India spends less on Research and Development when compared to other fast developing countries. It is high time that research in educational sector is given appreciation. Only one Indian university made it to the global ranking.

In the recent ranking of universities across the world, only one Indian university made it to the list of top 400. Recently published article in New York Times suggests that since many of the bright high school graduates cannot attend the best colleges in India, they choose to study in universities and colleges in countries such as America by accepting scholarships. There seems to be a massive brain drain and illiteracy in India since the higher education institution enrolls only 11 per cent of the university age population, which is way less than half of china’s enrolment rate. In addition to this a large chunk of the students choose to study in private, for profit unaided institutions and universities, where the quality of education is questionable.

Research and Development needs more appreciation

In India, Research and Development in the academic needs increased attention and the current investment in the education sector is very low. In the education sector, Research and Development has a critical role in the progress of the students as well as that of the country. India spends very little in the direction of Research and Development when compared to any other fast developing country, about $20 billion purchasing power parity (PPP); on the other hand, neighboring China spends USD 150 billion.

A possible option to follow

A possible option for India to improve its higher education system is to follow the US academic model. It is widely accepted fact that the United States has developed one of the best academic systems in the world and that is why 6 out of top 10 universities were from the US, in a world ranking announced by US news. The universities in the United States offer best facilities to the students who pursue post secondary education. More over the US accreditation system has proved over a long time as increasingly successful in providing good quality for higher education. For instance, educational institutions that are not properly accredited will not have access to federal or state government funding or loan programmes and so cannot attract students.

The flaws with the American education system

While following the American higher education system, India should be careful with the problems in the US education system. The system has several flaws in it. For instance, the US accrediting system has issues in dealing with distance education and the increase in for profit institutions in the education sector. Another area of concern is the cost of education in the United States. The amount of money spend by a student on higher education in the US is, on the average highest in the world. While most of the higher education institutions provide value for money, the higher cost for education and the debts that the students accumulate during their course of study has drawn much criticism. The level of debt accumulated by the students have reached higher proportions as a result of budget cuts and increasing tuition fees. This has led to a situation where the students have started to default on paying back education loans. With the small investment in Research and development in India and the poor infrastructure for R&D, inviting foreign universities will make the education sector competitive, the output of which is unclear. As the education system in India is weak, it needs more support rather than competition.

Even though attractive, following the US approach in the higher education sector and inviting competition cannot be considered as the best way to improve the education system in India. So India has to look for other effective means to improve the education system. In the case of China, being a communist ruled nation, does not give autonomy and independence to its universities and colleges. But still the education system in China is successful with many of the Chinese universities making it to the top 100 across the world. The success of Chinese universities is due to the huge funding they receive from the government and as a result of collaboration with many of the leading foreign universities in the world.

Follow the Chinese way of education

As with the case of Chinese universities, the Indian government should develop a platform which will enable Indian universities to collaborate with major universities across the world. Adopting such a system will check brain drain and will help the academic world to learn about the merits and demerits of different education systems across the world and to adopt the best practices from among them. With this the Indian education institutes will be able to retain the best brains, which will be an added advantage as it will enrich the research activities.

Different steps taken by the Indian government

Indian government has started off with different steps to tackle the problems in the higher education system in India. For instance, the government of India plans to set up more IIT’s, NIT’s, IISc’s and Indian Institute of Information technology’s.  The government also aims at bringing collaboration with foreign universities which will enhance research activities.

In order to introduce foreign collaboration, the Foreign Educational Institution (Regulation of Entry and Operation) bill has but put for discussion in the parliament. The bill which is being discussed in the parliament will regulate the entry and functioning of the foreign universities and institutions in India. With the collaboration, the Indian government will be able to achieve its goals for higher education, which are excellence, expansion and inclusion. This bill is expected to increase opportunity and accessibility to higher education and will help in reducing brain drain to greater extend. With foreign universities in India, it is possible to attract international students to India. More over research activities in foreign universities in India will pick up pace and will retain talents who will be beneficial for the building of the nation.