The UGC's pledge

We welcome the pledge by Prof A. K. Azad Choudhury, the newly appointed chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), to expand the country's higher education system while not compromising on quality.
In order to transform the pledge into action, however, a number of matters must be taken into consideration. As the chairman has duly noted, while universities have increased in number in the country, the quality of education provided by them has not seen a concomitant rise. The politicisation of public universities and commercialisation of private universities are possibly the greatest barriers in this regard. Both evils have led to a steady decline in the quality of education imparted at the highest seats of learning in the country. Political unrest leading to session jams and violence at public universities and "business mentality" causing substandard teaching and grading at private universities are common concerns.
A more recent rising trend has been the consultancy phenomenon and part-time migration of public university teachers to private universities where the label of the former creates opportunities for higher incomes in the latter. In terms of quality research, too, there is a shortage due not only to limited funding but also lack of motivation for faculty members. The lack of modern technological facilities such as fully computerised library systems also hinders the academic process.
It is important that the UGC set, implement and effectively enforce its own standards and rules in order to maintain and increase the quality of higher education in the country. This includes infrastructural and technological developments at the institutions as well as increased research opportunities for faculty members. The first step towards "education oriented to life and livelihood", as promised by the new chairman, would be to give education itself top priority through foregoing politics, business and anything else which is an obstacle to higher learning.