Introduction
The time is opportune for India to make its transition to the knowledge economy – an economy that creates, disseminates, and uses knowledge – to enhance its growth and development. Universities are now experiencing competitive pressures resulting from the reduction in government financial support and the consequent need for enterprising approaches to revenue generation.
Universities need to be consciously and explicitly managing the process associated with the creation of their knowledge assets and to recognise the value of their intellectual capital to their continuing role in society and a wider global marketplace for higher education. Almost all institutions whether public or private engaged in imparting higher education within or any part of the globe will store, access, capture, share and deliver knowledge from faculty members to students and community. The total advancement and adaptation of technologies in any organisation would depend upon the management strategy, availability of funds and the procedures adopted. The most common techniques used for managing knowledge assets are:-
Decision Support techniques – They are tools services as data mining, simulators, artificial intelligence or the integration of all of them in an OLAP (Online AnalyticalProcessing). By making right information available at the right time to the right decision makers, in the right manner, data warehousing and decision support technologies empower employees to become knowledge workers with the ability to make the right decisions and solve problems creating strategic leverage for the organisations.
Groupware solutions- It is to apply variety of computer based systems designed to allow people to communicate with each other to complete projects. The most common feature of group solutions re electronic mails and messaging online calendars or diaries of employees; project management , Total Quality Management and environmental manuals document
and best practices (expert diaries or yellow pages) desktop video conferencing online catalogues of library materials book , journals articles and workflow tools. Following are some of the techniques, the use of which will enhance the competitive capacity of Knowledge Management (KM) in Higher education. Data Mining: It is a process of discovering meaningful new co-relations, patterns and trends by sifting through large amount of data stored in repositories and by using pattern recognition technologies as well as statistical and mathematical techniques by Gartner Group. e-Learning: e-Learning is the use of electronic multimedia technology to deliver education, information skill, knowledge and individual learning programmes to large audiences , potentially around the globe ,
PERSPECTIVE
Dr. M.S.Rawat using internet and other technology based systems. E-learning is one of the most important Knowledge Management (KM) practices, something which one would expect
higher education institutions to have as an advantage. Yet these e-learning opportunities are geared most often to student as online customers, not to employees as part of capitalising on their knowledge as an intellectual asset. Total Quality Management in Higher Education (T.Q.M): Some colleges and universities are beginning to recognize the T.Q.M values as more compatible with higher education than existing management system”. TQM in any rganization is a dynamic and progressive approach. The success of TQM would largely depend on the educational leaders/administrators accepting responsibility for providing better quality of services. It calls for redesign of work systems, redefining objectives, roles and responsibilities .In such a process “quality” is the permeating ethic in community and organisation delivering maximum welfare. Human Resource Information System
(HRIS) in context of Higher Education:
The establishment of HRIS looks towards the integration and support for three essential, corporate processes: strategic planning, operational planning and human resource planning (including career planning). The essential components of an HRIS are accuracy, combined with timeliness, to increase reporting capacity and controlling the whole systems to achieve accuracy, confidentiality. HRIS, moves from isolation to integration and facilitates holistic approach of education. Basic objective of HRIS include standardisation of activities and processes, reduced paper work, information at fingertips, improved service delivery, enhanced efficiency at work, enables effective analysis, student self service (SSS)/Open systems, web systems/analysis, web systems/user’s ID/passwords for users’s perspective.
Digital Dashboards:
A digital dashboard is customised solution for knowledge workers that consolidates personal, team, corporate and external information and provides single click access to analytical and
collaboration tools. It brings an integrated view of a company’s knowledge source to an individual’s desktop, enabling better decision making by providing immediate access to key business information.
Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS): Large amount of data database can be transformed into meaningful intelligence resources. SAS provides a powerful and comprehensive suite of solution and services form decision support administrative solutions to curriculum resources. Educational professionals can turn to SAS to get accurate, critical, and timely information they need. SAS offer capabilities in various categories, which include i) Enrolment Management, ii) Institutional Advancement, iii) Institutional Effectiveness, iv) Operational Efficiency, v) Online Curriculum, The choice of any technology project is a complex issue to be wisely considered after taking strategic considerations such as: Budgets and time suitability;
Value of Knowledge Management in terms of tangible and visible advantages; Changing requirements of institutions;
NPTEL is an acronym for National Programme on Technology Enhan-ced Learning which is an initiative by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for creating course contents in engineering and science.
NPTEL as a project originated from many deliberations between IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) during the years 1999-2003. A proposal was jointly put forward by five IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras) and IISc for creating contents for 100 courses as web based supplements and 100 complete video courses, for forty hours of duration per course. Web supplements were expected to cover materials that could be delivered in approximately forty hours. Five engineering branches (Civil, Computer Science, Electrical, Electronics and Communication and Mechanical) and core science programmes that all engineering students are required to take in their undergraduate engineering programme in India were chosen initially. Contents for the above courses were based on the model curriculum suggested by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the syllabi of major affiliating Universities in India.
Helping the Community: The Goal of NPTEL
In order to quell the shortage of technologically-skilled manpower in the increasingly dominant and ever improving Indian automotive space, Eicher and National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore have come together to set up training centers based on industry-institution collaboration and thereby implementing a critical action point of the Automotive Mission Plan 2006-2016.
Education programme 
Need to Integrate Technology in Higher Education
Potential of India's knowledge economy has been aptly described as, “Unlike China, India's significant cheap labour pool is not a pool of factory workers, but a huge crop of scientists”.
Indian Higher Education is an area of great debate and policy direction requirement. Despite its large pool of technical manpower institutions, India in it's strive to achieve the desired results, seems to have missed the bus. The two changes that took place in the global economy in the last to decades are: the growth of internet and e-education and the expanding growth of World Trade Organization (WTO). While the advent of Internet has changed the world, higher education has undergone a much bigger transformation. Higher Education has already become a trillion dollar global business and Indian students, besides the Chinese, are perhaps the largest “customers” of this business. According to the Economist's special survey, Higher Education is a global business and there are about 100 million students in this sector of which 2% are foreign students.
India's Knowledge Economy
India's Higher Education policy since 1950's in creating schools of excellence like the IIT, IIM, Centres of Science and Law have paid rich dividends. Indian trained doctors until recently were the backbone of British Medical Service while engineers from IIT's are highly regarded in the US. Remittances from these Indians kept our foreign reserves in good condition in difficult days. However, the once highly criticised brain drain is now giving rich dividends as many Indian professionals return to India with all their experience, money and connections. The IT sector has been a major trend setter in this context. Further, a number of leading research companies in IT, Medical and Financial Sectors have set up R & D and Scientific Research Units in India and have taken advantage of India's new crop of scientists and engineers.
Some Features of Indian Higher Education System
The growth of Higher Education is India has been phenomenal but perhaps not enough. Starting with 1950-51 there were only 263,000 students in all disciplines in 750 colleges affiliated to 30 universities compared to 11 million students and 17000 degree colleges affiliated to 230 universities and non affiliating university level institutions in 2005. In addition, there were about 10 million students in over 6500 vocational institutions.
In India both public and private institutions coexist. For example, of the 13072 higher education institutions in 2000-01, there were only 58% in the public domain and the remaining 42% were privately managed. Currently a rapid growth in private unaided colleges is being witnessed.
In so far as universities are concerned, only Central or State Governments can open a university and that too by legislation. The UGC can however grant institutes of excellence, deemed university status. UGC has also developed National Accreditation & Assessment Council (NAAC) and AICTE has also established is own accreditation mechanism by setting up National Board of Accreditation (MBA).
India as a Knowledge Society: Need for Quality Control
In 2000, the then Prime Minister had laid down a vision to leap frog India into a knowledge base society. Planning Commission's document India as a Knowledge Super Power; Strategy for Transformation conceives India as a knowledge society built on foundation of ICT's. This requires India to make its education more attuned to characteristics of new global environment and improving the quality of tertiary education including also providing opportunity for life long learning. While India leads in quality of Mathematics, Science and Management education, there is a need to improve soft skills, a critical prerequisite for modern job requirements.
The concept of providing subsidised education to students should shift to providing more scholarships to needy and deserving students which will bring in efficiencies in the entire system
India currently produces a fairly large core of knowledge workers with numerous universities and world class institutions. However, the struggle between quality and quantity has been made worse by an extremely bureaucratic regulatory and management framework built on numerous controls. What is required today is to focus on quality assurance and accreditation. The National Accreditation Board has long wait list and a bureaucratic process. Private universities in India are not accredited. Synchronization of curriculum leading to joint degrees is welcome and indeed a way forward.
There is lack of partnership between universities and also with universities abroad. However, many private universities have tie ups with universities abroad and have started offering dual degrees, one by themselves and another by the foreign counterpart.
India has a very large system of post secondary technical, science and engineering education which gives it one of the largest stocks of scientists, engineers and technicians in the world. However, besides the world class institutions such as IIT's, IIMs, Indian Institute of Science, etc. hundreds of newly established engineering and technical colleges and over 500 government/government aided self financing engineering colleges are offering only degree programmes in addition to some 1100 polytechnics offering diplomas. It is the latter institutions which need stricter monitoring and quality control. Currently only about 15% of such institutions are accredited by National Accreditation Board and less than 6% of these institutions have noteworthy research activity. In addition there is the serious problem of corruption and capitation fee in our mushrooming institutions imparting science, engineering, management, and medical education. In one sense this reflects that the pent up demand for quality education is not being met in India.
Technical Education
There is a need to integrate technical education with higher education so that students can pursue these courses simultaneously (a la Australia and Manipal with a nucleus of numerous educational institutions at various levels). Degrees from Manipal are recognized in more than 40 countries and twinning programmes, in which a student completes first two years in Manipal and the remaining in US, Australia, are extremely popular.
Public Spending in Higher Education vs. National Scholarship/Loan scheme
Given the competing demand on public funds for elementary and higher education, with the former a high priority need, it is crucial to move to a system of private financing of higher education with a very large scholarship/loan base at low or zero interest rate. India already has an education cess with income tax which could provide full scholarships and subsidized interest on loans from banks. It could also provide guarantee on loans to the very poor. The concept of providing subsidised education to students should shift to providing more scholarships to needy and deserving students which will bring in efficiencies in the entire system as it will then be based on cost to each student and will also determine the popularity of the institution as well as the course from a demand perspective.
Career Oriented Training/Short Term Courses
India produces every year a large number of graduates and 700,000 post graduate students. The demand for post graduate diplomas in a large number of fields of employment is increasing rapidly as employers need well trained people with well grounded personalities. Soft skill training is required and should be brought within the curriculum. The private sector has responded by a mushrooming of short specialized courses. However one needs to exercise strict quality controls.
Thus, it can be said that India's Higher Education Sector is in dire need for mid-course correction. The issues associated with quality control, accreditation and funding need to be looked afresh. Opening the borders to foreign Universities is likely to bring in healthy competition. Education bureaucracy does also require a overhaul.