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(3) Over 2 lakh mostly well-to-do young Indians are seeking admission in foreign
universities and institutions, spending $5.9 billion each year, which is double
the Indian Governments budget on higher education!
(4) A staggering 50-75 percent engineering graduates and graduates from other
streams are not employable. There is evidence of poor learning outcomes,
especially in mathematics and sciences, in a majority of Indian schools.
(5) State governments are forcing the fees in most science colleges to be kept
very low for all students in the name of affordability, so much so that these
colleges do not have the money to maintain good laboratories and libraries,
essential for quality education. Yet many students spend more on mobile
phones, movies, clothes, shoes and restaurants than on college fees.
The crisis is also visible in Indias large establishment for scientific and
technological research. We are living in an age in which the world is being
decisively reshaped by the tsunamic advances in science and technology. In many
ways India too is being transformed by the power of modern science and
technology. Yet, Indias contribution to the global fund of scientific knowledge
and technological innovations is far less than our potential. Our country is not
producing enough scientific research and its relevant applications to solve the
gigantic challenges we face in all areas of socio-economic development, national
security and governance. This is primarily due to the uneven quality of science
education, compounded by the bureaucratic governance of the education and
research eco-system in the country.
The Indian science establishment was given a head-start after Independence by
the vision of our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and many others. It
has shown time and again that given adequate funding and encouragement, it can
deliver on stated goals in ways that are the envy of the world. ISROs Mangalyaan
and the GSLV III missions are two recent examples of such achievements. The time
has come now for India to aspire to a position of global leadership in science and
technology. This can only happen if we build a culture of excellence and lifelong
learning among students and teachers in schools, colleges, universities and
research institutions so as to create a world-class knowledge base in science,
technology and innovation. This is absolutely critical for fulfilment of the
governments promise of Sabka Vikas (Development of All).
There are several non-military threats to Indian security: lack of clean drinking
water, a fast degrading environment, lack of education and adequate healthcare
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for its citizens among many others, and we need science and technology to
mitigate these threats. The situation is grave. However, despair is not an option
and doing nothing is also not an option. We have therefore consulted with
hundreds of members of the academic community to bring out this Agenda for
Action, that can help rejuvenate our education system, especially in the areas of
science and technology.
We depend on our Honourable Prime Minister to give serious consideration to the
specific goals mentioned in this Agenda for Action. Attainment of these goals
requires a reforms agenda, backed by unwavering political will, with the following
overarching principles:
1) Maximise policy and funding support to higher education in general, and S&T
education and research in particular, with thorough-going governance
reforms that eliminate political and bureaucratic interference.
2) Empower dedicated domain experts at all good educational and research
institutions, with full and genuine autonomy combined with accountability, so
that they can unleash their creativity and achieve super-ambitious goals and
targets.
3) Encourage synergy between the financial, physical and human resources of
the central/state governments, business entities and civil society
organisations to contribute to these goals.
4) Set up a review mechanism, where peers could take periodic stock of the
performance of Government funded Central/State institutions. This could also
provide an opportunity for bringing transparency and accountability
regarding the performance of such institutions at appropriate intervals.
We are sure that the Prime Minister has received, and will continue to receive,
many more valuable ideas and suggestions from other quarters. In order to
convert good ideas into an action agenda, we would like to present one concrete
action point for your urgent consideration.
We appeal to the Prime Minister to convene three Retreats on School
Education, Higher Education, and Science & Technology Research with
the participation of eminent scientists, educationists, innovators and
entrepreneurs, from India and abroad. These Retreats will give an
opportunity to make central/state government entities and other stake-
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In order to shape, and benefit from these changes driven by science and
technology (S&T), India needs a long-term and comprehensive human
resource development strategy anchored in a reformed system of
education. Three compelling reasons necessitate reforms in S&T
education. Firstly, India can neither overcome the gigantic challenges it
faces in socio-economic development, nor convert its enviable
demographic opportunity into prosperity for all, without innovative, largescale and universal use of S&T resources. Secondly, a country that is set to
have the largest population in the world within the next couple of decades
must become the net producer of scientific and technological knowledge,
and not remain its net importer. Thirdly, science education and scientific
temper are necessary for the refinement of the human mind and for the
evolution of the human race to a higher level, a goal exalted by Indias
hoary civilisation.
Reforms in S&T education should begin in the school system. The focus of
S&T education should shift from rote learning to joyful learning based on
learning by doing, serving and problem-solving. Gifted students, including
those from rural areas and urban slums, should be spotted and provided
with special training. Among other things, this requires at least a five-fold
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These are some of the key action items that are discussed in detail in this
document titled Agenda for Action. A list of 35 goals have been identified
collectively by several hundred academics who were consulted for this purpose.
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1. Education for refinement of the mind, for citizenship and for life 10
2. The need for a long-term human resource development strategy . 11
3. Expectations from the National Policy on Education 2015 ............. 12
4. A flexible and adaptive approach to education delivery ............... 13
5. Generous funding support for education and research ................ 14
STRENGTHENING SCIENCE EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
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best leadership and resources towards fulfilling these goals. The silo approach to
education must give way to a progressive mind-set that allows greater freedom,
Science is one of the creative endeavours of the human mind. Science seeks universal and
fundamental truths. Science plays a vital role in the advancement of human life and its study
is central to technological progress. Modern societies and nations must be built on scientific
knowledge. A scientific culture and logic must determine the choices and decisions made by
individuals, societies and nations.
- Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Honourable President of India
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to take charge of and be responsible for creating a quality educational system that
is the envy of the world.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: Policy and its implementation methodology has
lacked focus and transparency in the past. This has resulted in a rigid and progresshindering permissions-based regime in which many of the excellent policies laid down in
the earlier policy documents, National Policy of Education 1968 (NPE1968) and 1986
(NPE1986), have fallen by the wayside . The cornerstone of the new National Policy on
Education should be the elimination of the bureaucratic mind-set in the functioning of
all central ministries, the state governments, and other government institutions that
impact education, such as regulating agencies. It is necessary to focus on creating
nimble, enabling, frameworks for visionary academics to work with. Control and redtapism should be replaced by genuine empowerment of dedicated thought and action
leaders in education, at all levels.
The NPE86, modified in 1992 (NPE86-mod92), intended to establish an Indian Education
Service (IES) as an all-India service, in consultation with state governments, for the
proper management of the education system. If the NPE2015 should chose to create
such a service then this should not be another service that is part of the bureaucracy
of the government. The IES must consist of committed educationists alone, with a
proven track record of meritorious service. These experts alone should occupy the top
positions in the education field.
Government role in education must be confined to funding, regulation, and monitoring.
Agenda for Action 4: A flexible and adaptive approach to education
delivery
The approach to education delivery must be such that it is sufficiently differentiated
to be able to serve the needs of different sections of society even as it remains
focussed on bringing out the best in each individual student.
Why we need this goal: India is a nation of immense social, cultural and occupational
diversities. Historically, all sections of our society have possessed, and contributed to,
knowledge resources of various kinds. However, the present rigidly-designed formal
education system with its uniform paradigm of what constitutes education, how it is
delivered and how it is evaluated, has condemned large sections of our society to the
derogatory category of uneducated or less educated people. This explains the
high levels of dropouts in our system. Indeed, they are not dropouts but push-outs.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: The present one-size-fits-all approach to education
must be discarded quickly. This is only possible if every educational institution every
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school, college and university is given freedom and flexibility to experiment, explore,
and evolve their own methods and systems, within the overall regulatory framework.
For this, policy must recognise a multiplicity of educational paradigms, delivery
mechanisms and evaluation methods all resting on the common foundation of all-round
individual and national development.
Informal systems of education should be suitably recognised, encouraged and
incentivised. Learning must be based on positive outcomes and the content and
methods of teaching must build in local knowhow local language(s) flora, fauna,
aspects of culture and local requirements up to say 30-40% of curriculum. Most
importantly, teachers must be encouraged to make learning meaningful and fun for
students.
Agenda for Action 5: Generous funding support for education and
research
India must spend a minimum of 6% of GDP on education and research in order to be
able to achieve the stated goals of providing quality education for inclusive
development and economic prosperity for all.
Why we need this goal: We must recognise the strategic value in this investment and
make it urgently, with a combination of government and non-government resources.
Many countries have spent and are spending well over 6% of their GDPs to build up
and maintain their strength in science and technology. In recent decades South Korea
and Israel have spent as much as 8% of GDP for many years in order to achieve a
competitive edge. The benefits of this to their economies and to the overall progress
of these two countries are there for all to see. NPE86-mod92 (and the NPE68 before
that) had committed to stepping up the outlay, during the Eighth Five Year Plan and
onwards, to exceed 6% but this is yet to happen.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: 1) The budgets of MHRD and all other ministries and
departments dealing with S&T (Health and Family Welfare, Biotechnology, S&T and
Earth sciences, Water Resources, Ocean Development, Agriculture, etc.,) must be
significantly increased. 2) All other ministries must be asked to set aside at least 10% of
their budgets on S&T education, research and outreach. 3) State governments are
currently spending very little on their own on S&T education and research. Their
spending must go up substantially. 4) All industries and businesses large, medium and
small should be incentivised to set aside 1% of their net profit specifically for education
and research each year, in addition to the current policy of earmarking 2% of their net
profit for other CSR activities.
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both individually and in teams; 4) Create infrastructure, facilities and tools (laboratories,
science clubs, science museums, relatively inexpensive equipment/toys/experiments/DoIt-Yourself/Discover-It-Yourself kits, etc.,) in schools and school-clusters; 5) Improve the
current extremely poor student-teacher ratios, which make it difficult for teachers to
allow students to work with their hands.
Several innovations in science education such as the low-cost Tinkering and Maker Labs
popularised by Shri Arvind Gupta in Pune, and learning methods, tools and systems
developed by Dr Vivek Monteiros Navnirmiti in Mumbai, make learning of mathematics
and science fascinating and accessible. Such tools should be made available in every
school to help students develop interest in the sciences. Similarly, the Introduction to
Basic Technology (IBT) course designed by Vigyan Ashram at Pabal near Pune, which is
currently being conducted in 122 schools in Maharashtra, is an excellent innovation that
deserves to be adopted in many more schools across the country. In this model, students
spend one day a week engaged in hands-on activities that are aligned to their
curriculum. The innovation hubs being set up by the National Council of Science
Museums (NCSM) with their Tod Phod Jod centres will also help build these capacities.
Science education must become an integral part of school education; and ultimately some
study of science should become a part of all courses in the humanities and social sciences at
the university stage, even as the teaching of science can be enriched by the inclusion of some
elements of the humanities and social sciences.
- Kothari Commission (1964-66)
NCSM should be supported to establish one Science Museum, along with mobile
facilities, in every district in the country.
Agenda for Action 7: Flexibility with regard to curriculum and pedagogy
Curriculum in schools must have the space for teachers to mentor students and to
promote learning by doing and learning by serving activities. As mentioned in
NPE86-mod92, teachers should have the freedom to innovate and to devise
appropriate methods of communication and activities relevant to the needs,
capabilities and the concerns of the community.
Why we need this goal: The curriculum in schools today tends to have too much
content that is remote and unconnected to students local environment. For
example, in Odisha villages that produce world-famous pattachitra paintings, the
children of such artists learn nothing about this great art in their schools. Similarly, in
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as needed. Abolishing the traditional system of examinations for young children is a very
good move which is in alignment with similar practices the world over. Teachers can
then focus on ensuring joyful learning for school children.
Agenda for Action 10: Language teaching now and in the future
There should be a complete rethink with regard to the methods of language
teaching in the country. A new approach that incorporates knowledge of how
children learn languages should be made a part of language education as well as
science education.
Why we need this goal: It is a well-established universal principle of education that
children, in their early years of schooling, learn best when the material is taught to
them in their mother tongue. Since Indians speak many languages and dialects this is
very difficult to ensure for rural and tribal children. However, particular care can be
taken to ensure that children achieve a measure of fluency in the medium of
instruction at their respective schools, at the earliest. Otherwise it is inevitable that
primary and secondary school students will find it difficult to learn mathematics and
science.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: Indias linguistic pluralism, and the rapidly growing
demand for education in English, can both be turned into an advantage. Schools must
aim to make children completely bi-lingual or even tri-lingual. This can be done by
reviewing our methods of teaching languages in schools today, and correcting the
lacunae. Some of the deficiencies that must be corrected include: 1) excessive focus on
grammar and on writing skills over the ability to speak fluently, 2) using text books that
contain highly literary language and phraseology, and 3) well trained teachers who can
teach students to be fluent in the language that is the medium of instruction, quickly.
The poor quality of text books and the paucity of reading material in non-English
languages, adds to the difficulty of teachers as well as students.
Children are able to learn to speak multiple languages quite easily, and this fact has been
used effectively by many European countries. Expertise on this topic is available both
within India as well as internationally, and must be tapped. Simultaneously, all-out
efforts should be made to improve the quality of science teaching in the Indian
languages. This requires major improvements in the quality of science text books in
schools, making attractive non-curricular books and teaching aids on various science
subjects available in non-English languages, and encouraging the non-English mass
media to popularise science among children and general population.
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Suggestions on how to achieve it: There are several national and global initiatives that
can be considered here. The concept of Magnet schools with special curricular focus on
special themes (common themes are mathematics and science but also include the arts
or vocational career paths) prevalent in the US where gifted children can follow a more
advanced curriculum and have special teachers in science/mathematics is one such.
Teachers must be trained to identify such children and work with them. Similarly,
existing initiatives in India such as the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) meant
to attract exceptionally motivated and gifted students for pursuing careers in science,
must be scaled up, rather than being wound down, by providing them with generous
funding support. The KVPY must also be supplemented with similar schemes by state
governments. Programmes such as Promoting the Development of Indias Gifted
Young (PRODIGY) anchored at National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) that bring
together researchers, educators, policymakers, parents, and other stakeholders to
address the challenge of gifted education should also be given more impetus. More
opportunities for gifted students to interact with scientists and innovators, and to
spend their summers in colleges, universities, research institutions and industries.
MHRDs newly unveiled Ishaan Vikaas programme for the benefit of talented students
from the North-East is a good idea. It should be replicated for similarly under-developed
and under-served regions in the country.
Agenda for Action 13: Inspiring young minds to take up careers in science
Young students need to be inspired and motivated to become scientists and
engineers. Presently we are losing them in the early years of schooling simply
because these subjects are taught poorly and become difficult for them. A related
goal is to reverse negative perceptions regarding the poor viability of careers in
science and engineering.
Why we need this goal: The inspirational power of curiosity, imagination, exploration
and discovery can hardly be underestimated. They are the building blocks of creativity
and new knowledge generation, and consequently of national progress. It is crucial
to keep young students engaged with practitioners in science and to motivate them
to become scientists and engineers working at the cutting edge of knowledge to
solve problems and to produce discoveries and innovations.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: Reforms in curricula, teaching methods and
evaluation of students will be key to achieving this goal. Inspiring young minds to take
up careers in science must be one of the stated outcomes of our education system and
considerable effort must be put into achieving it. Inspiring life stories of great scientists,
innovators and engineers should be made available to young students in audio-visual
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Suggestions on how to achieve it: The affiliation system, whereby universities provide
hundreds of colleges with curriculum and examination support for a fee, has allowed
many promoters (many of them politicians) who are not educationists to start private
colleges and seek to derive profit from them, despite the non-profit status of the trusts
and societies that run these colleges. This has also brought in vested interests into the
regulation of educational institutions. Strong political will and leadership will be
required to reverse the situation, something that must be done if quality is to improve
at all. That the UGCs own report on phasing out the affiliation system, prepared in 2011,
is yet to be implemented is an indication of the extent of the resistance. Well-governed
good colleges should be given autonomy at the earliest and encouraged to expand their
subject offerings and increase enrolment. Poor quality colleges must be mentored by
good colleges (and optionally also the parent university), grouped with other good
colleges into cluster universities, and be charged with the responsibility of improving
quality of education within a specified time.
Agenda for Action 15: The challenges of granting autonomy to
educational institutions
Although phasing out of the affiliation system and granting of autonomy to well
managed colleges has been recommended in many reports since Independence, it
has not been achieved due to resistance from many groups of stakeholders, not
least the state governments. As for granting autonomy to state universities, it is
once again the state governments that are unwilling to give up control.
Why we need this goal: It is only if governments will provide block grants to
universities and colleges and consent to step aside completely, leaving the running
of these institutions in the hands of capable academics with proven credentials, that
we can expect to see improvement in the quality of education. Government officers,
however well-meaning, are not educationists and ought not to be controlling
education in the name of supervising the disbursement of funds.
Higher education is, undoubtedly, an obligation of the State but State aid is not to be
confused with State control over academic policies and practices. Intellectual progress
demands the maintenance of the spirit of free inquiry.
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Suggestions on how to achieve it: Autonomy for all good educational institutions is
the single most important instrument that can be used to improve the quality of
education in the country. The central government must persuade all the state
governments to initiate far-reaching reforms by granting complete and genuine
autonomy to universities and to colleges. The Central Advisory Board on Education
(CABE) can be used to put together a coordinated effort towards this. Leadership and
direction from the Honourable Prime Minister and the PMO will be required to
dislodge entrenched positions and initiate this difficult reform in the right spirit.
Governments must provide funding in the form of block grants and create an
appropriate regulatory framework to ensure that funds are well spent, but leave
everything else to the leadership of these institutions. Academia must, in turn, step up
and take charge of these institutions and work towards ensuring academic excellence,
a task for which they must be held accountable. This move will ensure that India
develops a large army of visionary and competent academic leaders over time, capable
of leading our universities and other institutions of higher learning to global standards
of excellence. Academic leaders must be expected to undergo specially designed
training programmes in leadership and administration before taking up their
assignments.
Agenda for Action 16: Universities are the fulcrum of excellence in
education
Universities must seek to reclaim their role of thought leadership of society. For
this, eminent academics and leaders must step forward to lead these institutions,
reaffirm their commitment to meritocracy, and help re-establish their credibility.
Why we need this goal: The crisis of academic leadership in the country today is
largely due to bureaucratic control and political meddling in the functioning of the
education system. Most leadership appointments in India are either politically
motivated or based on seniority rather than on merit. Even the VCs post is often up
for sale! Barring exceptions, Governors of states, who are Chancellors of universities,
have very little expertise in higher education and make no worthwhile contribution
to the running of the university system. The governance and management structure
of universities must be revamped as needed. Neither Central/ State ministers nor
bureaucrats should have any powers in selection of vice chancellors or other
functionaries in universities.
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Suggestions on how to achieve it: Dynamic leadership, full and genuine autonomy,
adequate funding and support even for private institutions, and enabling governance
and regulatory structures can help make this goal a reality. Governments and regulators
must ensure the following changes: 1) Vice chancellors must be chosen from among the
best available academics in the country and be expected to provide vision and academic
leadership to the universities. They must be held accountable for outcomes but they
must also be supported with excellent guidance from the governing boards, and be
backed up by a flexible and diligent administration; 2) The management of affiliated
colleges and examinations etc., activities that generate revenue, can be spun-off into a
profit-centre of the university and be managed by professionals thus freeing up
academics; 3) Universities must be encouraged to start undergraduate education on
campus provided they have adequate infrastructure to do so. There are many small and
sub-critical post-graduate departments that can get rejuvenated through this; 4)
Universities must be given the freedom to manage their own real estate optimally. They
must be allowed to demolish some existing buildings (barring heritage structures) and
replace them with high-rises if necessary to accommodate more departments,
laboratories and students; 5) Adequate attention to research should be given through
national and international collaborations; and 6) Diversity in student and faculty bodies
must be promoted through adequate quotas for nationalisation (up to 25% students
from outside the state) and internationalisation (up to 10% students) so that entrenched
mind-sets can become a thing of the past. MHRDs recently announced programme GIAN
Release of funds annually is leading to delay in implementation of plans and is an intrusion
in the autonomy of the institution. Block grants against a plan should become the norm
with universities being competent to expend according to their priorities.
- Yashpal Committee Report (1993)
(Global Initiative for Academics Network), meant to attract the best foreign academics
to teach at Indian universities, is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done.
Agenda for Action 17: Ten Universities of global excellence within a
decade
India must aim to create at least 10 Universities of Global Excellence within the next
decade that can be ranked among the top 100 in the world. These should be capable
of producing world-class research that can win Nobel Prizes and other prestigious
international awards in science and technology.
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Why we need this goal: Such an initiative is not just a matter of national pride.
Committing to this goal can also help focus attention on merit and galvanise all
stakeholders into action towards delivering on it. The ten Universities of Global
Excellence will certainly inspire hundreds of other universities and institutions to
improve their own global and national rankings. Among other benefits, this initiative
will help India produce Nobel laureates in science. It is worth remembering that after
C.V. Raman (1930), no Indian scientist has won a Nobel Prize for scientific research
done in India.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: The Central Government must choose 20 universities
and institutions competitively from among the top central and state universities and
institutions and support them fully with a ten-year plan for all-round excellence, so that
at least ten of them find their place among the top 100 in the world. The other ten
universities and institutions will then also achieve high global rankings. Some of the best
academics in the country must be put in charge of achieving this goal, empowered with
Our universities must be freed from the clutches of excessive regulation and cumbersome
procedures. They must have a higher degree of academic freedom and autonomy; and,
there should be as much emphasis on research as on teaching.
- Shri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India
adequate funds and the necessary autonomy, and be made accountable for the
outcomes. Their performance must be monitored directly by the Prime Ministers Office.
Agenda for Action 18: 100 Universities of national excellence wit hin 5
years
We must also aim to create and nurture 100 Universities of National Excellence
within a 5-year time frame.
Why we need this goal: India is a nation of sub-continental size, home to an extremely
large population. In order to promote the culture of excellence in the entire
education system, promising institutions at every level should be challenged to
consistently rise higher on the quality scale. This will exert a pull effect on other
institutions in the education system.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: State governments will have to cooperate actively
in achieving this goal since many of these 100 universities will fall within their
jurisdiction. The RUSA mission (National Higher Education Mission), aimed at providing
strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions provides state
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an excuse, firstly, not to allow promising colleges to excel and, secondly, to perpetuate
mediocrity in the university system.
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No student should be turned away from an institution for want of funds for education.
Absence of differential fee has led to subsidisation of a segment of student body that can
afford to pay for its education. Guaranteed student loans at low interest rates for those
who can take loans and free education for those who cannot afford it at all will be necessary
to educate India.
- Yashpal Committee Report (1993)
donations and grants, and be rewarded for doing so. Government must ease norms for
alumni and philanthropic support to educational institutions.
Private colleges are run by either trusts or societies, as a result of which there is
insufficient scrutiny of their financial dealings. Regulatory authorities must seek to
reform this. Capitation fees must be abolished completely.
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It is on his personal qualities and character, his (teachers) educational qualifications and
professional competence that the success of all educational endeavour must ultimately
depend. Teachers must, therefore, be accorded an honoured place in society.
- Kothari Commission (1964-66)
The Academic Staff Colleges and the National Institutes of Technical Teachers Training
and Research (NITTTRs) are focused on in-service training but they are too few in
number. Educational institutions must therefore take the initiative to support their
faculty and to ensure that they are exposed periodically to advances in their fields of
expertise and interest as well as in teaching methodologies, through interaction with
peers and experts. Digital technologies must be pressed into service to scale such
initiatives quickly. The recently launched Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on
Teachers and Teaching must ensure that these goals are achieved.
Agenda for Action 26: Performance evaluation and career advancement
of faculty
Evaluation of college and university teachers using the academic performance
indicator (API) has become a cause of much angst among young faculty and requires
an urgent rethink. Similarly, the career advancement scheme (CAS) for faculty is
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creating many distortions. For instance, it has resulted in the proliferation of a large
number of fake journals, bypassing the intended check of the peer review process.
Why we need this: Academic performance should be evaluated not just on the basis
of research publications, but also on the quality of teaching and contributions to
institution building and nation building activities. Although the latter criteria are
specified in the guidelines of the UGC, administrative convenience is holding sway
with largely only publications (of any kind, not necessarily in good journals only) being
given credit. The bureaucratic way in which API is being implemented at many
universities and colleges, using narrowly defined criteria that are unsuited to many
subjects and departments is hurting the morale of young faculty.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: The present situation with API and CAS is indicative
of everything that is wrong in the education system today. Peer review, the time tested
method of reviewing the research output as well as performance of academics, appears
to be discredited and cast aside due to lack of trust within the system. Exemplary
leadership will be required to restore trust between the different groups of
stakeholders. The leadership of universities Vice-chancellors, Deans and Heads of
departments must take the lead in fixing the problem. Individual departments must
be encouraged to evolve their own criteria for evaluation, by consensus and by
consulting their peers in other institutions if necessary. Due weightage should be given
to performance parameters that include helping weaker students improve their
learning outcomes, community outreach, institution building, and participation and
contributions to nation-building activities such as the Swachh Bharat mission or Digital
India etc. These criteria must then be administered fairly and be reviewed regularly, for
improvements.
The explosion of poor quality publications and fake journals is the direct outcome of a
bureaucratically designed career advancement scheme. It must be kept in mind that all
teachers need not become researchers. Younger faculty must be incentivised to spend
more time doing research and senior faculty on teaching, instead of visa-versa as is the
case now.
As has been voiced at almost every session of the Indian Science Congress over the
past two decades we must increase the funding for research immediately, to 2% of
GDP from the current 0.9%, and create a much larger competitive grant system for
peer reviewed research proposals.
Agenda for Action 27: Creating a larger, more competiti ve, research
workforce
We need to invest urgently into building a larger, more competitive, scientific
workforce at all layers of Indias economic and social development. Universities
must become the hubs of scientific research and they must leverage linkages with
premier research institutes, with industry and development-related government
agencies and departments to achieve this.
Why we need this goal: In the past, a large percentage of the research output, some
50-60%, used to come from universities but today this number is negligible, less than
10%. The situation must be reversed urgently but this will be a challenging task
requiring considerable effort and planning.
How we can achieve it: A large group of academics scientists, engineers and
technologists - must be entrusted with the task of coming up with a blueprint for
creating an enviable S&T workforce, based on a projection of our strategic needs in
socio-economic development, governance and security. Mandating universities to
become hubs of scientific research must become the centrepiece of this blueprint.
Academic cooperation between premier research institutes, national laboratories and
universities must be strongly encouraged. For example, the laboratories of the Council
of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Defence Research & Development
Organisation (DRDO), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR), etc., should be connected to existing universities for
collaborative research. Researchers from these institutes must be incentivised to spend
a semester, or even a year at universities and colleges, assisting with the introduction of
new courses, training faculty etc. In this connection, the recent move by DST to ask
research scientists to contribute 12 hours each year towards improving education is a
good beginning, but the time spent should be increased to say 30 days a year for a
meaningful outcome.
The Fellowship of the Indian Academies Indian Academy of Sciences, Indian National
Science Academy, National Academy of Sciences in India, Indian National Academy of
Engineering, and academies related to Agriculture and Medicine can assist immensely
in this task. The best Indian academics are the Fellows of one or more academies and
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they would be willing to assist with improving the quality of research and teaching. A
sustainable institutional framework with adequate financial support from MHRD and
the Department of Science and Technology will be required.
Agenda for Action 28: Quality Masters and PhD programmes
Our universities and institutions of higher learning must increase the number of
PhDs awarded in the sciences each year, from approximately 6,000 to 30,000, and
in engineering from approximately 2,000 to 10,000 over the next 5 years. The
number of Masters degree-holders in engineering, which is only 4% of
undergraduate degree holders (as against nearly 50% in USA) must be raised to at
least 20% over the next 5-10 years. Simultaneously, steps must be taken to raise the
quality of PhDs and of research to the standards prevailing in leading S&T nations in
the world.
Why we need this: The number of PhDs and the publication of research papers in
reputed international journals are indicators of original research and are therefore a
barometer of a nations contribution to the global wealth of knowledge. On this
criterion, India lags far behind countries like the US and China, both quantitatively and
qualitatively. The number of PhDs in all subjects in India was less than 20,000 in 201011. USA produces 45,000 PhDs while China produces 50,000. USA and China are
producing approximately 8,000 to 9,000 PhDs, in engineering and technology
subjects, each year.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: There are three principal reasons that deter talented
students from doing a PhD in S&T subjects in India. Barring notable exceptions, the
quality of guidance that a student gets during his/her PhD is relatively poor. The peer
groups of PhD students is very limited and students often do not get to travel to attend
conferences, particularly international ones. As a result, the learning opportunities
during an Indian PhD is much lower than for PhDs done abroad. The low fellowship
amounts until now also precluded students who needed to support their families from
taking up PhD work. This situation has now been corrected, though only partially. In
many cases students do not receive their stipends on time, sometimes for many months
at a time, due to bureaucratic lethargy and this makes an Indian PhD even more
unattractive.
Since funding for research is limited, only the best research proposals and researchers
ought to be supported. This can only be achieved if all research funding in the country is
given out on a peer-reviewed basis, in a professionally administered way. Reservations
for admissions into Masters and PhD programmes, and for research positions must be
done away with.
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It is necessary to increase laboratory-based hands-on learning experiences and openended research projects in colleges and universities. The standalone 2-year Masters
degree programme is considered to be expensive in terms of resources and faculty time.
Given the success of the integrated 5-year programmes in the IITs (dual-degree) and the
IISERs with respect to providing research exposure to students, the 2-year Masters
degree could be phased out in favour of the integrated programmes in all those
institutions that have the potential to support research. These 5-year Masters degree
holders will also be better placed to begin entry level teaching in many colleges.
Agenda for Action 29: Industry-Academia interaction
Collaborations with industry can create many meaningful opportunities for faculty
and students alike. Internships and undergraduate research experience for
students, sponsored research opportunities for Masters and PhD students, and
opportunities for faculty to spend time in industry during their sabbaticals are just
a few.
India must promote start-up culture to encourage young entrepreneurs with
innovative ideas. One of the best way of doing this is to invest into creating research
parks, to incubate innovation-based enterprises, in at least 50 of the best research
institutes and university campuses within the next five years, and 100 in the next ten
years.
Why we need this goal: Science and technology are the biggest drivers of
entrepreneurship, wealth creation and employment generation. Therefore, it is
necessary to bring together scientists, engineers, professionals from industry,
investors, and students, in environments that are extremely conducive to
collaborative research and development. A research park provides just such an
environment, for incubation of new knowledge-based enterprises.
How we can achieve it: Better industry-academia interaction will give impetus to
research and development on university campuses, to commercialisation of R&D, and to
promotion of entrepreneurship among both teachers and students. It would also
encourage industry investments in university R&D, awarding of scholarships at the
postgraduate level, and provide funds for much-needed support to laboratories, besides
bringing university research in alignment with industry needs. India should learn from
Israel, South Korea and China on how to create research parks in the vicinity of university
campuses. The business incubation centre at IIT Bombay and the research park set up by
IIT Madras have both produced encouraging results and these need to be replicated
quickly.
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Career options after completing a PhD are still limited and not very attractive. Indian
industry is not really able to provide a challenging enough environment for many PhDs
to work in. One way to mitigate this problem is for the corporate sector to sponsor a
certain number of PhDs so that students acquire skills that are of direct relevance to
industry. Both government and industry must jointly address these concerns, and
increase substantially the number of such research positions with attractive
remuneration.
generators, and e-learning platforms should be made partners in this mission. India
should wholeheartedly adopt UNESCOs Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) model,
which provides useful tools and processes to create, exchange, share and exploit
content, software, and knowledge, efficiently and effectively.
Agenda for Action 31: Driving the intelligent use of ICT in education
Academia must be given charge of making intelligent use of ICT in education. In
particular they must drive the creation and use of appropriate educational content
as well as the effective use of ICT for different models of open and online education.
Why we need this goal: ICT infrastructure in education, without creative and useful
digital content, is not of much use. It is the faculty at educational institutions who are
best placed to leverage ICT in education, and they must be empowered to do so.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: All faculty at educational institutions must be given
access to tools and training for creating educational content. Early adopters among
faculty must be incentivised to create educational content in multiple languages and
then share their mastery with tools, as well as their content, as widely as possible. The
content so gathered can be hosted as open educational resources on the cloud.
Government must create a portal for purely educational content in which content can
be uploaded, with adequate labelling, so that it is easy to find for students and faculty
alike. The idea of a National Repository on Open Educational Resources (NROER) that is
being created at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) is a welcome
initiative. However, software meant for large scale use is best supported developed and
supported by experienced IT vendors.
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stored in Sanskrit, which is the mother of most Indian languages. The value of this
heritage should not be over-exaggerated by making unfounded claims, nor should it
be belittled. Indias traditional understanding and pursuit of knowledge was
distinctively holistic, embracing all aspects of material, social, environmental, cultural,
artistic and spiritual development in other words, vijnana (science) and tantrajnana
(technology) were part of jnana (knowledge). Not only India but also the entire world
in the modern era needs such re-integration of human knowledge to tackle
contemporary problems holistically.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: 1) Sanskrit, which is a rich repository of Indias native
scientific and technological knowledge, should be widely promoted and research into
scientific heritage hidden in Sanskrit and other Indian languages should be fully
supported. 2) Support to prestigious organisations doing research in Indology, such as
the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Pune, and many others, should be
substantially increased. 3) Indias traditional scientific and technological knowledge
should be included in school and college curricula. This will contribute to national pride
among students and youth. 4) These should also be projected worldwide.
Considering the special importance of Sanskrit to the growth and development of Indian
languages and its unique contribution to the cultural unity of the country, facilities for its
teaching at the school and university stages should be offered on a more liberal scale.
- Kothari Commission (1964-66)
a commendable step. It has brought into the spotlight hundreds of inspiring grassroots
innovations by farmers, teachers, self-employed technicians and rural entrepreneurs. In
addition to providing greater support to NIF, the central government should encourage
states to establish similar foundations for supporting non-governmental organisations
working in the area of discovering, capturing, and popularising traditional and
indigenous scientific knowledge. The focus should be on commercialisation of such
grassroots knowledge and innovations. 2) There should be creative integration of
grassroots innovations with R&D at universities, IITs, engineering colleges, national
research laboratories of CSIR, ICAR, ICMR, etc., and private business organisations. 3)
India has a rich and varied heritage of arts, crafts, weaving, metalware, etc. Institutions
like National Institute of Design (NID) and Industrial Design Centre (IDC) at IIT Bombay
should be supported to forge large-scale collaborations with these traditional
industries. These industries should also receive sales and marketing support from online
marketing companies. 4) Laudable initiatives like the Vigyan Ashram model at Pabal,
near Pune, which trains grassroots entrepreneurs in rural areas should be widely
replicated. 5) Organisations like Vigyan Bharati, Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad and
others that are part of the People's Science Movement, should be supported fully to
take science to the people, and also to popularise peoples own efforts to solve their
problems using a combination of traditional and modern scientific and technological
knowledge.
Agenda for Action 34: Encouraging and empowering women in science
and technology
More women must be encouraged to take their places at the forefront of science
and technology education, research and management.
Why we need this: When it comes to careers in scientific research and engineering
the under-representation of women is manifest. This is largely due to socially dictated
gender stereotypes, lack of role models, lack of career options and absence of special
facilities needed by working women.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: While some of the onus of reversing the current
gender disparity must fall on women themselves and on families and communities,
governments can assist by making it easier for talented women to return to their careers
in science and science-related professions, particularly research. The Women Scientists
Scheme of DST is an excellent effort.
Universities, other institutions of higher learning, research laboratories and private
sector businesses should also be mandated to ensure significantly higher representation
to women. The NPE86 intended that more women would be inducted in the planning
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and management of education. This is a laudable goal that must be implemented as part
of the implementation of the new education policy of 2015.
Agenda for Action 35: Ensuring pride of place for science in society
At the centre of the strategy to achieve the goal of making India a net producer of
scientific knowledge and technological innovations must be the commitment to
give scientists, technologists and educators pride of place in society. As Prime
Minister Narendra Modi said at the inaugural session of the recently concluded 102nd
Indian Science Congress, our children should seek role models in scientists as much
as in sportsmen. Their parents should feel as much pride in their children seeking a
future in science as in business or civil service.
Why we need this goal: Scientists, engineers and S&T educators must be regarded as
honourable nation-builders. It is unfortunate that, whereas our society treats
cricketers and cinema stars as celebrities, even the best of scientists, engineers and
innovators (barring very few exceptions) are recognised beyond their specific circles.
Suggestions on how to achieve it: Science needs to be glamourised in the positive
sense of the term, and scientists and science teachers should be projected as role models
in society. Apart from increasing the number of prestigious awards for them (not only
by government bodies but also by corporate sector and philanthropic organisations, as
has been done by the Infosys Science Foundation), giving a place for scientists in all
policy-making bodies at all levels can help towards achieving this goal. A new annual
tradition of inviting eminent scientists to address Parliament and State Legislatures
must be created. Apart from honouring the scientists concerned, this will give an
opportunity for members of Parliament to understand the state of play in science and
the need to seize new opportunities being created by the revolutionary advances in
science and technology. This tradition should also be replicated at the state and district
levels. The mass media should also prominently and regularly highlight the inspiring
achievements of Indian scientists and of technological innovators.
Above all, we must restore the pride and prestige of science and scientists in our nation;
revive the romance for science in society; rekindle the love for it in our children; and,
encourage our scientists to dream, imagine and explore.
- Shri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India
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BACKGROUND
The state of science education in Indian schools, colleges and universities has been be a
matter of serious concern to everyone associated with it for a very long time. A recent
study by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) Mumbai, titled Whither Science
Education in Indian Colleges? Urgent reforms to meet the challenges of a Knowledge
Society, highlights some of the most critical challenges in science education in the
country poor quality of teaching and research, low motivational levels of teachers,
outdated curricula, excessive focus on examinations, weak focus on nurturing curiosity,
innovation and learnability, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient funding, low
employability of students and limited career options for them. These challenges are all
well-known but have not been addressed so far.
In order to create a more broad-based effort towards improving the quality of science
education, and to prepare a plan of action for the consideration of the government and
all other stakeholders, ORF organised a Conclave on Science Education, in Mumbai on
21st July 2014, which was chaired by Bharat Ratna Prof C.N.R. Rao. It was attended by a
large number of scientists, science educators and science popularisers. The outcome of
the conclave was a draft document titled MANIFESTO for Indias FUTURE Introduce
Urgent Reforms to Improve Science Education in Schools, Colleges & Universities for
Indias All-Round Development.
The draft manifesto was then discussed in other conclaves held around the country with
institutional partners such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati in the NorthEast, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and the Pune
International Centre in Pune, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) of the
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Bengaluru, and the Chandigarh Region
Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC) as well as the Society for Promotion of
Science and Technology in India (SPSTI) in Chandigarh.
In all, some 300 participants shared their views and indicated their willingness to
participate in the process of bringing about change, turning this into a societal initiative
under the guidance of Prof C.N.R. Rao. The revised and renamed manifesto, Agenda for
Action, incorporating all their suggestions and comments, is being placed forth for
serious consideration for action not just by central and state governments, but by all
stakeholders in education universities, colleges, educational trusts, industry partners,
NGOs and individuals willing to join the effort to create a world-class education system
in India.
This Agenda for Action document is also based on our careful study of many previous
reports on the subject of reforms in education, prepared in the past by the various
committees and commissions appointed for the purpose. We have also drawn upon ORF
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Mumbais own earlier reports on education: In 2010, we brought out a critique of the
proposed NCHER Bill titled A Much-Needed Reform That Fails the Test; In 2011 we wrote
about how ICT could be used effectively at scale in a publication titled ICT in Education Promotion of inclusive access to quality education in India through the induction of ICT:
Tackling the Scale Problem; In 2012, we brought out a report on medical education titled
Reforms in Medical Education to Promote Accessible and Affordable Healthcare for All. In
2014 we published a research report on school education, Thinking Out of the Box in
Education, that reported on the innovative measures taken in Israel towards educating
young children. Most recently, apart from our above mentioned publication on science
education, we have brought out a detailed research report on engineering education
titled, Excellence through Autonomy: Transformation of College of Engineering Pune into
an IIT-like institution A blueprint for replicating CoEPs success story in 100 engineering
colleges in India.
We present this Agenda for Action in three sections:
An appeal to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to provide the leadership that is
critical for initiating the difficult and overdue reforms in this sector;
An executive summary along with a listing of the 35 specific goals that will need
to be achieved;
A detailed elaboration of each of these goals, why they are needed and some
suggestions on ways to achieve them.
The names of all the participants at the various conclaves are listed at the end of this
document.
Sudheendra Kulkarni
Chairman, ORF Mumbai
Dr Leena Chandran-Wadia
Senior Research Fellow, ORF Mumbai
Radha Viswanathan
Senior Research Fellow, ORF Mumbai
Aparna Sivakumar
Research Fellow, ORF Mumbai
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CONCLAVE PARTICIPANTS
CHAIRPERSONS OF THE FIVE CONCLAVES
Prof C.N.R. Rao, JNCASR
Prof Gautam Biswas, IIT Guwahati
Prof Arun Grover, Panjab University
Prof R.A. Mashelkar, ICT
Prof T.V. Ramakrishnan, IISc & BHU
PARTICIPANTS in alphabetical order of
first names
A. Srinivas Pavan Kumar, IIT Guwahati
Dr A. A. Natu, IISER Pune
Dr Abhishek Dhar, ICTS-TIFR
Dr Achyut Godbole, Softexcel Consultancy
Services
Adithi Muralidhar, ORF Mumbai
Dr Aman Bhalla, Panjab University
Amit Paranjape, Pune
Amitav Mallik, PIC, Pune
Amruta Jadhav, Sarhad School
Amulya Charan, Pune
Dr Anil Kumar Angrish, Chandigarh
Anirudha Rajandekar, Pune
Dr Anjal Panigrahi, Chetana's N.S. College
Anjali Joshi, Chandigarh
Anjan Jyoti Dan, Pratham Mirza
Dr Anki Reddy Katha, IIT Guwahati
Dr Anoop K Dass, IIT Guwahati
Anu Chawla, Chandigarh
Anushree Lokur, Ruia College
Aparna Sivakumar, ORF Mumbai
Archana Chauhan, Panjab University
Dr Arti Arya, Chandigarh
Ashok Kalbag, Vigyan Ashram
Ashok Singh, Chandigarh
Ashwini Chintey, Air India
Ashwini Bhide, IAS, Govt. of Maharashtra
Dr Avinash Dhar, ICTS-TIFR
Dr B.L. Suresha, BMSCE, Bengaluru
B.N. Chandrashekar, BIT, Bengaluru
Dr B.S.Pabla, NITTTR, Chandigarh
Bandhana Sharma, Chandigarh
Dr Bhaba Kumar Sharma, IIT Guwahati
ABBREVIATIONS OF NAMES OF
INSTITUTIONS
BHU- Banaras Hindu University
BMSCE- B. M. S. College of Engineering
CBS- Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences
CRIKC Chandigarh Region Innovation and
Knowledge Cluster
CSIO Central Scientific Instruments
Organisation
HRI Harishchandra Research Institute
ICTS-TIFR International Centre for
Theoretical Sciences
IISc Indian Institute of Science
IISER Indian Institute of Science Education
and Research
IIT Indian Institute of Technology
INST- Institute of Nano Science and
Technology
ISIST- Institute for Semantic Information
Sciences & Technology
JNCASR- Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Advanced Scientific Research
MCCIA- Mahratta Chamber of Commerce
Industries & Agriculture
NITTTR- National Institute of Technical
Teachers Training and Research
NCBS-TIFR National Centre for Biological
Sciences
NCCS- National Centre for Cell Science
ORF- Observer Research Foundation
PIC Pune International Centre
PU Panjab University
RRI Raman Research Institute
SPSTI Society for Promotion of Science and
Technology in India
TCIS TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary
Sciences
TCS Tata Consultancy Services
TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research
VJTI - Veermata Jijabai Technological
Institute
XRCI- Xerox Research Centre India.