Towards Higher Equity and Excellence: Challenges before Higher Education in India

Abstract

The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education has witnessed a significant fillip from 10% (2000) to 16.7% (2013) thanks to private sector initiatives in the field of technical education. Despite constitutional guarantees for positive discrimination in favour of disadvantaged section there is a huge asymmetry in terms of access for different sections of the society. Overall quality and research and development on a global scale remain a matter of serious concerns. The paper brings out initiatives required to improve quality quotient in higher education: particularly in terms of public private partnership, higher allocation to education and research, FDI inflow so that the goal for achieving GER of 20% by 2020 is in sync with global standards. A unique experiment in KISS Odisha demonstrating convergence of equity and excellence in respect of tribal students has also been brought out.

Keywords: Gross Enrolment Ratio, Positive Discrimination, Convergence of Equity and Excellence