Institution of Eminence : Analysis

Context

The Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken the decision to give Institution of Eminence (IoE) status to six institutes

The three pillars for growth (Make a diagram of these)

Research output of India among other countries

The growth of these and other national institutions will also depend on policies to raise the expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP.
Among countries with a comparable research output, India with 0.8% R&D spending trails Russia, Brazil, South Korea and even Singapore, according to UNESCO data.

Issues at hand

It should be ensured that this conditional recognition is fulfilled transparently, and that it meets the requirements on governance structure, infrastructure and faculty within three years.
That there is need for urgent reform became clear during the selection process: the empowered committee found that State universities had a low output because some of them had several faculty members recruited on contract basis, with no incentive to do research.
Such ad hocism must end, and public universities should be insulated from political pressures.
Vice-chancellors should be appointed on merit, free of ideological biases.
With good governance structures and significant new financial grants, the selected public institutions will be able to innovate on courses and encourage research.
The quality is uneven, and at the bottom levels, abysmal.
At the same time, initiatives by charitable trusts — which have declined due to political support for commercialisation and aid cuts — must be welcomed, as this would help open more affordable colleges and universities.

Conclusion

The idea of developing centres of higher learning advances the Nehruvian vision of building ‘temples of modern India’.
Islands of eminence can inspire, but the long-term goal should be to raise the quality of higher education in all institutions through academic reform.
The Institution of Eminence (IoEs) can become models of autonomy, academic innovation and equity of access, and lead to a transformation of higher education.

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