Perceptual Chasm Between Industry and Academic Leaders on the Quality of Higher Education
Volume 7 Issue 2 Spring 2009
Posted On Thu, Apr 30 2009 04:20:05
Authors: S.Rajasingh , B.Rajasekaran
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INTRODUCTION
In the context of the Information Technology Revolution, Communication Explosion, the Knowledge Economy and Globalization, India's production of Professionals is phenomenal. With over 300 Universities and 15,600 Colleges spewing out 2.5 million graduates each year, in terms of the volume of production India trails behind only the US and recently China. Each year India produces 350,000 Engineers, twice the number produced by the US. A recent evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes all over the world, conducted by a Shanghai university, has not a single Indian University in the world's top 300 - China has six.
Within a context of Higher Education gaining an international dimension, Universities and Higher Education Institutions are expected to be sensitive to Local, National and Global expectations. In short, Leaders of Universities and Higher Education Institutions are expected to play a very different, dynamic, role than Universities of twentieth Century in India. UGC grants many Higher Education Institutions the status of Deemed Universities. Universities and Deemed Universities are increasing student intake, course offerings , partnerships, non-traditional modes of learning, flexible lifelong learning initiatives etc. In the case of affiliating Universities, their role in promoting the concept of academic autonomy for colleges and in providing academic leadership for Quality enhancement is being emphasized.
The various dimensions of changing conditions and emerging trends discussed above - starting from ‘mass higher education of comparable quality’ to ‘new models of management and performance evaluation’- have brought both...