Both primary and secondary data are analyzed. Harassment against women in the society: Harassment, torture and exploitation of women are as old as in the history of family life. In India, women are independent and self sufficient. The constitution also implements laws and policies for women. But still women are being harassed in every society respectively cast and creed. Women are discriminated and harassed at work place, home, school colleges in every field. At home, women are misbehaved by her husband her mother in law. Then in a hundred different ways she is being harassed at home. Constantly and frequently women assaulted and burnt to death. Women victims of crime and violence have not been given much attention in books then in social problems or in literature on criminal violence. The attitude of indifference and negligence is mainly the result of man's supremacy over woman. Because of which violent acts against women have not been viewed as violent acts. The violence of women rises in religious values, socio-economic positions and in political issues also. The issue of crime against women has been not only a private issue but it is a public problem. Wifehood and motherhood were the women‘s significant role of her life. Women accept a new family to her life after marriage. But discrimination harassments are like never ending process for women. Women were considered as weaker than man because of physical requirement. But if we compared, women are more intellectual, perfectionist in her work than man. There are different forms of harassment appeared in the 21th century. Sexual harassment refers to the harassment of women who are homosexual or bisexual. More specifically, it concerns cases in which a woman is discriminated at work. Then Cyber harassment concerns situations in which an individual uses the Internet to send a harassing message
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to a woman. This type of harassment also tends to extend beyond with sexual harassment because the Internet is full with sexual predators. It has been seen that many women and young girls experience cyber harassment in social networking sites. Another form of harassment in the society is workplace harassment. Due to common occurrences harassment are seen in workplace. Many countries have passed laws for workplace harassment. The easiest way to harass a girl is by using abuse word about her character. Women were scared for giving complains in the Police station because of their family reputation or for the society. Parents of girls thoughts that what will society say if she gives complain against harassment. As every society has a significant role in human life. That‘s why women become adopt the culture of silence. Another type of harassment is occurs over the telephone. This harassment starts by saying nasty things to her over telephone or mobile or giving abuse messages. Though there was no actual touching or violence involved in this kind of harassment but it harassed women mentally and psychologically. Then in internet is another media of harassment for women. In social networking by sending mail, abusive photos etc are also a form of crime and harassment. This is a strange form of harassment. In the educational institution girls are harassed. It happens to both girls and boys, but it is often either hard to prove or it goes unnoticed by authorities. Girls are afraid to report the matter to police or to the authority. Crimes on women: Now a day‘s crimes on women become increasing day by day. Every morning when we open our news paper or Television news channel, we can see there are always news about harassment or crime on women. It is observed in every sphere of society not only appeared in the urban areas but also in rural and back ward areas. There are some types of crime on women which appeared frequently in the society. I) Throwing acid on women: Women belonging to any class, caste, creed or religion can be victims of this cruel form of violence. It is a purposeful crime intended to kill or hurt a women. Acid attacks on women are seen on those cases that dared to refuse a man's proposal of marriage or love or asked for a divorce or betray etc. It is a form of revenge crime. Acid is cheap, easily available, and the quickest way to destroy a woman's life. II) Child marriage Child marriage has been traditionally established in India. Child brides would live with their parents until they reached puberty. In ancient times child widows were forced to sacrifice her life, shaved heads, living in isolation, and keeping away her from all festivals or ritual ceremony and harassed mentally by the society. Although child marriage is banned but in some rural areas society still believed in child marriage. But Indian government fixed the age of marriage for girls is 18 years and for boys 21 years and child marriage is become a offensive crime in India. Page No.79 |
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III)
Domestic violence
The incidents of domestic violence are higher among the lower Socio-Economic Classes (SECs) due to illiteracy. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 came into force on 26 October 2006. Dowry is one of the main women harassment in our society. The Government of India passed the Dowry Prohibition Act, making dowry demands in wedding arrangements illegal. However, many cases of dowry-related domestic violence, suicides and murders have been reported. In India women are died in dowry related cases. IV) Female infanticide and sex-selective abortion: In India, the male-female sex ratio is skewed radically in favor of males because of high number of females dies before reaching adulthood. Tribal or rural societies in India have a less skewed sex ratio than other cast. This is in spite of the fact that tribal or rural communities have far lower income levels, lower literacy rates, and less adequate health facilities. Ultrasound scanning helps in providing care of mother and baby. But these advantages have spread to rural populations in a negative way. However, ultrasound scans often reveal the sex of the baby and allowing pregnant women to decide to abort female fetuses and try again later for a male child. This practice is usually considered the main reason for the change in the ratio of male to female children being born. The Indian government passed a law forbidding women or their families from asking about the sex of the baby after an ultrasound scan or any other test which would give in that information. It also specifically for doctors or any other persons who provides sex discrimination information. They will also get punishment. However, in practice this law is ignored. Female infanticide is still prevalent in some rural areas. Sometimes this is infanticide by neglecting the mother, for example families may not spend money on medicines or refuse to take care of a girl child. V) Rape and sexual harassment: Rape become as the most common crime not only in India but also in the whole world. In India, a new case is reported every 20 minutes. New Delhi has the highest rate of rapereports among Indian cities. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 24,206 rape cases were registered in India in 2011. But the cases of unreported sexual assault were not listed in the report. Half related to molestation and harassment in the workplace. The Supreme Court of India took a strong stand against sexual harassment of women. The National Commission for Women subsequently elaborated the guidelines into a Code of Conduct for employers.
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VI) Trafficking The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act was passed in 1956. However many cases of trafficking of young girls and women have been reported. These women are either forced into prostitution, domestic work or child labour. The poor girls from the rural areas are the targeted and took them to the cities and forced them in to prostitutions. Police and many NGOs take major role to rescue such girls and send them to their home. Well known NGO such as, Rescue foundation, Project Rescue organization that exists to rescue and restore victims of sexual slavery. It was founded in the red light areas of Mumbai. Then Apne Aap Women Worldwide organization, a grassroots movement to end sex trafficking based in New Delhi and Mumbai founded by Ruchira Gupta, then in West Bengal Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee etc played a significant role. Educational role in creating a women friendly environment: Education plays a very significant role in creating a women friendly environment. Education teaches moral pluralism, along with acknowledgment of the moral difficulty of lives. Variety of pedagogical issues are explored, including moral values faced by schools when students violate rules, the place of self-knowledge in moral life, the role of self-talk as an aspect of caring for self. Education understands the care and justice and it may lead educators to rationalize views. The role of women in our society has changed significantly in the past three decades. Women and girls have many opportunities and face different challenges throughout her life. Now women have achieved great position in government, industry, sports, and in media too. Though it is gradually increasing, the female literacy rate in India. But still girl‘s enrollment in school is smaller quantity then boys, and many girls withdraw from schools. In urban India, girls are nearly equal with boys in terms of education. However, in rural India girls continue to be less well-educated than boys. While there was significant progress in some gender equality dimensions at every level, to achieve equality and women‘s empowerment. Education is an essential means of empowering women with the knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary for development. Development is only possible when women and men enjoy equal opportunities to reach their goals. Women are experiencing discrimination and inequalities barriers in the economic, social, political and environmental spheres. Women faced obstacles in achieving their goals, rights, in gender equality, justice etc. In this regard education plays a very remarkable work. Education makes them represented in decision-making at all levels of their life. While the economic benefits of educating girls are similar to those of educating boys. The social benefits are greater for women if they are educated. Education helps women to change their own economic status and that of their communities and countries in which they live. Lack of education force them to live in superstitious fear and myth. Unequal opportunities between women and men hamper women‘s ability to boost themselves from poverty. Education is the most powerful instrument for changing women‘s position in society. Investing in women‘s and girls‘ education is one of the most Page No.81 |
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effective ways to reduce poverty and helps them to fight against harassment. Education is important for everyone. This is not only because education is an entrance to opportunity but also because education provide positive ripple effects within the family and across generations. Education is an essential investment for making women friendly environment. It plays very significant role in reducing harassment and achieving sustainable development in the society. Education gives appropriate knowledge about the acts, rules and laws specially made for women. If women in the society know the proper rule and regulation they can easily fight with the situation and handle the unwanted condition. Some solutions regarding harassment problem faced by Women: The most effective weapon against harassment is prevention. Harassment does not disappear on its own but we can take some prevention. There are some suggestive measures are given regarding harassment problem faced by the women. They are as follows: 1) Women should always be aware and conscious of harassment behavior. 2) Women should always be sensitive to individual who may be insulted by the verbal and non- verbal behaviors. 3)
Women should be always aware of delicate forms of sexual harassment.
4) Women should examine one‘s behavior, attitude and feelings in interaction. Every woman should pay attention to the response of others to avoid unintentional offensive. 5) Women should not take harassment as likely, if any women are being harassed by any individual or a group should not take it lightly. Women should not encourage the harasser by smiling or laughing at his/ her joke back. If possible women should tell the harasser that his behavior is offensive. 6) Every woman should make it clear to her own self that harassment will not be tolerated in any circumstances. Education can helps in constructing self confidence in women and give courage to fight with it. 7) By providing education and information about harassment to all in a regular basis will also helps in prevention. The circular of information, open communication and guidance is one of the particular importances in removing the culture of silence which is a major cause of sexual harassment. 8) Information should be taken from the students in institutions who have been harassed by faculty, staff, or other employee‘s reveals that few colleges and universities are dealing with the problem and that students are facing privately with harassment. Some measures should be taken so that schools publically state Page No.82 |
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their policy on the prohibition of sexual harassment, avenues of complaint, and sanctions for incidents. 9) Information meeting such as personal, social, office meetings, group discussions seminars and workshops should be organized for effective preventive measures. 10) Office workers then school children should be informed about the harassment so that every woman can fight against harassment with proper laws and rules. 11) Education gives awareness to the rural women about the sexual harassment an act of discrimination and will punished the criminal. Sexual harassment results in violation of the fundamental rights of a woman to equality under articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and to live with dignity under article 21 of the Constitution and right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business which includes a right to a safe environment free from sexual harassment. 12) Education also helps to understand the type of harassment in the schools. There are 5 types of sexual harassment in the schools: (1) sexual behavior; (2) unsuitable and unpleasant sexual advances (2) solicitation of sexual activity by promising (4) threat of punishment and (5) sexual crimes and misbehavior. The students should know about the harassment so that they can take proper preventive measures. 13) Giving awareness about the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which is a legislative Act in India. It seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their work place. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on February 26, 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013. 14) Should develop some anti- harassment policy together with employee and with other working representative so that they communicate the policy to all employees. 15) Government and NGO should also provide some extra protection for female and support them who feel they are being harassed. Some helpline toll free ph no should also introduce for women so that they can ask for help in danger. 16) All organization and social networking sites should take some necessary action to eliminate discriminatory jokes, posters, e-mails and photos. 17) Some training should also be organized which concretely discuss the harassment, about the policy and laws regarding harassment and steps that individual can take. 18) If any women are being harassed or if anyone knows about someone who is being harassed, we should support her, encouraged the person to talk about it. Page No.83 |
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Because psychological and physical support is very necessary for them and as soon as possible immediate action should be taken to stop it. Conclusion: Woman carries the values and principles with pride to life. Woman‘s lives are like the rhythms of nature. Women are strong in mentally and emotionally. Women are the beautiful creature of nature without them world will be an empty vessel. Education plays an important role in this context. It gives social training, helps in physical and mental development of women. It creates feeling of dignity of work and culture among the women. Education develops self confidence, brings equality and justice and aware about the situations. Education motivates rural women by making them aware about their lives. Education generates awareness on various aspects of education, health and women harassment etc. Education also empowers rural women, in participation in the decision making process and impart knowledge on various issues. Through imparting quality education, women are able to develop knowledge, skill and attitudes among themselves. They are able to talk about the issues to their parents, with their friends, community and so that easily preventive measures can be taken. We must make our society as an empty harassment society for women so that women can flourish in success and shine like a star in the world. References:
Crime in India. National Crime Records Bureau 2011. New Delhi : Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India . online access on 17th October 2013 Caldwell, J. and P. Caldwell. 1988. Women‘s position and child mortality and morbidity in LDCs. Paper presented to IUSSP Conference on Women‘s Position and Demographic Change in the Course of Development, Oslo. Landau, E. (1993). Sexual Harassment. U.S.A: Walker & Company. First Edition ISBN- 10: 0802782655 Panday, P. K.(2012). Sexual Harassment and Law in India: Indian Perspective. USA: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing House. First Edition January. ISBN10: 3847346695 "State of the World's Report 2009", UNICEF online . access on 18th October 2013 Strauss S. (2002). Sexual Harassment and Teens: A Program for Positive Change. U.S.A: Publisher: Monarch Books, volume. First Edition Nov. ISBN-10: 091579344X Strauss S. (2011). Sexual Harassment and Bullying: A guide to keeping Kids Safe and Holding Schools Accountable. United States of America: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, First Edition December. ISBN-10: 1442201622
Internet Source. http://ncrb.nic.in/CD-CII2011/Statistics2011.pdf on 25th October 2013 Page No.84 |
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www.preventionofsexualharassment.com on 24th October 2013 www.stopvaw.org/prenetion_of_harassment on 20th October 2013 www.wikipedia.org../The_sexual_harassment on 19th October 2013 www.india.gov.in/sexual harassment-women on 19th October 2013
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QUALITATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION: EVALUATION OF ROLE OF STATE AND TEACHER EDUCATION
EN
Ranjay Vardhan
Abstract Higher Education is at the top of educational pyramid. It encompasses both college and university level education. It has direct bearing on the intellectual, economic and social development of not only individuals but the human society as a whole. It is concerned with the mature segment of the society - the youth and the adults who are faced with the responsibility of building the nation culturally, scientifically, economically and politically. The colleges and universities are the centers of learning in higher education which unite all the functions associated with the advancement and transmission of knowledge - research, innovation teaching, training and continuing education. The new global scenario poses a challenge for a higher education system especially in India. A whole new range of skills will be expected in the graduates of any discipline-humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, commerce and even professional disciplines such as agriculture, law, management, medicine or engineering. There is need for continuous expansion and improvement of facilities of modern equipments and also a redesigning of teaching-learning materials to meet the demands of new technologies and teacher-student relations. The present paper makes an attempt to study the role of state in the changing time and planning of teacher education. The paper likes to conclude that with the world being reduced to a global village due to the advent and advancements in science and technology, the state‘s role has assumed larger significance. The recruitment of teachers, their initial education, in-service education, who becomes a teacher, the issues of supervision and managements, training materials, the working environment- all these issues have to be discussed in depth and dealt with insight to provide for quality teacher education. Teachers also need to make the teaching environment more absorbing and interesting for the learners in keeping with the changing socio-economic environment.
Educational Policy, Planning and Development: The foremost importance of education lies in its being an instrument of change and of meeting the demands of that change. To meet this aim of education, it is necessary to devise effective implementation strategies taking into confidence the state, community, now, i.e. both the public and private sector to be able to face the challenge of education in the ongoing 21st century. Proper strategies have to be devised and effectively implemented to realize the goals of education. Higher Education Higher Education is at the top of educational pyramid. And encompasses both college and university level education. It has direct bearing on the intellectual, economic and social development of not only individuals but the human society as a whole. It is concerned Page No.86 |
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with the mature segment of the society - the youth and the adults who are faced with the responsibility of building the nation culturally, scientifically, economically and politically. The colleges and universities are the centers of learning in higher education which unite all the functions associated with the advancement and transmission of knowledge - research, innovation teaching, training and continuing education. Higher education in India is presently coordinated by several agencies. The university system falls within the jurisdiction of the UGC and the professional institutions are coordinated by different bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) responsible for coordination of technical and management institutes, Medical Council of India (MCI), the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) etc. All universities and other institutes of higher education are members of Association of Indian Universities (AIU) which is a coordinating agency. It has no executive parts but its importance lies in its role as an agency of dissemination of information and as an advisor both to the government, UGC and universities. Today is an age of technological as well as scientific revolution. The quantity of knowledge and information is expanding at a very fast pace. The needs of the constantly growing and increasingly varied student population are growing very fast. In this scenario top priority is needed for quality of training for teachers and quality of teaching in higher education institutions. The Indian education system has recognized its key responsibility in training teachers, in establishing links with teacher-training institutions and in training of teacher trainers. Efforts are being made to bring in teachers from the commercial and social sectors to facilitate inter change and build links with the education system. The higher education system in India is facilitating access to the common heritage of knowledge and research. This helps it to fulfill its moral obligations to society. A recently observed trend along with public initiative has been the contribution of the private sector towards higher education. It is the result of private enterprise and initiative and reflects the changing mores of society where not only the government but also the people are actively contributing to social upliftment. The government is not lacking behind in taking initiative for change and is putting in substantial effort on this front. It is committed to getting private players into education despite strong opposition from several quarters. This matter is being discussed and worked upon in the concerned ministries as it strongly feels that privatization of education will open up better opportunities, upgrade the standard of education and help India in its quest to become a knowledge super power. It will help India to create a niche for itself in knowledge services. For India to emerge as a front-runner in the new world it has to strategize how to best make use of the huge resource pool of talent it has available in its youth and to provide the right skill sets to make them employable. The enormity of the challenge and the opportunity ahead call not only for government efforts but private initiatives as well. Partnering with the private sector would help in delivering quality and enrich learning further. Checks can be put in place which will see to it that private players do not make education into a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder but work in the right direction to enrich education. The growth especially of private engineering and medical colleges has been remarkable. Many of these institutions not only recover their costs but also make profits which are not necessarily re-invested in education. This trend Page No.87 |
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needs to be discouraged as it will lead to commercialization of education. Private initiative should be welcome but within certain parameters so that education does not become a company for profit making instead of an institution for upliftment of society. Present World Scenario-A challenge for Higher Education The new global scenario poses a challenge for a higher education system especially in India. A whole new range of skills will be expected in our graduates be they of any discipline-humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, commerce as well as our graduates of professional disciplines such as agriculture, law, management, medicine or engineering. General education as had been prevalent in India is no longer sufficient to make our human resource productive and realize its full potential. Knowledge has to be enhanced by more of field experiences, development of new skills and appropriate attitudes. The older approaches have to be strengthened by relating it to the present economy and social transitions. Towards satisfying this end the Government of India had introduced the Foreign Education Providers Bill that was approved by cabinet on March 16, 2010. Through this it hopes to use some of the best talent of the world to hone its own talent. It proposes to allow foreign universities to open their campuses in India so that our youth too can get exposure and benefit from their rich experience. In answer to those who feel that this may lead to exploitation of our youth and reduce education to a commodity it proposes a system of checks and balances to ensure that the foreign education providers do not deviate from the goal for which they have been allowed entry into the country. Keeping these emerging needs in mind the UGC stressed upon the important role of universities in promoting social change. Emphasis on community based programs, work on social issues, the total networking of the system through communication and information technology, curriculum change, inter disciplinary courses especially at master‘s level, more emphasis on field based learning experiences, more career oriented courses to fulfill needs for human resource in specific work related opportunity is called for. The university should function not only as a seat of learning but also as a focal point for dissemination of information to the community through continuing education, extension education and field activities. It will play a major role in social development and change in community-the third dimension of education as visualized by UGC. With increasing interaction of universities with society they need to adopt more professional management capable leaders interfacing with society, providing academic and administrative leadership within a decentralized system of administration and increasing use of IT for effective and efficient management. We have to recognize the need to prepare a human resource capable of accepting the challenges of the new millennium with the realization that social changes and transformation can only be brought about by people and not through technology alone. Hence, human resources development, at all levels, needs to be given top priority and made a part of the nation‘s overall strategy.
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It is seen that India has been in the fore front in adopting the new information society technologies such as distance education and internet to reduce the gap between itself and the developed countries. International cooperation in education is thus more of partnership where countries help each other by sharing their successful experiences, technologies, material and financial resources and appreciation of each other‘s cultural heritage. This will help to develop centers of excellence and also stop the process of brain drain. India has realized that in this New Age only collaboration between the East and West, between the developed and developing, the haves and have-nots will bring about universal upliftment, lasting peace and unity. In this new age, cultural achievements of the past have to be enriched by present advancement for humanity to successfully meet the evolutionary and revolutionary challenges and bring about a new type of humanity and society. It will be marked by an integrated development of physical, emotional, intellectual, ethical, aesthetic and spiritual potentialities. This will lead to an expansion of the frontiers of knowledge. All these factors will influence higher education and give it the responsibility of generating new vistas of knowledge and wisdom with exacting standards of excellence and perfection. The Information Age and Future Society The world is entering into the information age. Development in communication, information and technology will open up new, cost-effective approaches which will help to provide higher education to the youth as well as others to meet the demands of explosion of information, fast changing nature of occupations and lifelong education. This will need continuous expansion and improvement of facilities of modern equipments and also a redesigning of teaching-learning materials to meet the demands of new technologies and teacher-student relations. New objective of higher education to achieve the objective of a complete education for a complete human being will have to be defined. Education‘s aim will be not only to protect and promote specialized knowledge and skills but also to develop the abilities to think globally and resolve emerging tensions between rational, ethical and spiritual elements of personality. Contents of higher education have to be such as to achieve a blend of general knowledge and specialization, renewing of knowledge and skills on a continuous basis. Inter disciplinary studies have to be encouraged to foster understanding and appreciation of the world as a human family. Dynamic method of education will have to be stressed upon which will encourage self study, discussions through seminars, workshops as well as distance education. The testing mechanism will also have to be such which will de-link degrees from jobs. Emphasis will be on multi-disciplinary courses which would make education reality-oriented and learner-centered. As we move towards such a learning society, the contributions of experts cannot be ignored as it is they, who will provide the direction to refine, diversify and upgrade higher education and research programs. As seen our present system of higher education, its governance, its finances are under increasing strain. This calls for major changes to ensure greater autonomy and also changes in the very frame work, Page No.89 |
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direction and goals of education. The financial aspect will have to be dealt with new partnerships between education and industry, various income generating sectors and also by cost effective designs of structures and methodologies of education which shall cater to needs to massive educational programs and intensive education aiming at individual perfection. Advances in communication technology like satellite based tele-conferencing have made it possible to use distance education for training skills in virtual classrooms. Thus, role of technology in bringing down costs and increasing efficiency in educational system is very important. Despite the challenges India is optimistic about the future. After the present transitional period humanity will emerge stronger and create a new world of harmony and unity in which education will play a crucial role to prepare the youth for shouldering the responsibilities of the future. With the fast paced developments in science and technology, higher education in this country is facing many challenges. Globalization has become a reality. Developments in transport and communications networks have led to massive interaction and movement of people all over the world. New technologies have brought us to the age of universal communication and the world has come into the classroom/home. Due to population explosion, the number of students wanting to enroll for higher education has also increased. Due to economic development, higher education has not now remained the prerogative of only the rich. The poor sections are also aspiring for higher education. This has led to fierce competition for education, admissions and for jobs. Due to globalization, the conflicts between nations, religions, castes, languages, political ideologies and sports are also increasing. Education has to take up the challenge by inculcating global values respect and tolerance for others to counter these conflicts. Rapid industrial growth and use of chemicals without use of adequate safeguards has led to environmental degradation. Global warming is posing a serious threat to the very existence of human race. To counter these challenges, radical educational strategies through conscious thinking and well planned efforts are required. Some strategies that can be adopted to face the challenge of education in present age are:  Diversification of Higher Education: Right from secondary education to higher education, there is no need for every student to join higher education. This option can be given only to the meritorious students who are interested in an academic career. They can go upto graduation and post graduation levels. Rest of the students can pursue different diploma/vocational courses at college level which will help him to get a job.  Distance Education mode should be developed on war footing. This will provide opportunity to job learners, those who took break from education to pursue education thus fulfilling goal of lifelong education. This will lessen the pressure on the institutions of learning. In India too, open universities have been established. However, their quality and quantity of courses being offered are not upto the mark and needs to be upgraded. This can help students to pursue higher education at less cost and under less stress.
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

New methods of certification should be incorporated. The present methods give more weightage to academic skills. Personal skills should be given weightage too so that students are rated in employment market on basis of their overall personality skills and not only academic skills. A uniform curriculum and medium of instruction should be followed at higher education stage. By this stage student should be fluent in an international language along with his mother tongue, national language to help him compete better at international level. This will help in increasing job opportunities as well as promote parity in the standards of education. Training of teachers is another aspect on which emphasis should be laid at higher education level too. Modern communication technology demands greater expertise on part of teachers besides their formal education. They have to be trained for electronic age teaching. Holistic education exists at school level but it should be continued at college level too to ease the imbalances and tensions in the youth. With the need for more educated people who are better equipped in all emerging areas of study and research. Higher education should be a focal point of learning in society. It should be both a repository and creator of knowledge. It should be one of the driving forces of economic development. They should specialize in courses of study according to the needs of society to meet the market demands. Higher education in present century deserves a greater attention as this century is undergoing an educational revolution. With proper planning and management of education, a new era leading to betterment of human life can be ushered in.
Present World Scenario-A challenge for Higher Education The new global scenario poses a challenge for a higher education system especially in India. A whole new range of skills will be expected in our graduates be they of any discipline-humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, commerce as well as our graduates of professional disciplines such as agriculture, law, management, medicine or engineering. General education as had been prevalent in India is no longer sufficient to make our human resource productive and realize its full potential. Knowledge has to be enhanced by more of field experiences, development of new skills and appropriate attitudes. The university should function not only as a seat of learning but also as a focal point for dissemination of information to the community through continuing education, extension education and field activities. It will play a major role in social development and change in community-the third dimension of education as visualized by UGC. With increasing interaction of universities with society they need to adopt more professional management capable leaders interfacing with society, providing academic and administrative leadership within a decentralized system of administration and increasing use of IT for effective and efficient management. We have to recognize the need to prepare a human resource capable of accepting the challenges of the new millennium with the realization that social changes and transformation can only be brought about by people and not through technology alone. Hence, human resources development, at all levels, needs to be given top priority and made a part of the nation‘s Page No.91 |
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overall strategy. It is seen that India has been in the fore front in adopting the new information society technologies such as distance education and internet to reduce the gap between itself and the developed countries. International cooperation in education is thus more of partnership where countries help each other by sharing their successful experiences, technologies, material and financial resources and appreciation of each other‘s cultural heritage. This will help to develop centers of excellence and also stop the process of brain drain. India has realized that in this New Age only collaboration between the East and West, between the developed and developing, the haves and have-nots will bring about universal upliftment, lasting peace and unity. In this new age, cultural achievements of the past have to be enriched by present advancement for humanity to successfully meet the evolutionary and revolutionary challenges and bring about a new type of humanity and society. It will be marked by an integrated development of physical, emotional, intellectual, ethical, aesthetic and spiritual potentialities. This will lead to an expansion of the frontiers of knowledge. All these factors will influence higher education and give it the responsibility of generating new vistas of knowledge and wisdom with exacting standards of excellence and perfection. The Information Age and Future Society The world is entering into the information age. Development in communication, information and technology will open up new, cost-effective approaches which will help to provide higher education to the youth as well as others to meet the demands of explosion of information, fast changing nature of occupations and lifelong education. This will need continuous expansion and improvement of facilities of modern equipments and also a redesigning of teaching-learning materials to meet the demands of new technologies and teacher-student relations. New objective of higher education to achieve the objective of a complete education for a complete human being will have to be defined. Education‘s aim will be not only to protect and promote specialized knowledge and skills but also to develop the abilities to think globally and resolve emerging tensions between rational, ethical and spiritual elements of personality. Contents of higher education have to be such as to achieve a blend of general knowledge and specialization, renewing of knowledge and skills on a continuous basis. Inter disciplinary studies have to be encouraged to foster understanding and appreciation of the world as a human family. Dynamic method of education will have to be stressed upon which will encourage self study, discussions through seminars, workshops as well as distance education. The testing mechanism will also have to be such which will de-link degrees from jobs. Emphasis will be on multi-disciplinary courses which would make education reality-oriented and learner-centered. As we move towards such a learning society, the contributions of experts cannot be ignored as it is they, who will provide the direction to refine, diversify and upgrade higher education and research programs. As seen our present system of higher education, its governance, its finances are under increasing strain. This calls for major changes to ensure greater autonomy and also changes in the very frame work, Page No.92 |
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direction and goals of education. The financial aspect will have to be dealt with new partnerships between education and industry, various income generating sectors and also by cost effective designs of structures and methodologies of education which shall cater to needs to massive educational programs and intensive education aiming at individual perfection. Advances in communication technology like satellite based tele-conferencing have made it possible to use distance education for training skills in virtual classrooms. Thus, role of technology in bringing down costs and increasing efficiency in educational system is very important. Despite the challenges India is optimistic about the future. After the present transitional period humanity will emerge stronger and create a new world of harmony and unity in which education will play a crucial role to prepare the youth for shouldering the responsibilities of the future. Role of State The States‘ responsibility is the maximum in the present time and it cannot escape it to bring about the major changes that are required for the educational developments that would take place in the 21st century. With the world being reduced to a global village due to the advent and advancements in science and technology the state‘s role has assumed larger significance. It is now required to re-design the education system at all levels keeping in view the four basic pillars of learning – learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together. A partnership between the state and the community is required to promote and deliver education to the people. The community has to actively share the responsibility. Private initiative in education is also required and has to be promoted at all levels of education. However, care has to be taken to keep such partnerships, non-commercial in nature so as to not reduce education to a commodity. NGOs being organized, professional bodies are playing and shall be playing a very important role in the development of education in the future. They are more open to innovations in education, thus, playing a positive, significant and concrete role. They are less driven by profit motive and more by social service. Their thrust is usually on the less privileged sections of society and they are more motivated to their different approaches to uplift these sections of society. Reduction of disparity – There is a strong need to reduce disparity at all levels – intracountry, inter city and regional. The focus needs to be on reducing the widening gap between the rich and the poor and their social disparities. This can be done by maintaining a balance between the rich and the poor and their social disparities. This can be done by maintaining a balance between individual development and development for job creation and self employment through better coordination between education and industrial sector. Education has to concentrate not on turning out more graduates but skilled graduates who will be able to fulfill the demands of industry and also lead the nation further in its quest for development.
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Education – A fundamental right In this context too, the role of the state becomes very important. The state has to assume responsibility for providing all children access to a basic education especially the underprivileged sections living below the poverty line. A special effort has to be made to identify them and bring them into mainstream of education. The state will have to responsibly and effectively plan to provide the conditions of access to education like properly equipped primary schools and good teachers. A good standard of education has to be maintained through provision of required facilities. Substandard education would become counter-productive and meaningless. Thus, the state has a heavy responsibility which it should fulfill diligently and not only on paper. Policies and plans can be formulated by dipping into successful educational experiences of system which have effectively implemented education as a fundamental right. Here the planners have to be innovative and inventive as local coordination differs for each country, region to region. Finance for education The state again shoulders the major responsibility. A separate fund has to be allocated for the education sector. Funds can also be sourced from international bodies like UN, World Bank and the developed countries, funding from private bodies, organizations, individuals can also supplement the government efforts. Also, such plans and policies should be envisaged which will help the educational institutions to be self financing after a time period once the basic infrastructure is in place. This will gradually help to lower the burden on the states‘ finances which can then be utilized in providing up infrastructure and developmental activities in the other regions as needed. This would also help to maintain the quality of education without putting an additional burden on the state. The grants-in-aid to different institutions should be linked to quality and performance. This is essential as it will provide the incentive for better quality of performance by the institution. Links between the institution and the placement centers have also to be strengthened to fulfill the requirements of both. The entrepreneurs will take an interest in the institutions when they see their potential of providing them the trained manpower they need. Special courses can be started at high levels of education to fulfill specific needs. Fundamental education can be strengthened by the networking of the institutions. Linkages and coordination can be developed among institutions to best utilize the resources. Here school clusters can play a significant role. Alternative models and modes of delivery of education can also be strengthened keeping in view the needs of the different regions, changes in society. Education should not only be accessible in a classroom. The opposite can also be made possible. The classroom can come to the student by proper planning and use of technology. A single teacher through properly prepared content can assess the students in their homes. They can also post their queries and get answers by the same method. Through use of technology such regions in which it was previously not possible to access due to various reasons like scarce resources, inhospitable terrain, lack of basic infrastructure like building, staff can now be brought into mainstream of education. Alternative modes of education like open education Page No.94 |
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system have to be practiced and made popular. Also standard of education provided under such modes has to be improved to bring them at a par with regular institutions only then they will be able to really fulfill their aim of providing quality education at the door steps, without any time limit. Education can be pursued in an alternate manner of study and work according to an individual‘s requirements thus fulfilling goal of education for life. However, scientific planning and effective implementation is required to bring this mode of education into practices. Thus, to enhance the quality of education there is a need for a proper evaluation system and a proper institutional management system. To achieve this and to effectively pursue the goal of education in the 21st century all the educational planners and administrators have to raise their capability and function to their best potential. In the 21st century two major changes have taken place in the world firstly, the process of globalization and secondly, the growing interdependence amongst nations. The process of globalization has been mainly led by the market forces. It has assumed importance of the declining dominance of the centrally planned economies and the socialist economies in which the markets and the market reforms are becoming important. The structural reforms also focus on market friendly reforms. These factors have made the market a unifying force in the world economy. Another factor that has contributed to the process of globalization is the technological development, which is specifically related to areas of communication network and Information technology. The technical development and market processes have a direct implication on the employment market where skills and the knowledge base have become very important. The role of education sector to employment has increased at a faster rate than the other sectors of employment. In the education sector, there is a higher capacity to absorb the technological developments that are taking place. These three factors – the economic changes, market processes, and technological changes have all together brought about a change in the employment market of the developing countries. However, due to these changes and the emerging situations, the developing countries are facing certain handicaps. The participating new markets, the purchasing power of the population, developments in technological sphere, participation in the labor market, these are some factors with which the population in the developing countries is not fully equipped and is facing problems. To overcome these problems, the development of knowledge base of the population is very important. To reduce this knowledge gap two factors are very important – the literacy level of the population and the elementary level of education. So the resources have to be invested here to bridge the knowledge gap. However, due to the increasing poverty, the difference between developing and developed countries, between developed regions of developing countries is increasing.
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Enough resources are not there to invest in social sector of education. So role of state becomes all the more important to uplift such regions. Education has to be viewed as a collective effort with the state playing a predominant role in the education of developing countries. In India, e.g., we see that inspite of efforts of government there is inequality in the development processes. Only a minority population has access to the technological development that is taking place, the majority is left behind. So, the state has to take steps for expanding the knowledge base through creation of primary education facilities at one end and technological education at the other. The role of the state has to be targeted more in favor of the poor for whom it is the sole provider. It can be the facilitator at the higher end and organize financial partnership and compensatory mechanisms at public and private level. A decentralized approach with micro-level planning has to be followed to fulfill physical access to education in large parts of the country. Seeing the demographic pattern and the scattered population especially of the disadvantaged and deprived groups a uniform approach or macro level planning will not be able to access all these groups. Therefore, a decentralized approach with micro level planning has to be followed. Concentration has to be on the marginal and deprived groups of population, the urban poor, street children, working children to provide access to education in the social context. It is necessary to overcome the economic deprivation and to enhance the economic capacities of the households. Incentives have to be provided to make these children come to school according to the social context. Schemes like mid-day meal, provisions of free uniforms, study material are already being provided in India to provide access to education to such groups. These have to be further reviewed, strengthened made more efficient to bridge the gap. Re-orientation and preparation of teachers to meet the specific needs of these groups should also be done so that they are better equipped to educate such groups. Community participation is very important to bring these groups into the mainstream. Formal education is a new phenomenon for most of these groups. The government has to lay more emphasis, put in more efforts to give it a proper perspective and to make it more appealing, functional and utilitarian for these households to use the educational system. Thus, the state has to optimally and efficiently use its resources to fulfill the basic need of educating its population. Presently globalization, privatization and liberalization are the three main aspects of the educational scenario. The developed countries are looking far ahead and crossing all boundaries. The developing countries like India are trying to focus on national development. Funds are being invested to produce the best. The main effort is on the improvement of quality, dissemination of information, information technology etc. However, the beneficiaries of this effort are in a minority. The majority is not even aware that they do not have the information. To bridge this gap in knowledge is the major responsibility of the state and has to be addressed by the policy makers and planners. But care has to be taken that the goal of education for all or primary education is not fulfilled at the cost of higher education. Priority has to be given to the inter-sectoral linkages between the different Page No.96 |
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sectors of education. The coherence of the total system of education has to be maintained by the public financing of education along with private sources of funding of education to complement or supplement the public resources. Here the role of international organizations in the educational development cannot be understated. There is hardly any developing country today that has no role for international aid in its educational development process. Meaningful partnerships have to be developed with such agencies guided by a social philosophy for radical transformation in education. Higher Education and Teacher Education: Teacher Education Teachers serve two basic purposes – Firstly, to educate students in an academics or cognitive skills and secondly to develop individual social skills and knowledge necessary to become a useful adult member of the community and the society. Teachers develop attitudes towards life. They develop curiosity, stimulate independence and creativity, encourage intellectual vigor and create conditions for success. All these factors are very significant in the present context of global upsurge for universalisation of elementary education and issues of social justice, equity and equality. The recruitment of teachers, their initial education, in service education, who becomes a teacher, the issues of supervision and managements, training materials, the working environment- all these issues have to be discussed in depth and dealt with insight to provide for quality teacher education. The process has to begin at the elementary stage itself. Teachers have to be oriented and persuaded about the need to update and improve their own knowledge and technique throughout their lifetime. The latest educational developments should be reflected in the in-service training programs. Quality training materials have to be prepared for teacher educators with the involvement of the teachers in their planning and development. Teachers play a major role in society as agents of individual and social development. Traditionally, a teacher was a figure of authority and repository of knowledge and values, which he transmitted to the learners. However, in present times with the great expansions of education institutions and mass recruitment of teachers, both the authority and quality of teachers have witnessed a decline. The focus is shifting from the teacher to a learner centric mode. The teacher‘s role is gradually progressing towards that of being a facilitator of the learning process. So the teachers have to be accordingly trained for their changed roles and responsibilities. The learner is at the centre of the teaching process. With advancements in knowledge and its equally diverse and manifold applications, no single institution will be able to fulfill the needs of learners. This calls for networking and cooperation among institutions both at national and inter-national levels. This will also help to best utilize resources as each institution can focus on the promotion of excellence in chosen fields. The free flow and Page No.97 |
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sharing of knowledge would also generate mutual understanding and tolerance among participants, thus, contributing to the larger goals of human development and social and cultural equality. Networking will thus enlarge the opportunities for both the teacher and the learner. With the expansion and diversification o the roles of teachers there is need for: Attracting more talented persons (academically and professionally) to the teaching profession through up gradation in the teacher‘s status. Motivation and avenues for the continuous upgradation of one‘s academic and professional competencies through collaborations and partnerships between educational institutes, industries and other sectors. Availability of such courses in the educational institutes which ensure optimal and effective functioning of teachers, e.g., Team-work, autonomy Recognition by society of their role in form of community support Commitment among teachers along with ability to shift between long term and short term goals of education Setting a personal example. Giving teacher organizations more responsibility in upgrading teachers knowledge and their professional competencies Development of material and the dissemination of that material to teacher educators and teachers. Teachers also need to make the teaching environment more absorbing and interesting for the learners in keeping with the changing socio-economic environment. The school curriculum has to be complementary to the outside world. Education has to be built around the daily experiences of the children in their socio-economic environment. The teacher now has to not merely teach but to inspire the people to seek knowledge and arouse his curiosity. He has to fulfill diverse roles of friend, philosopher and guide along with dispenser of knowledge and information. The world at present is witnessing people‘s revolt against the existing political system such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, etc. and in the world; wars/ widespread destruction can be triggered off on any pretext. The only defense against aggression and human destruction is education. According to the viewpoint of UNESCO ‗War is in the minds of men, hence the deterrent to war, i.e., peace has to be instilled in the minds of men and women‘. This can be done only through education as it is only education which can develop positive thinking for the future. Let us educate ourselves for a better and peaceful world of today and tomorrow. General education as had been prevalent in India is no longer sufficient to make our human resource productive and realize its full potential. Knowledge has to be enhanced by more of field experiences, development of new skills and appropriate attitudes. The older approaches have to be strengthened by relating it to the present economy and social transitions. Towards satisfying this end the Government of India has introduced the Page No.98 |
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Foreign Education Providers Bill for cabinet approval in September, 2009. Through this it hopes to use some of the best talent of the world to hone its own talent. It proposes to allow foreign universities to open their campuses in India so that our youth too can get exposure and benefit from their rich experience. The world is entering into the information age. Development in communication, information and technology will open up new, cost-effective approaches which will help to provide higher education to the youth as well as others to meet the demands of explosion of information, fast changing nature of occupations and lifelong education. This will need continuous expansion and improvement of facilities of modern equipments and also a redesigning of teachinglearning materials to meet the demands of new technologies and teacher-student relations. New objective of higher education to achieve the objective of a complete education for a complete human being will have to be defined. Education‘s aim will be not only to protect and promote specialized knowledge and skills but also to develop the abilities to think globally and resolve emerging tensions between rational, ethical and spiritual elements of personality. Contents of higher education have to be such as to achieve a blend of general knowledge and specialization, renewing of knowledge and skills on a continuous basis. Inter disciplinary studies have to be encouraged to foster understanding and appreciation of the world as a human family. The States‘ responsibility is the maximum in the present time and it cannot escape it to bring about the major changes that are required for the educational developments that would take place in the 21st century. With the world being reduced to a global village due to the advent and advancements in science and technology the state‘s role has assumed larger significance. It is now required to re-design the education system at all levels keeping in view the four basic pillars of learning – learning to know, learning to do, learning to be and learning to live together. A partnership between the state and the community is required to promote and deliver education to the people. The community has to actively share the responsibility. Private initiative in education is also required and has to be promoted at all levels of education. However, care has to be taken to keep such partnerships, non-commercial in nature so as to not reduce education to a commodity. NGOs being organized, professional bodies are playing and shall be playing a very important role in the development of education in the future. They are more open to innovations in education, thus, playing a positive, significant and concrete role. They are less driven by profit motive and more by social service. Their thrust is usually on the less privileged sections of society and they are more motivated to their different approaches to uplift these sections of society. Teachers serve two basic purposes – Firstly, to educate students in an academics or cognitive skills and secondly to develop individual social skills and knowledge necessary to become a useful adult member of the community and the society. Teachers develop attitudes towards life. They develop curiosity, stimulate independence and creativity, encourage intellectual vigor and create conditions for success. All these factors are very significant in the present context of global upsurge for universalisation of elementary education and issues of social justice, equity and equality. The recruitment of teachers, their initial education, in service education, who becomes a teacher, the issues of Page No.99 |
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supervision and managements, training materials, the working environment- all these issues have to be discussed in depth and dealt with insight to provide for quality teacher education. Teachers also need to make the teaching environment more absorbing and interesting for the learners in keeping with the changing socio-economic environment. The school curriculum has to be complementary to the outside world. Education has to be built around the daily experiences of the children in their socio-economic environment. The teacher now has to not merely teach but to inspire the people to seek knowledge and arouse his curiosity. He has to fulfill diverse roles of friend, philosopher and guide along with dispenser of knowledge and information. The world is entering into the information age. Development in communication, information and technology will open up new, cost-effective approaches which will help to provide higher education to the youth as well as others to meet the demands of explosion of information, fast changing nature of occupations and lifelong education. . Inter disciplinary studies have to be encouraged to foster understanding and appreciation of the world as a human family. that States‘ responsibility is the maximum in the present time and it cannot escape it to bring about the major changes that are required for the educational developments that would take place in the 21st century. References: Arnstine, Donald (1967). Philosophy of Education: Learning and Schooling, New York, Harper and Row. Battle, J.Allen (1969) Culture and Education for the contemporary world, Columbus, Ohio, Merril, Publishing Company. Brewer, J.M. (1962). Education as guidance, New York, Macmillan Company. Bullen Mark, James Diane (2007). Making the transition to e-learning, Information Science Publishing, USA. Census document (1991). National Census of India. Chandra S.S., Sharma R.K.(2004). Principles of Education, Atlantic Publishers. D.Alfred (1980). Women in contemporary India and South Asia, Manohar Publications, Delhi. Desai, Meera and Krishna Raj (1987). Women and Society in India, Ajanta Publishers, Delhi. Friedman, Betty (1963). The Feminine Mystique, New York, Norton. Garforth, E.W.(1962) Education and Social purpose, London. Gladially Rehana (Ed.) (1988). Women in Indian Society, Sage Publications, New Delhi. Gulati, Shila (2006). Women Education in 21st Century, ABD Publisher, Jaipur. Gupta, N.L.( 2000). Women Education through the ages, Concept Publishers, New Delhi. Henrich Robert (1990). Instruction Multimedia and the new technologies, Mcmillan, New York. Hughes, Mary and Kennedy (1985). New Futures, Changing women‘s education, Routledge and Paul, London. Jethani, Urmila (1994) Single Women, Rawat Publications, Jaipur. Page No.100 |
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Journal of Education in Asia (1998) Janaury-March. K. Vidyavathi (2009) Women in Information Technology enabled services, Associate Publishers. Letchem, Colin (1993). Interactive multimedia, Kogen Page, London. Mathur, Y.B. (1973). Women Education in India, Delhi University Press.\Mannheim, Carl & Stewart (1982). An Introduction to the Sociology of Education, London, Routledge and Kegan, Mc. Cormack, C, & Jones, D. (1988). Building a web based education system, Wiley Computer Publishing, New York. Mishra Sanjaya, Sharma C. Ramesh (2007). Cases on global e-learning practices, Information Science Publishing, USA. N.Syed & Naik J.P. (1981). A History of Education in India, Macmillan, Mumbai. NIEPA Report (1999). Learning: The treasure within, Implications for Asia, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. Pal, B.K. (1989). Problems and concerns of Indian Women, ABC Publications, New Delhi. Slipman, Sue (1986). Helping Ourselves to Power, Pergamon Press, Oxford. Selections from University News-III (1999). Association of India Universities. Tiwari, Murli Dhar, 2001, Education and e-governance, Macmillan, Delhi. Vardhan, Ranjay (2007). Single Women: A Study of Spinsters, Indian Publisher Distributors, Delhi. Verma, Mahesh (2006). Gender, girls and women education, Murari Lal & Sons, Delhi. Verma, H.N. & Amrit Verma (1986). Women through the Ages, Indian Publishers, New Delhi.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS
E-book: Proceedings of the Symposia on Philosophy edited by Prof. A.K.Sinha https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/e-book-proceedings-of-thesymposia-of-philosophy-late-prof-a-k-sinha/
Poster: What is Positive Philosophy https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/poster-what-is-positivephilosophy/
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Sophia: Student Magazine https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/sophia-student-magazineyear-03-no-02-november-2014/
LokÄ yata: Journal of Positive Philosophy , Volume IV, No. 02 (September, 2014) https://www.scribd.com/doc/241947519/Lok%C4%81yata-Journal-of-PositivePhilosophy-Vol-IV-No-02-Sept-2014
For details of other publication, visit to our new website: Shandanjali : Our Publications http://cppispublications.wordpress.com
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CALL FOR PAPERS Announcement of Research Paper Prize for the session 2014-2015 Dear Scholar/Professor/Researcher It’s a matter of pleasure that the Centre announces two best paper prizes with the name “Prof. (Dr.) Sohan Raj Laxmi Devi Tater Jodhpur (Rajasthan) Research Paper Prize” for our online journals Lokayata: Journal of Positive Philosophy and Milestone Education Review for the session 2014-2015. Eligibility: Those scholars who will contribute their research papers in one of the forthcoming issues, are eligible for these prizes: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Lokayata :Journal of Positive Philosophy, Vol. IV, No.2, September, 2014 Milestone Education Review, Year 05, No.02, October, 2014 Lokayata :Journal of Positive Philosophy, Vol. V, No.1, March, 2015 Milestone Education Review, Year 06, No.01, April, 2015
The selection criteria will be the innovative theme, content and writing style of the paper. Kindly follow the special theme, if mentioned there. You can visit the following websites for our call for papers: Lokayata: Journal of Positive Philosophy (ISSN :2249-8389) http://lokayatajournal.webs.com Milestone Education Review (ISSN:2278-2168) http://milestonereview.webs.com Kindly contribute your research paper in the abovementioned journals and be a part of CPPIS’s work. Waiting for your positive response.
For more details of seminars, conferences, jobs and workshops etc. kindly visit to Philosophy News in India: http://newsphilosophy.wordpress.com
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Programmes and Participations Programme Organised:
Second Online Session of SPPIS, Haryana on the theme “Development of Philosophy in India” Centre for Positive Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies (CPPIS) Pehowa (Kurukshetra) on 24th June, 2014. “World Philosophy Day-2013” at Departments of Philosophy and French, P.G.Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh in association with CPPIS, Pehowa (Kurukshetra) held on 19th November, 2014.
E-books /Special Issues published: What is Positive Philosophy (Poster) https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/poster-what-is-positivephilosophy/ Sophia: Student Magazine https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/sophia-student-magazineyear-03-no-02-november-2014/ Proceedings of the Symposia on Philosophy edited by Prof. A.K.Sinha (E-book) https://cppispublications.wordpress.com/2014/11/18/e-book-proceedings-of-thesymposia-of-philosophy-late-prof-a-k-sinha/ Shandanjali : Our Publications http://cppispublications.wordpress.com Lokāyata: Journal of Positive Philosophy , Volume IV, No. 02 (September, 2014) https://www.scribd.com/doc/241947519/Lok%C4%81yata-Journal-of-PositivePhilosophy-Vol-IV-No-02-Sept-2014 CPPIS Manual for Contributors and Reviewers http://www.scribd.com/doc/137190047/CPPIS-Manual-for-ContributorsReviewers PROCEEDINGS Second Online Session of SPPIS Haryana http://sppish2session.wordpress.com/2014/06/24/proceedings-of-second-onlinesession/ Papers Published: “समाज में मूल्यों एवं मानवाधिकार शिक्षा की उपयोधिता” in Lokayata: Journal of Positive Philosophy, Vol.IV, No.02, September, 2014, pp. 41-48 (ISSN 2249-8389).
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Online Article Published: शहीद भगत ससिंह का भारतीय यव ु ाओिं को सन्दे श (शहीद भगतससिंह जयिंती ववशेष-२०१४) ‘महहषासुर’ -प्रमोद रिं जन Report on Teachers’ Day Celebration-2014 Short Report on the Lecture on “Ideals of Sarada Ma in Modern Age” Report on the World Philosophy Day -2014 Main Websites: http://milestone02.webs.com http://positivephilosophy.webs.com http://msesaim.wordpress.com http://cppispublications.wordpess.com http://newsphilosophy.wordpress.com
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CONTRIBUTORS OF THIS ISSUE Dr. Manoj Kumar, Assistant Professor, P.G.Deptt. of Sociology, P.G.Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh (Guest Editor). Ms. Deepikaa Gupta, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Human Rights and Duties, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Dr. Swarnjit Kaur, Coordinator, Centre for Human Rights and Duties, Panjab University, Chandigarh. Dr. S. Deepa, Lecturer in Commerce, Sri Sarada College for Women (Autonomous), Salem. Dr. Lilu Ram Jakhar, Assistant Professor, Government College of Education, Sector 20-D, Chandigarh. Ms. Reena Kushwaha, Assistant Professor in Political Science, P.G.Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh. Dr. G.S. Shivakumar, Assistant Professor, Kumadvathi College of Education, Shikaripura, Shimoga, Karnataka. Mr. T. Manichander, Research Scholar, Faculty of Education, IASE, Osmania University Hyderabad. Dr. Sheojee Singh, Assistant Professor of Physics, Govt. College of Education, Sector 20-D, Chandigarh. Dr. Dhiraj Sharma (Off.Principal) S.B.H.S.M. Khalsa College of Education, Mahilpur,Hoshiarpur. Ms. Suman Dhull, Dept. of Computer Science , DAV College, Sector – 10, Chandigarh. Ms. S. M. Shashirekha, Research Scholar Department of Education, Davangere University Davangere. Dr. Mouchumi Deka, Ph. D Research Scholar, Department of Education, Assam University, SilcharAssam University, Silchar. Dr. Ranjay Vardhan, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, PGGCG, Sector-42, Chandigarh.
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About the Editor
Dr. Manoj Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the P.G.Department of Sociology, P.G. Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigah since 2003. Before that he served A.S.S.M. College, Mukandpur for four years. He is a Gold-Medalist in M.A. Sociology from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. He completed his Ph.D. from Panjab University, Chandigarh on "Impact of Emigration on Families Left behind: A study of the selected villages in Punjab". Presently, he is an elected member of Academic Council and Board of Studies (Sociology) of Panjab University, Chandigarh. He has been invited as a resource person to present papers and chair sessions at several national seminars. He is the Chief-Editor of Intellectual Quest - a peer reviewed journal and member of the editorial board of many journals including Milestone Education Review. He has published several books and research papers in the field of Human Rights, International Migration and Corporate Social Responsibility etc. One of his book “Human Rights for All� published from the Centre for Positive Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies (CPPIS) Pehowa (Kurukshetra) in 2012. He is guiding Ph.D. students in the field of Sociology of Education, Health and International Migration.
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Special Issue on Higher Education in India
Page No.109 |
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