Higher Education of India: Innovations and Challenges

The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational & Social Sciences (EPESS) ISSN: 2587-1730 The Eurasia Proceedings of Educational & Social Sciences (EPESS), 2015 Volume 2, Pages 144-152 ICEMST 2015: International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology HIGHER EDUCATION OF INDIA: INNOVATIONS AND CHALLENGES Rajnalkar LAXMAN Dept. of studies in commerce, Gulbarga University Anil Kumar HAGARGI Dept. of Management, Gulbarga University ABSTRACT: Education plays a pivotal role in the development of the society and decides the direction in which it has to develop. It has been the salient driver for the achievement of various societal milestones. Since development and advancement is order of the day, education has caught the limelight and turned to be paramount significance. In the present paper, an attempt is being made to throw some light on the current status of higher education, Gross enrolment ratio, state of employability of the output of higher learning institutions. Providing quality education and producing employable output has been a major challenge faced by institutions of higher education. We survive in a society where education is base to go up in the ladder socially, politically, economically etc, in the society. The paper further highlights the innovativeness being developed, persued and followed in the in the wake of changing dimensions of education globally. Academicians and administrators have to think on serious initiatives to be followed to bring about desired changes. The curriculum and delivery mechanism has to be restructured and updated from time to time to meet the expectations of the society. Though there is a visible growth in terms of increase in number of higher learning institutions i.e. 523 universities, deemed universities and institutions with national importance are functioning in India, but not even a single higher learning institution from India figured in the top 200 institutions in the world, this poses serious question on the education system being followed in the country which can only be answered by adopting innovative changes in higher learning institution. The concerted efforts so initiated may bring desired quality results from the sector. Thus the present paper makes an effort to critically examine the present status of higher education system in the country and offer measures to be adopted in the days to come to make the sector more vibrant and relevant and more societal oriented. Education ultimately should enable the society to attain and achieve the desired changes and enjoy the demographic dividend. Further it should contribute visibly in the development of productive social capital. Keywords: GER, employability, higher education, higher learning institution, demographic dividend, social capital, curriculum INTRODUCTION India has been witnessing a consistently higher rate of economic growth in the recent times. It has now turned to be a major player in the global knowledge economy of the present time. Skill-based activities have made significant contribution to the growth. Such activities depend on the large pool of qualified manpower that is fed by its large higher education system. It is now widely accepted that higher education has been critical to India‟s emergence in the global knowledge economy. Yet, it is believed that a crisis is plaguing the Indian higher education system. While, the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) set up by the Prime Minister, calls it a „quiet crisis‟, the Human Resource Minister calls higher education „a sick child‟. Industries routinely point towards huge skill shortages and are of the opinion that growth momentum may not be sustained unless the problem of skill shortages is addressed. This appears to be endless problems with the Indian higher education. An unwieldy affiliating system, inflexible academic structure, uneven capacity across subjects, eroding autonomy of academic institutions, low level of public funding, dysfunctional regulatory environment are some of its many problems. Finally, it is widely held that it suffers from several systemic deficiencies and is driven by - This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. - Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the conference *Corresponding author: Rajnalkar LAXMAN - [email protected] © 2015 Published by ISRES Publishing: www.isres.org International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey populism, and in the absence of reliable data, there is little informed public debate. More than 35 years ago, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, while analyzing the crisis in Indian education, rather than attributing the crisis in Indian education to administrative neglect or to thoughtless action, pointed out that the „grave failures in policymaking in the field of education require the analysis of the characteristics of the economic and social forces operating in India, and response of public policy to these forces‟ (Amartya Sen, „The Crisis in Indian education‟, Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial Lectures, 10–11 March 1970). He emphasized that „due to the government‟s tendency to formulate educational policies based on public pressure, often wrong policies are pursued.‟ Unfortunately, it is believed that policy-making suffers from similar failure even today. Rather than pragmatism, it is populism, ideology and vested interests that drive policy. It seeks to achieve arbitrarily set goals that are often elusive and, more than that, pursued half-heartedly. Evolution of Higher education: The tradition of higher education system India is old and inherited an age which has generated knowledge and learning right from the beginning of the Indian civilization. To take into consideration the period of Guptas they encouraged higher learning by patronizing center for higher education at Nalanda, Takshila, Ujjain, vikramshila and vallabhi. Each university as mentioned specialized in a particular group of study. These universities have become popular in 7th and 8th centuries A.D. After the advent of Buddhism people flocked to saranath university to study Buddhist religion and to Ajanta to specialize in art, architecture and painting. These institutions mainly funded by grants of land and donations. Such grants came from kings as well as affluent people existing in the then-society. In fact the historical data figures out a well-established system, which functioned in India as early as 1000 B.C. In that system the construction of knowledge, the beliefs on which the knowledge is based, basic concepts of the organizational learning were very different from the European tradition. Higher education system during British Raj: The European system of higher education was introduced by the British regime in India in the year 1857 with the establishment of universities for European education in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. If we consider the beginning of the British Raj in 1858, the British have done lot of work on the promotion of the English education along with higher education in India. With starting of English schools and promotion of English language in the higher education was a major contribution by the regime. Present status of higher Education in India: The higher education in India has grown significantly over the years and played pivotal role in the creation of human capital contributing substantially the economic growth. The education being the concurrent subject, the state and centre playing an important role in the field of higher education by establishing higher learning institutions and enhancing the reach of the higher education. The following tables provides an over view and development of higher education in India. Table 1: No. Of Institutions During The Year 2010-11 No. of Institutions/enrolment Year (2010-2011) Universities 523 Colleges 33023 AICTE Technical Institutions 11089 Distance teaching Institution and Universities 200 Source: MHRD Annual Report 2011-12 Table 2: Enrolment During The Year 2010-11 Enrolment in universities and colleges (In Lakhs) Enrolment in open distance learning( In Lakhs) Enrolment in post-sec/post graduate diploma ( In Lakhs) Intake in the AICTE Approved institutions (In Lakhs) 169.5 37.45 18.56 26.5 Source: MHRD Annual Report 2011-12 Higher Education sector in India has witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of Universities/Universities level Institutions and Colleges since Independence. The number of Universities has increased from 20 in 1950 to 677 in 2014. The sector boasts of 45 Central Universities, 318 State Universities, 185 Private universities, 129 Deemed to be Universities, 51 Institutions of National Importance (established under Acts of Parliament) under MHRD (IITs - 16, NITs – 30 and IISERs – 5) and four Institutions (established under various State legislations). The number of colleges has also registered manifold increase of just 500 in 1950 to 37,204, as on 31st March, 2013. There was a time when population of the India was much less and higher education was accessible for 145 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey everyone to pursue higher Education in India. but due to raise in population has made difficult to seek admission to universities and higher learning institution in India and it is also found that increased high cut-off percentage for admission as 80%, 85% even 90% in some of the discipline in prestigious universities and institutions of the India. The final onus resides with the teachers of the nation. They, by their precept as well as by their example of uprightness and devotion to perform duties and responsibilities should become the real torch bearers for the student community and win regard and reverence from them. That alone can place the University or the college campus above narrow perceptions. Private coaching has become a wide-spread malady among teachers. This needs to be curbed and controlled even by law, if required. Innovations initiated by the GOI: The government of India has come out with appropriate initiatives by establishing more central universities and higher learning institutions to make higher education easily accessible to all at the optimum cost. 1. Establishment of New Central Universities Central Universities Act, 2009, which came into effect from 15.1.2009, has established 16 new Central Universities in each such States (except Goa) which did not have a Central University; in Jammu & Kashmir, there are two Central Universities, one in Kashmir Division and another in Jammu Division. Besides J&K, the new Central Universities are established in the uncovered States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. Three State Universities which have been converted into Central University are Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in the State of Chhattisgarh, Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya in the State of Madhya Pradesh and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in the State of Uttarakhand. 2. Indira Gandhi National Tribal University The Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU), Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh, has been established by an Act of Parliament. It commenced its academic activities from the Academic Session 2008-09. The University is running Undergraduate as well as Postgraduate courses in various disciplines. The University is a teaching and affiliating university for facilitating and promoting avenues of higher education and research facilities for the tribal population of the country. 3. Setting Up Of 374 Degree Colleges in Educationally Backward Districts The Ministry has decided to set up Model Degree Colleges in those educationally backward districts of the country, where the GER or Gross Enrolment Ratio is less than the national average. In a survey, 374 such districts have been identified. Proposals are awaited from the respective State Governments for the establishment of such colleges. This scheme is a part of the Government policy for access, participation and expansion of higher education. 4. Scheme for Incentivizing State Governments for Expansion Of Higher Education Institutions A scheme is being introduced for incentivizing States for establishing new higher educational institutions/expanding existing higher educational institutions. This new Scheme will provide central assistance to the State Governments in the ratio of 1:2 (1:1 for Special Category States) for establishing new higher educational institutions/expanding existing higher educational institutions. The physical targets for XI Plan and XII Plan include new universities, colleges, engineering colleges as well as expansion of existing colleges. 5. Supporting Uncovered State Universities and Colleges Affiliated colleges of State Universities are technically under the purview of UGC but do not get assistance as they do not meet the minimum eligibility norms in terms of physical facilities and human resources. The Ministry intends to strengthen those colleges and universities with focus on underserved areas to enable these institutions to fulfill the criteria for UGC assistance. In the XIth Plan period, it is envisaged to provide additional assistance to universities and colleges which are already declared fit to receive grants under Section 12B of the UGC Act. 6. Strengthening Science Based Higher Education and Research in Universities 146 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey Looking at the declining quality and quantum of scientific research in India, an Empowered Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. M.M. Sharma was constituted for rejuvenation of Basic Scientific Research in Universities. Based on the recommendations of Task Force action for strengthening science based education and research in Universities has been initiated. The main objective of the scheme is to promote excellence in research in higher education by supporting research programmes of the University and College teachers in various disciplines. The UGC has been striving for promoting teaching and research in emerging areas in Humanities, Social Sciences, Languages, Literature, Pure Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Pharmacy, Medical Agriculture Science etc. Teachers who are permanent / regular, retired / working in the Universities and colleges which are recognized under section 2(f) and declared fit to receive grants under 12 B of the UGC Act, 1956 only are eligible. New Bill on Innovation Universities to boost Research and Collaboration: The government of India has introduced a bill in the parliament to establish universities to focus on innovation and research. The aim and intention behind it is to attract the foreign and domestic private investment to boost the nation‟s research capacity. The universities for research and innovation bill 2012, tabled in the lower house on 21st May, has been in the drafting process for some time and has been changed from the previous version that aimed to establish 14 new innovation universities. The revised version has no cap on number of universities to be setup. Under the same bill the existing universities can also be classified as innovation universities after a change in the governance structure. The change is attributed to government inability to reach its target to setup 51 new public higher education institutions- including 8 IIT‟s and 7 IIM‟s during the 11 th plan period during 2007-12. Several of the planned institutions failed to take off, due to delay in land acquisition and disputes between central and state government on where they should be setup. The changes reflect the government‟s realization that it cannot do everything by itself. Therefore, there are no numerical targets. At the same time there is an emphasis on encouraging private participation in higher education. Establishment of NEW IIT’s and IIM’s: The government has initiated for establishing new IIT‟s and IIM‟s as an expansion strategy of the higher education by giving representation to the states which do not possess existing IIT‟s and IIM‟s. The government has planned to start 5 new IIT‟s and half a dozen of IIM‟s which is announced in the budget and may be reality and operation from the academic year 2015-16. In this regard MHRD has sent a communication to 10 states where the IIT‟s and IIM‟s are likely to come up. According to the plan the nearest existing IIT and IIM‟s will serve as mentors in managing the new institutions till the appointment of their directors as the process takes 6 months for the appointing the director. In the course the mentor institution will be asked to find out temporary facilities till they get permanent campus. NISER (National Institute of science Education and Research): The government of India has earmarked an initial outlay of 823.19 crore (US$130 million) during the first seven years of this project, starting from September 2007.It is an autonomous institution which will be operated under the umbrella of department of atomic energy (DAE) of the Government of India. NISER will facilitate the synergy between research and higher education in the field of science. It will be categorically compared with the best institutions in India in terms of facilities and faculties. The atomic energy commission in its 182nd meeting approved the proposal of establishing the NISER at Bhubaneswar. Presently NISER has five schools namely:  School of biological sciences  Schools of chemical sciences  School of mathematical sciences  School of physical sciences  School of humanities and social sciences. IISER (Indian Institutes of science Education and Research): The Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM) under the Chairmanship of Prof. C.N.R. Rao, recommended creation of five new institutions devoted to science education and research to be named “Indian 147 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey Institutes of Science Education and Research” broadly on the lines of IISc. Bangalore. Five such Institutes have already been established at Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram. The vision of these institutes encompasses creation of research centers of the highest caliber in which teaching and education in basic sciences will be totally integrated with state-of-the-art research. These Institutions are devoted to under-graduate and post-graduate teaching in sciences in an intellectually vibrant atmosphere of research and make education and career in basic sciences more attractive by providing opportunities in integrative teaching and learning of sciences. The goals of these institutes, inter alia, are:       To create quality education and research in basic sciences. To attract and nurture high-quality academic faculty. To create integrated Masters Programme in sciences, in order to provide entry into research at a younger age. In addition, the Institutes will have integrated programmes leading to Masters and Ph.D‟s to those who hold a Bachelor‟s degree in science. To make possible a flexible borderless curriculum in sciences. To actively forge strong relationship with existing universities and colleges and network with laboratories and institutions. To establish advanced Research Laboratories and Central facilities. Policy Measures: The government of India adopted several policy measures to develop ideal ecosystem of higher education following are some of the salient initiatives being followed over the years. National Knowledge commission (NKC): The 21st century has been accorded globally as „knowledge century‟ every nation at present is operating in high competition in the education and innovation globally with more focus on quality, infra and knowledge. It is the think tank of India charged with considering policies that were aimed to sharpen the higher education and achieve India‟s competitive edge in the field of knowledge and intensive service sector. This came into force on 13th June 2005 by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the then prime minister of India. The commission was established to advise the prime minister on the policies pertaining to the education and research and the reforms which can make Indian globally recognized and turn as a major competitive force in the knowledge economy. The commission was to study the reforms which are required in the education sector, research labs and intellectual properly legislation, the same to be recommended to government of India. So that government can upgrade itself and use latest techniques to work in more transparent way. In the next few decades India will have most number of young people as compared to any country globally. Given this demographic advantage over the countries of west and the china we are optimally positioned in the words of the prime minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh, i.e “Leapfrog in the race of social and economic development” . by incorporation knowledge based paradigm of development socially and economically. With this broad view NKC was established and 3 years were given from the date of incorporation to achieve the set objectives. The objective is: The overall task of the NKC is to take the steps that will give India „the knowledge edge‟ in the upcoming decade and be a competitive force in the world in the field of education and research. To ensure India becomes a leader in the creation, application and dissemination of knowledge. RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Sikhsha Abhiyan): In India innovative education policies have yielded significant and remarkable results and achieved huge success. The programmes such as sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan for elementary education and Rashtriya Madhyamik Sikhsha Abhiyan for promotion of secondary education launched in the year 2001 and 2009 respectively have produced great results in the field of education. The UGC is being the regulatory body for the higher education in India has the provision for routine innovation and development in the university education across India. UGC looks after the funding of innovation and development in the universities, funding of the UGC is quite adequate for colleges and centrally funded universities operating in India, which are recognized under the section 12B and 2(f) of the UGC act. As of the statistical data of the year 31 st march 2012 India higher education sector consist of 574 universities, 35539 colleges out of which 214 universities are not covered under 12B and 2(f) of the UGC act. This state that large number of universities is run by the government but spending on the higher education and universities is very less to facilitate reforms in the sector and bring innovation, change and development. Therefore a separate scheme for state/UT-managed universities and colleges was proposed by the NDC (National Development Council) as part of 12th five year plan. 148 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey It is a holistic scheme of government of India for the development of higher education. This was the initiative taken by MHRD government of India in the year 2013; the centrally focused scheme aims for strategic funding to all the higher education institutions operating in India. Funding is done by the central ministry to the concerned state and union Territories (UT). Which in association with the central project appraisal board will monitor academic, administrative and financial advancement undertaken in the scheme. Which covers a total of 316 public universities and 13024 colleges/institutions. Accreditation of higher learning institutions in India: There are various bodies in India accrediting higher learning institutions NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council): It is the autonomous body of the university grants commission (UGC) which assess and accredits the universities and institutions in Indian. NAAC was established in the year 1994 with head quarters located in Bangalore-Karnataka in response to recommendations of National Policy in Education (1986). This policy was to "address the issues of deterioration in quality of education", and the Plan of Action (POA-1992) laid out strategic plans for the policies including the establishment of an independent national accreditation body. At present in India, accreditation is voluntary for Higher Education Institutions. Out of 612 Universities in the country, only 172 of them have been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Out of the Universities accredited, 67 have been placed in Grade A, 99 Universities in Grade B and only 6 in Grade C, based on scores awarded during the process of accreditation. A bill - National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 has been introduced in Parliament of India to make it mandatory for every higher educational institution in the country (other than institutions engaged in agricultural education) to be accredited by an independent accreditation agency. Issue and challenges before Higher Education in India: The present status of higher education in India is facing various challenges which need to be addressed with appropriate measures. The key challenges are Low gross enrolment ratio, quality in higher education and employability. Significantly inadequately funded state universities. Etc Some of the key problems faced by the higher education in India. Basically there are several problems which constitutes of lack of infrastructure in universities and institutions, faculty crunch and acute shortage of the teaching staff and poor faculties, low student enrolment and outdated teaching methods, decline in research standards, overcrowded classrooms, lack of motivated students, income and geographic factors etc are the prominent issues to be addressed by the regulatory bodies and government at both the centre and state level. The other major issue is quality of education imparted by the Indian universities and institutions in contrast to private institutions and foreign universities and producing employable output has one of the prime challenge that Indian higher education has to overcome. Ensuring equitable access to quality education to the poor students has turned out to be a major distant dream. The population of India is over 125 crores which is about 16% of the world‟s population and occupies the space of 2.4% of the total area and is 7th largest country in the world. It‟s been 6 decades India became independent from the British regime and transformed into a democratic nation. The population, area, history of India and a century old social stratification which are peculiar to the country to have contributed to the issues which Indian higher education is facing. During the launch of the 11 th plan prominent issue faced by the higher education are access to higher education, interstate and inter-district disparities, urbanrural disparities lead to low access of the higher education alongside inter-caste, inter religion, male-female, richpoor disparities have paralyzed the education of India. Imparting and providing the relevant education, academic reforms, governance in higher education, regulations of private sector in higher education and issues related to cross country and collaboration of education system has been major issues and challenges which needs to be attended with required focus. One of the major issues is to increase the GER to convert the society into a knowledgeable and productive society. ALL CATEGORIES Sl. No. SC ST STATES/UTs MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTAL 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 11.6 14.9 13.1 2 Andhra Pradesh 31.8 23.4 27.6 3 Arunachal Pradesh 36.9 24.9 30.9 4 Assam 14.5 14.2 14.4 11.9 5 Bihar 14.7 11.2 13.1 10.5 25.9 149 ‐ ‐ 20.4 11.4 ‐ ‐ 23.1 11.7 6.0 8.3 ‐ 14.4 25.9 20.0 25.6 16.6 21.0 ‐ 43.8 27.4 35.1 12.9 13.6 14.4 12.2 9.3 10.8 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey 6 Chandigarh 52.4 7 Chhatisgarh 8 9 12.1 9.9 11.0 10.0 7.5 8.8 5.6 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 6.2 7.1 6.5 6.7 5.2 6.1 1.6 1.0 1.3 Daman & Diu 3.0 7.6 4.2 10.7 22.7 16.2 18.1 9.2 13.6 10 Delhi 35.7 33.6 34.8 19.7 15.6 17.8 11 Goa 34.9 40.4 37.4 27.5 27.5 27.5 22.0 12 Gujarat 19.3 15.7 17.6 19.6 16.2 18.0 10.1 13 Haryana 28.4 27.3 27.9 18.8 16.9 17.9 14 Himachal Pradesh 25.7 24.2 25.0 14.3 12.8 13.5 15 Jammu and Kashmir 22.6 24.9 23.7 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.3 1.8 2.0 16 Jharkhand 9.1 6.5 4.2 5.4 3.9 3.9 3.9 17 Karnataka 25.2 22.8 24.0 17.1 13.7 15.4 14.4 11.0 12.7 18 Kerala 19.3 26.9 23.1 12.3 22.7 17.5 11.4 13.2 12.3 19 Lakshadweep 0.0 20 Madhya Pradesh 19.8 14.6 17.4 12.0 21 Maharashtra 29.7 24.8 27.4 27.1 22.5 22 Manipur 32.3 34.4 33.4 76.7 23 Meghalaya 14.3 18.3 16.4 24 Mizoram 21.6 19.6 20.6 25 Nagaland 22.0 13.7 17.9 26 Odisha 18.4 14.3 16.3 10.2 27 Puducherry 39.1 35.1 37.1 36.8 28 Punjab 22.6 17.1 20.0 9.3 7.0 8.2 29 Rajasthan 20.8 14.9 18.0 14.6 8.9 12.0 16.6 30 Sikkim 31.2 24.4 27.9 40.0 28.2 33.9 17.4 18.2 17.8 31 Tamil Nadu 41.1 35.2 38.2 28.7 25.6 27.1 34.2 27.9 31.0 32 Tripura 14.2 9.1 11.6 12.3 33 Uttar Pradesh 15.6 18.1 16.8 11.5 13.7 12.5 20.8 16.9 18.9 34 Uttrakhand 26.5 27.9 27.2 16.3 16.7 16.5 27.4 32.6 30.0 35 West Bengal 14.7 10.7 12.8 10.0 21.6 18.9 20.4 15.4 0.0 0.0 ‐ 11.1 19.2 ‐ 19.4 7.6 8.4 19.0 ‐ 53.0 All India 53.8 ‐ 21.1 ‐ 21.6 ‐ 19.7 ‐ 0.0 ‐ 20.4 24.9 15.9 9.1 12.5 72.4 74.5 24.8 20.5 22.7 48.6 24.0 37.0 8.6 13.4 11.1 98.2 128.6 109.2 21.8 19.5 20.6 ‐ 21.3 13.1 17.2 8.1 9.1 30.6 7.7 10.0 7.1 8.6 13.5 8.4 14.5 6.6 7.5 ‐ 33.5 ‐ 0.0 0.0 6.2 6.9 ‐ ‐ 9.4 9.7 7.6 ‐ 11.6 21.0 ‐ 4.6 5.1 ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ 9.7 13.2 7.7 ‐ 4.1 5.8 7.2 4.6 5.9 12.4 9.2 10.8 Table 3: State wise Gross Enrolment Ratio in Higher Education in the relevant age group of 18-23 Years Source: AISHE-2011-12 Gross enrolment ratio for the Indian higher education system is calculated for the age group of 18-23 years. Total enrolment in the higher education irrespective of age, expressed as percentage to the eligible population of the age group in the given school year. The GER is widely used to show the general level of participation and capacity of the higher education. The present data highlights detailed picture on the GER based on gender and all categories along the details pertaining to SC/ST GER in Indian Higher Education. The government of India is making efforts and taking initiatives to increase the present GER 19% to 30% by the year 2020. The GER of the SC category male is at 15.4% and female at 13.5 for the year 2010-11 as per the AISHE 2011-12. The global GER is at 26% as aspirants. India‟s GER of 19% is very as compared to the global scenario. Certainly the aim of India is to keep the momentum of GER which began in the 11 th five-year. To attract students to higher learning institutions quality has to be implemented right from the schools to higher learning institutions. The most prominent issues pertaining to the GER is enrolment in rural and semi urban areas may be due to availability and affordability of higher education and may be fee is a greater constraint for the aspirants. The government not only should think on GER in higher education but also has to take steps to employ the output 150 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey produced by the higher learning institutions and innovative methods of learning and teaching has to be adopted as per need to get the employment. The government should stress on the continuous updations and modification of the curricula in the wake of employment. The academicians and researchers has to appreciate the aspect of „standard of teaching‟ is pivotal in the higher education. The rise in the number of higher learning institutions are aimed to increase the GER but serious questions are posed on huge vacancy of teacher in all institutions who can contribute to „quality teaching‟ as per the present details there are 19 central universities established by the act of parliament and there are instances found poaching of good faculties from existing universities. What will be the result if more universities are established with the intention of increasing the GER. Employability: More than 20% of the Indian falls in the age group of 15-24 years are available for work according to the population census of 2011. While education system of India has made considerable progress in terms of capacity creation and enrolment in the last decade, it lags significantly in the terms of global relevance and competitiveness as stated by the repot of the FICCI (Federation of Indian chambers of commerce and Industry) and EY. The reports reveal that low employability of Indian graduates is due to outdated curricula, shortage of quality teaching faculty, high student-teacher ratio, lack of institute-industry linkage and lack of autonomy to introduced new and innovative progarmmes. Small portion of the Indian Graduates are found to be employable with the passage of time and declining in academic stature of high excellence. It is found that drop down in the placement in institutions other than top institutes and this cannot fulfill the total market demand. Further this has resulted to shut down number of small institute of higher education which was failing to provide quality education. The government has a tough time of generating employment and increasing GER simultaneously. The present phase of unemployment is high so increasing GER is bit difficult for the government. . At the beginning of the academic year 2004, the total number of students enrolled in the formal system of education in universities and colleges was 12.97 lakh -99.53 lakh (13.3 per cent) in university departments and 86.57 lakh (86.97 per cent) in affiliated colleges and 4.37 lakhs teaching Faculty employed making India‟s System of higher education the second largest in the world. Quality Of higher education: The overall higher education scenario of India does not match with the global Quality standards. Hence, there is enough justification for an increased assessment of the Quality of the country‟s educational institutions. Traditionally, these institutions assumed that Quality could be determined by their internal resources, viz., faculty with an impressive set of degrees and experience detailed at the end of the institute‟s admission brochure, number of books and journals in the library, an ultra-modern campus, and size of the endowment, etc., or by its definable and assessable outputs, viz., efficient use of resources, producing uniquely educated, highly satisfied and employable graduates. Fingers are raised on the current phase of the quality in HE in India as direct impact on employable factor as most of the output produced by the institutions is jobless. Competencies can be created among the students competencies in the form of recall; problem solving and understanding has to be uplifted to make them get employment. Restructuring of the academic syllabi and it should be free from politics and should hold autonomy for proposing and modernizing the Indian education system with the sole aim of producing talent. CONCLUSIONS The current arena is going to be tough for Indian higher education system as government is thinking to globalize the higher education system for transformation and standards in the education system. This will pose a serious question on the existing standards that how well the Indian universities and institutes are meeting the global challenges in the sector. Few feel that globalizing education would lead to quality education and research at large which will enable to capture the current and future challenges and explore the opportunities to excel in getting employment. Today we are producing graduates at high rate but still lot of them are unemployable we need to change this mindset and transform it by making suitable efforts to employ and increase employability. So it‟s time to transform, adapt change to impart high quality education. We understand that the present higher education is on the cross road and needs to bounce back on the right track so that it can be ray of hope for students of the nation. REFERENCES AISHE report 2011-12 http://www.universityworldnews.com http://www.telegraphindia.com http://www.niser.ac.in 151 International Conference on Education in Mathematics, Science & Technology (ICEMST), April 23 - 26, 2015 Antalya, Turkey http://www.aicte-india.org/ http://www.business-standard.com University news vol.49 No.10 march 07-13, 2011. University news vol 47 No.47 Nov 23-29, 2009. http://www.innovationcouncil.gov.in https://data.gov.in/keywords/gross-enrolment-ratio 152