‘Indian education needs research’

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Shashi Tharoor

The National Policy Dialogue on university rankings, research evaluation and research funding has sought to increase resources for research instead of focus on teaching.

Speaking at the occasion minister of state of human resource development Shashi Tharoor stated that rankings definitely carry certain value.
“The ranking are 60 per cent research oriented but Indian Universities focus on teaching rather than research. We need to increase resources for research,” Mr Tharoor said.
He pointed out that India has grown from 4,000 universities at the time of Independence to 20,000 currently.
“Focus was undoubtedly on expansion and equity and now we need focus on the third E of excellence,” he said.
He pointed out that the student-teacher ratio also needs to be fixed which a tricky business. “We should be discussing not the lack of Indian universities in global rankings but how to increase the number from say 10 to 20,” the minister added.
In his welcome address, higher education secretary Ashok Thakur said that the National Policy Dialogue between Times Higher Education, Thomson Reuters and vice chancellors & directors of various Indian Universities is the first step by the HRD ministry and the Planning Commission towards improving India’s standing in global rankings of higher education institutions.
At the dialogue it was that weightage should be given to patents, Indian journals and conference articles. The participants felt that there should be no discrimination in research funding based on the background of the university being a state university, private institution, funded by trust and so on. Research should be funded solely on merit.
It was also felt that there should be more accountability in the granting of funds at the same time there should be a separate fund set aside specifically for research and development of research centres.
The serious issue of faculty vacancy also needs urgent attention with more than 40 per cent faculty positions lying vacant in our higher education institutions.