scholarly journals Higher Education in India: A Perspective of Its Autonomy and Accountability

Author(s):  
Prahallad Majhi

ABSTRACT This paper aims at revealing the facts related to the status of autonomy and accountability in Indian higher education institutions which comprises a historical account and contemporary policy concerns, practices and challenges. After review of data from secondary sources, this study found that in India there are two major contradicting contexts. One is that where the institutions have restricted autonomy but are held accountable in defined forms and the other are the institutions which exercise fairly more autonomy but do not have expected accountability. Considering the prevailing circumstances, through this paper it is recommended that there is a need for balancing autonomy and accountability in management of higher education with prudential leadership and equitable distribution of resources meant for education in India so as to make it more approachable and productive.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghna Chhabra ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Sahil Malik ◽  
Narendra Singh Chaudhary

PurposeThe study aims to evaluate the components of entrepreneurship education and training (EET) in India. The paper proposes a framework for an effective EET regime for amalgamating entrepreneurship education as fundamental to mainstream higher education in India.Design/methodology/approachThe current study utilises a qualitative research technique, that is, the narrative inquiry methodology based on in-depth interviews. The study respondents included sixteen educators who are actively engaged in EET and related activities for a minimum of ten years.FindingsThe study identified five broad “meaning units” or “themes,” that is, “incremental pedagogical efficiency and flexible evaluation systems,” “entrepreneurial experience of the faculty,” “extended support,” “holistic mentoring” and “experiential learning” as components of an effective EET regime.Originality/valueThe study will help the policymakers and higher education institutions (HEIs) revisit their policy frameworks and practices to promote entrepreneurial capacity and entrepreneurial intentions among students. The study will also help to gain deeper insights into EET components and will propose a framework for an effective EET regime based on its findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-140
Author(s):  
Neera Chopra

The demand for higher education has been steadily rising all over the world including developing nations like India.  As higher education systems are rapidly expanding, the  administration and management of HEIs (Higher  Educational Institutions, that is, universities and institutes  offering Bachelor, Masters and Doctoral level education)  are becoming a complex task. HEIs are now much more  diversified in types of institutions, modes of delivery and  backgrounds of students. Technology can help HEIs  innovate and serve the diversified student body by  providing accessible and flexible education experiences.  Information and Communication Technology (ICT) also  offers unprecedented opportunities for a seamless sharing  of knowledge and information between university  administrators, teachers, students and all stakeholders. The  main objective of this study is to examine and compare the status of the use of ICT between different types of  universities within India. It will further look into the  challenges faced by these institutions to implement digital  technologies. Besides academic literature, the present  study draws upon my previous article on the use of ICT in  higher education institutions in India. The study indicates  that while ICT is widely used for academic purposes, its use  is only limited in the management and administration of  higher education. Further studies are needed to identify  and suggest means to mitigate the challenges faced by the  Indian HEIs towards extensive adoption of ICT. This research will involve conducting, analysing and comparing  the results of the in-depth interviews with the  administrative heads of concerned institutions. Assessment will also be done through a questionnaire on the integration of ICT in achieving the mission and vision of the  HEIs in both private and public universities. The expected  results are that private institutions have embarked on  technology with greater success and benefits. The study will  then recommend steps to profitably use available  technologies to improve performance, to enhance the  quality of their students and to facilitate all stakeholders.  The outcome of the research will provide insight into the  institutions themselves and the policymakers in the field of  education in India on the critical success factors of ICT  governance and define a course to develop technology- enabled smart universities.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.


2021 ◽  
pp. 006996672110638
Author(s):  
Jai Mohan Pandit ◽  
Bino Paul

This study investigates human resource management (HRM) practices in higher education institutions (HEIs) based on a comparative analysis of India and the US. Although higher education in India has grown over the decades, its quality, in general, has not kept up with global standards. On the other hand, many US universities have performed consistently well in international university rankings. Based on qualitative research collected from principal stakeholders of HEIs in India and the US, HRM practices and policies followed by them are presented and discussed. Data collection for the research study was through web interviews during the period August–October 2020. The study reveals that Indian public HEIs do not have professional HRM teams. Also, they are in a formative stage in autonomous and private institutions. On the other hand, many HEIs in the US have developed mature HRM systems. This difference resonates in attributes such as structure of HRM, recruitment and selection processes, training and development programmes, performance management, career progression and talent retention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-34
Author(s):  
Alexandr Rusanov ◽  

The article scrutinizes the ideas about the academic communities typical for the Latin world of the 13th and 14th centuries. It focuses on the ‘metaphorical vocabulary’ of academic corporations that was formed at that time within the framework of the Ars Dictaminis and was widely used to substantiate the status of university communities. These metaphors significantly supplemented the vague legal concepts that described academic communities (studium/studium generale, universitas). The most widespread metaphors of higher education institutions included such images as house of scholarship, seeds of knowledge, and treasure. All of them had deep roots in the Holy Scripture, but became widespread thanks to ‘exemplary’ texts included in rhetorical manuals and summae. With their help, social reality was interpreted within the framework of rhetoric as an epistemic system, often overlapping with the spheres of law and theology. The paper considers these metaphors in the context of their distribution, within the networks of local political and cultural ties drawing on cases of two Iberian universities – those of Lisbon (founded between 1288 and 1290) and Lleida (founded in 1300).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald Ozee Fernandes ◽  
Balgopal Singh

PurposeThe higher education system has been entrusted globally to provide quality education, especially to the youth, and equip them with required skills and capabilities. The visionaries and policymakers of the countries around the world have been working relentlessly to improve the standard of the higher education system by establishing national and global accreditation and ranking bodies and expecting measuring performance through setting up accreditation and ranking parameters. This paper focuses on the review of Indian university accreditation and ranking system and determining its efficacy in improving academic quality for achieving good position in global quality accreditation and ranking.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed exploratory research approach to know about the accreditation and ranking issues of Indian higher education institutions to overcome the challenges for being globally competitive. The accreditation and ranking parameters and score of leading Indian universities was collected from secondary data sources. Similarly, the global ranking parameters and scores of these Indian universities with top global universities was explored. The performance gaps of Indian university in global academic quality parameter is assessed by comparing it with scores of global top universities. Further, each domestic and global accreditation and ranking parameters have been taken up for discussion.FindingsThe study identified teaching and learning, research and industry collaboration as common parameter in the accreditation and ranking by Indian and global accreditation and ranking body. Furthermore, the study revealed that Indian accreditation and ranking body assess leniently on parameters and award high scores as compared to rigorous global accreditation and ranking practice. The study revealed that “research” and “citations” are important parameters for securing prestigious position in global ranking, this is the reason Indian universities are trailing. The study exposed that Indian academic fraternity lack prominence in research, publication and citations as per need of global accreditation and ranking standards.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study is that it focused only on few Indian and global accreditation and ranking bodies. The future implication of this study will be the use of methodology designed in this study for comparing accreditation and ranking bodies’ parameters of different continents and countries in different economic development stages i.e. emerging and developed economies to know the disparity and shortcomings in their higher education system.Practical implicationsThe article is a review and comparison of national and global accreditation and ranking parameters. The article explored the important criteria and key indicators of accreditation and ranking that would provide an important and meaningful insight to academic institutions of the emerging economies of the world to develop its competitiveness. The study contributed to the literature on identifying benchmark for improving academic and higher education institution quality. This study would be further helpful in fostering new ideas toward setting up of contemporary globally viable and acceptable academic quality standard.Originality/valueThis is possibly the first study conducted with novel methodology of comparing the Indian and global accreditation and ranking parameters to identify the academic quality performance gap and suggesting ways to attain academic benchmark through continuous improvement activity and process for global competitiveness.


2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-786
Author(s):  
Hong Zhang ◽  
Julie A. Kmec

We investigate the way norms regarding the connections between work and family influence the career consequences of being a dual-career academic. We pay special attention to “gender deviants”—men who indicate that their career is secondary to that of their wife’s career, and women who say their career is primary to that of their husband’s. Analyses using survey data from faculty in seven U.S. universities find male gender conformists (men who perceive their career as primary) report fewer negative career consequences than the other groups. Gender deviants have the lowest levels of organizational commitment. Female and male gender egalitarians (ranking their career as equal) report greater organizational commitment. Gender conformity—that is, ranking one’s career and relationship in the manner society expects—benefits men more so than women. We discuss implications for findings, particularly as they relate to recruitment and retention of dual-career academics in higher education institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhir Rana ◽  
Shubhangi Verma ◽  
Moon Moon Haque ◽  
Gouher Ahmed

Purpose The manuscript reflects on the future of higher education from an emerging country perspective. The authors specifically answer how new education policies, ranking and accreditation are impacting the current state of Indian higher education institutions (IHEIs) and how IHEIs can cultivate their path towards positioning themselves internationally. This study aims to bring together existing scenarios and to serve as a springboard for future research and applications. Design/methodology/approach The manuscript is designed and executed as a conceptual study exploring the current state and prospects for IHEIs. The study synthesizes the concepts of positioning strategies in context to IHEIs. A conceptual diagram integrating existing concepts from marketing, total quality management and business education is created to understand the phenomenon among the IHEIs stakeholders. Findings The authors found that IHEIs started showing their international presence yet they are facing various challenges (government bureaucracy; international salary standards; global student population; and cultural sensitivity). The authors also found that the positioning problem is not a one-time attempt; the complexity of higher education is a “wicked problem” and, hence needs to be evaluated, changed and executed continuously. The manuscript offers relevant information to IHEIs leaders and stakeholders to improve on their international positioning strategies and proposes avenues for future research. Originality/value The study outlines future development and positioning strategic plans that IHEIs may consider and reflect in their strategic plan. The conceptual diagram on achieving successful international positioning and problem areas is expected to act as a guidebook for the key decision-makers. The focus is on distinguishing the imperatives, creating a key guide for meeting immediate requirements, allotting assets prudently to update their international presence. The study will provide IHEIs with a new lease of life in the future.


Author(s):  
Elżbieta Janczyk-Strzała

The basis of any business, including non-public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), is financial security, which is ensured by achieving sufficiently high profits and financial liquidity. Especially in these times, a rapidly changing market, the competition, and the upcoming birth rate forces HEIs to optimize operational and strategic decisions. On one hand, it creates new opportunities for non-public HEIs, but on the other, it is a source of danger for the future of their operations. Therefore, they must not only overcome the difficulties encountered in everyday life but also try to respond to the challenges posed by their environment, demonstrating the special care to ensure the efficiency of their operations. They must not only try to increase the quality of offered services or manage their funds rationally but with equal attention should “invest” in modern management methods and concepts. Through the use of controlling, contemporary non-public HEIs are able to choose an optimum variant of decision facilitating the achievement of their goals. In view of the above, this chapter discusses the special considerations relating to controlling HEIs from the point of view of increasing their effectiveness.


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