Publication

Abstract : Indian universities have been at the centre of debate due to varied reasons. None of the Indian universities among the top 200 universities globally in different global ranking systems has led to public debate on lack of quality, infrastructure and regulation. The supply-demand gap has been another issue that has influenced debate on why a large majority of students coming out from Indian universities going in the job market not having the required skill expected from them. Issues of regulation, poor university-industry linkage, uneven quality of universities, students not attracted to science and concerns about government interventions are some of the other aspects that has attracted attraction. One clear indication coming out from the contemporary debate of the university system in India is the urgent need for the transformation of Indian university. The paper contributes to the present debate. It is based on extensive study of policy documents, implementation reports, parliamentary bills, research articles and debates in newspapers. Among the issues the paper addresses are: whether the proposed policies and strategies bring fresh perspectives for university to participate more actively in the research and innovation process? Do we observe the new policy framework approach still subscribe to university role mainly in upstream stage of the innovation process or argues for a more entrepreneurial role of university? Do we see theoretical rationale driving the policy articulations? These are some of the issues the study investigates. Among the key findings of this study is that policy documents outline the need for university to play a larger role; a fresh rethink on strengthening university research and engagement with industry. But a plethora of policy documents and different implementation strategies give confusing signals. The change of central government in 2014 has led to a new set of policy articulation and strategy for implementation. Inspite of some novel initiatives it has created concern whether it leads to over regulation of universities. The paper calls for drawing a roadmap based on extensive feedbacks from diverse stakeholders. The paper argues that the roadmap exercise should be a dynamic process and include continuous evaluation and feedback loops.