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After reading this article you will learn about the Higher Education System in India:- 1. Introduction to Higher Education System 2. Aims and Objectives of Higher Education.
Introduction to Higher Education System:
Ancient sages of India had preserved Indian culture in achieving highest knowledge and perfection in like, which aims at crating and developing a national system of education having expressed universal love, unity and harmony.
Ancient history records that India has developed well system of higher education with the modern university process. Takshashila, Nalanda, vikramasila, the prominent universities in the world were running in ancient India during 6th century B.C and 4th and 5th centuries AD respectively.
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During medieval period most of the universities disappeared from the scene and the muslins established their own institutions of higher learning which were known as Madrasas. Unfortunately these traditions did not survive and the modern higher educational institutions were established during British period.
After the recommendations of wood’s Dispatch, 1854, modern type of universities was established in the model of the London University. The earliest of these were the universities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras-all founded in 1857, which were set up under British rule.
The universities of Punjab and Allahabad were incorporated in the lines of the old universities in 1882 and 1887. By 1901-02, during Lord Curzon’s viceroyalty, there was rapid expansion of College Education.
In 1913, the Government of Lord Hardinge, issued a resolution and accepted the need for establishing more universities. Is a result of this policy six new universities, Banaras and Mysore in 1916, Patna in 1917, Hyderabad in 1918, S.N.D.T women’s university in 1916, came into existence.
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The Calcutta university commission was appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. Michael Sadler, (The vice chancellor of the Leeds University) in September 14, 1917, to investigate the problems of higher education pertaining to Calcutta University.
The commission also suggested for the establishment of the Department of Education in the Universities and inclusion of education as a subject for the H.A (pass) and intermediate course. It tried to give a new shape to the university education in India by bringing it nearer to the practical aspects of life.
As a result of which a number of universities like Delhi, Aligarh, Lucknow, Dacca, Rangoon, Nagpur, Andhra, Annamalai, Travancore, Utkal in 1943, Sind and Rajputana in 1947 were established. There were 20 universities and 500 colleges in the country at the time of Independence. But after Independence, the number of universities and colleges increased considerably.
Now the number of universities and colleges are about 300 and 15000 with a students’ enrolment of over 88 lakhs, which is about 10% of the total enrolment in higher education institutions of the whole world. The total number of teachers serving in colleges and universities is about 3.51 lakhs.
Aims and Objectives of Higher Education:
The Government of India appointed University education commission under the Chairmanship of Dr. Radhakrishnan in November 1948. The commission made a number of recommendations on various aspects of higher education and submitted its report in August 1949.
The following are the objectives of higher education:
(i) Higher education should give both knowledge and wisdom.
(ii) Educational system must find its guiding principle in the aims of the social order.
(iii) It should inculcate democratic idealism among the learners.
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(iv) It should give stress on love for higher values of life.
(v) The central aims of higher education should be the training for leadership in the professions and public life.
(vi) It should create a feeling of nationalism and creation of world state.
In the year 1964, July 14, Indian Education commission was appointed under the chairmanship of Dr. D.S. Kothai.
Regarding the qualitative development of higher education the commission suggested the following objectives:
(i) To seek and cultivate new knowledge vigorously in the pursuit of truth and to interpret old knowledge in the light of new needs and discoveries.
(ii) To provide the right kind of leadership in all walks of life.
(iii) To identify gifted youth and help them to develop their potentiality to the full.
(iv) To provide society with competent men and women trained in agriculture, arts, medicine, science and technology.
(v) To strive to promote equality and social justice and to reduce social and cultural differences.
(vi) To foster in teachers and students the attitudes and values needed for developing the ‘good life’ in individuals and society.
(vii) To develop higher education system through organization of different educational activities.
The National Policy on Education 1986, visualized that higher education should become dynamics as never before.
According to the policy, the main features of the programme and strategies to impart the necessary dynamism to the higher education system consist of the following:
(i) Consolidation and expansion of Institution.
(ii) Development of Autonomous colleges and Department.
(iii) Redesigning of courses.
(iv) Training of teachers.
(v) Strengthening of Research.
(vi) Establishment of Open University and Distance Learning.
(vii) Delinking Degrees from Jobs.
(viii) Improvement in efficiency.
(ix) Preparation of code of professional ethics.
The major developments in the field of higher education after NPE, 1986 and Programme of Action, 1992 were the revision of pay scale of university and college teachers, provision for career advancement linked to performance appraisal and training, introduction of National Eligibility Test (NET) for recruitment of university and college teachers, establishment Academic staff college, conferment of autonomous status to the colleges of some states, expansion of the distance learning etc.
In pursuance of the recommendations in the policy, UGC issued guidelines to state government and universities for establishment of state councils of Higher Education (SCHE). As a matter of fact, higher education has a crucial role in training man power for national development.