Academic institutions must raise the bar to be future-ready

THe National Education Policy has offered opportunities

for progressive institutions to step into the new dynamics of millennial academics. Subsequent statutes have envisaged an era where collaborative uplift, shared synergies, global partnerships and Vision-2050 shall define the academics of tomorrow.

As foreign universities set up campuses in India, partnering with local organisations or embarking on singular forays, the existing domestic beacons of literacy face many challenges.

Some institutions of faith had long back acquired significance and developed into arenas of higher learning. They include Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University and Khalsa College, Amritsar. Khalsa College did not get the status of a university by default because of its non-cooperative attitude towards the British. Its pro-Independence stance led to its stagnation. That discrimination, however, did not stop in independent India either. Its aspiration of graduating into a university has been stalled at many junctures in its history since 1892.

Meanwhile, the Anglo-Vedic college network of DAV institutions grew at an aggressive pace, delivering sanatan-accented education across the northern region. In 2016, both Khalsa College and the DAV, along with nine other private bodies, were granted university status by the Akali-BJP government in Punjab.

However, within months of this development, the subsequent Congress government singled out the Khalsa institution and repealed the Act under which it was set up. By then, it had 180 masters and PhD scholars on its rolls. They had to run helter-skelter to continue their courses. The fact that Khalsa University, independent of the Khalsa College, eventually came into being and was rescinded, was a body blow to the Khalsa College Charitable Society. It had aspired for this honour and nurtured many other universities from within its campuses.

However, in October this year, after a six-year delay, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment, setting aside an Act of legislature and adjudicated status quo to the 2017 formation. This victory for academic institutions has laid bare the illogical stance of politics.

Meanwhile, despite these adversities, the Khalsa society had made significant progress in the last two decades. It had set up professional colleges of pharmacy, nursing, law, veterinary sciences, education, engineering and others, while consolidating and increasing the number of students in the legacy institutions. A hospital and medical college is also in the offing.

The role of faith institutions in the field of school education, too, has been colossal. Over 55,000 Christian missionary schools are catering to 25 million children of all faiths in India. It is said that the majority of Indian Prime Ministers have received convent education at some point in their lives. In contrast, there are only around 24,010 madarsas and some 4,500 Vedic gurukuls in the country. In the Sikh community, the Guru Harkrishan Public School movement and SGPC schools number just a few hundred.

Various faiths follow an inclusive and secular approach to primary education, while Islamic institutions run on the strict madrasa system with a religious and ideological approach to learning. Though the higher echelons of learning are more transparent, the appetite for openness is limited.

The Economic Survey 2024 has highlighted serious gaps in the education system, wherein 52.8 per cent of the graduates were found to be ‘unemployable’. This is a telling comment on systemic failure and necessitates introspection.

For academic institutions, especially those with extensive networks, the time has come to either make it in the business of literacy or be left behind. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar recently termed the quest for overseas education a ‘new disease’ which has caused a $6-billion hole in our foreign exchange kitty. Now, the global village itself is planting seeds of competition in our midst.

To stem academic procrastination within India, the Central Government has opened its doors not just to the Cambridges and Harvards of the world, but also any institution that has substantive prowess and history of excellence in the field of knowledge. It has, perhaps, set a purposeful cat among the pigeons.

The question, thus, shall be of leadership and educational acumen of institutions. It shall be a test of the managements — whether they can ride the change or will go under. Some faith organisations have built-in systems of governance to improve their competence and service delivery. Anglo-Vedic institutions have a policy of bringing on board stalwarts like retired Army Generals, judges and government servants.

Christian missionary institutions have incorporated structures to ensure that new blood is nurtured. A case in point is the succession strategy of Christian Medical College. It selects its leadership five years in advance. The person is nurtured for the task at hand and even sent for an executive training programme to the IIM-Ahmedabad to hone his/her skills.

The future of successful enterprises in higher learning, thus, hinges on whether they can forsake nepotistic tendencies, political encumbrances and leadership fatigue. They must adopt a professional approach. The managements will be tested for their wisdom as well as the acumen and dynamism of their executive teams and educators. The latter will need to be open to unlearning and relearning the art of teaching. Their goalpost should be the placement and successful careers of their wards. The alumni base is an unmatchable asset of any school. It will also be required to be primed for participation in this onward march.

GenNext cannot be given short shift if we are to convert the nation’s demography into a dividend. While India@75 has fallen way short of its target of having a fully productive generation, India@100 will require a larger number to be serviced along with more options and opportunities as well. It is the learners who will, henceforth, have the option to choose from a wider bouquet of academic institutions, of faith or otherwise. The deliverer of knowledge will need to compete and be future-ready. Otherwise, it is likely to be in for a future shock.