Present Day University Education:
Facilities for higher education have increased since the attainment of freedom. But the development is not sufficient. According to educational development in pilot projects nearly 1,500 universities and degree colleges should be established in the country.
For acquiring vocational skill and proficiency, it is desirable to have universities in the rural areas.
Image Source : genheration.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
University Education and Administration:
According to the Indian Constitution, universities are State responsibility but the States in actual practice only frame their management rules and give financial help. Except in extraordinary situations, the universities mostly enjoy autonomy. The Central Government gives help for technical and vocational education only.
Finances:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Donations and tuition fees are the only two sources of income of universities. For meeting the remaining expenditure, government gives grants which sometimes go upto 50 per cent of the total expenditure.
The Central Government also gives financial help for its schemes. Even then the economic condition of many institutions is precarious and their income in proportion to the number of students is going down.
Admissions:
Admission is a problem to-day and threatens to remain is such in future also. According to the national needs a reasonable system should be adopted and only deserving and a limited number °f students who are keen and who desire technical and vocational education should be allowed to seek admission in institution of higher education;
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Teaching System:
Reforms should be introduced to check the falling standards of education. Some arrangements should be made for teachers in order to enable them to take initiative in research work and increase their professional skill.
Courses of Study:
Reforms are badly needed in the courses of study prescribed in universities, but so far nothing definite has been done in this direction. It is felt that general education, natural science, and social science should be made compulsory subjects.
Variety in courses of study, opportunity of reasonable choice for choosing subjects, provision of constructive and useful subjects are some of the important aspects of education for which provision must be made.
System of Examination:
It needs thorough overhauling, but it is not practical to do so instantly. It is necessary to give due weight age to the results of fortnightly and monthly test, besides class work for determining the success or failure of a student in addition to only one annual examination.
It will be better to set objective-type questions, besides essay type questions in an examination. The government should after proper survey and scrutiny decide about the changes.
Medium, Duration of Course, Social Service and Adult Education:
In view of the utility of English language it should be made compulsory in the degree classes. Time limit for various degree courses is unpsychological and it harms students. By introducing a flexible time-limit for the causes even those young men who are engaged in other spheres will get an opportunity to educate themselves.
Social service programmes should be included in higher education in order to increase its utility to the society.
Affiliation and Research:
Besides providing the same facilities to the affiliated college which exist in the university, efforts should be made to prescribe courses of study according to the local needs. For providing impetus to research work, research scholarships should be increased and more facilities should be provided to teachers for doing research work.