In a country where receiving higher education remains a dream for a large section of youth due to their financial constraints or geographical location, it is vital to explore what sort of opportunities and challenges private universities are faced with to provide succour in the Higher Education Sector, writes Sandeep Datta of Elets News Network (ENN).

The Higher Education Sector

This sector has been classified into various categories based on how they have been established. There are four types: Central Universities, State Universities, Deemed Universities, and the Private Universities. Also, there are institutes which are designated as institutes of national importance.

The Rise

With a mere 20 universities in 1950 to 677 in 2014, the Indian Higher Education sector can certainly be viewed as a field which has witnessed a tremendous rise in the number of Universities/University level Institutions and Colleges since 1947, the year India acquired its freedom from the British.

Today, the Indian higher education sector boasts of 45 Central Universities of which 40 are under the purview of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), 318 State Universities, 185 State Private universities, 129 Deemed to be Universities, 51 Institutions of National Importance (established under Acts of Parliament) under MHRD (IITs – 16, NITs – 30 and IISERs – 5) and four institutions (established under various State legislations).

Also, the number of colleges has also witnessed a surge of 74 times from just 500 in 1950 to 37,204, as on March 31, 2013.

Such a quantum growth in the Higher Education sector is spearheaded by the Universities, which are the highest seats of learning.

According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Higher Education is a shared responsibility of the Centre and the States. The University Grants Commission (UGC) and other statutory regulatory bodies are responsible for coordination and determination of standards in Universities and Colleges.

What is a Private University?

The UGC defines a private university as “an institution of higher learning established through a State or Central Act by a sponsoring body”, such as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in a state or a public trust or a company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

As per law, for an institution to be given the status of a private university the State legislature conferring the status has to pass an Act by which the institution will acquire the status of a university. Private universities have to be recognised by the UGC so that the degrees awarded by them hold value.

Scope for Private Universities

India holds huge potential in terms of possibilities opening up before a private university. It is so since the higher education largely remains inaccessible or beyond financial means to a big section of the youth in this billion-plus country.

There are 262 Universities that can award degrees as specified by the UGC under Section 22 of the UGC Act with the approval of the statutory councils, wherever required through their main campus.

How to open a Private University?

A private university can be set up via a State/Central Act by a sponsoring body such as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860, or any other corresponding law for the time being in force in a State or a Public Trust or a Company registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

In the wake of so much potential of setting up private universities, there is a strong need to explore challenges and opportunities of such private universities to impart higher education in terms of establishment, admission, formulating courses and curriculum.

Also, innovations in teaching and learning processes, research and development, collaboration, and about usage of ICT include that list.

There is a need to investigate various aspects including advantages, disadvantages, constraints of private universities for its stakeholders like students, faculty members, parents, industries and society.

Challenges before Private Universities

The changing times and a maddening race to emulate fellow competitors within the country has posed many challenges for private universities. They include issues like paucity of quality-faculty, resources and funds to research, introducing new course to enable students turn employable, providing them requisite professional skills and meeting the requirements of knowledge economy; drawing meritorious students, and building state of the art infrastructure.

Push for Research

There is a need to understand resources for pursuing research, knowledge creation which leads to publication and innovation shouldn’t be based on if a university is public or private rather on the research capacities of the university and the faculty research initiatives undertaken.

Need For Independence

A section of universities feels the universities cannot emerge as world class if they are developed through government departments forcing their authority over institutions. Top class universities are nurtured possibly when faculty members, students¸ or other stakeholders are able to take decisions about the university independently and transparently.

It is required to stay relevant in the era of high-tech competitions and in the absence of quality no organisation can afford to last in the long run.

Demand for Quality Faculty

A section of universities complain about a paucity of senior faculty inclined towards meaningful research and industrial projects.

Innovations

In a lot of private universities, major innovation are reflected in their latest curriculum, globally practiced pedagogy and industry tie-ups.

According to Madhu Chitkara, Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University, Punjab, survival of the fittest and fierce competition also drive the will at private universities to be being innovative and sustainable. “So, for them, innovation is always on agenda unlike state and central universities, which are heavily funded and marginally accountable to the need of education system.”

One can also count introducing new courses “to help students become employable, imparting professional skills for knowledge economy… creating state of the art infrastructure… recruiting efficient and bright faculty members and imparting high quality education” among other prominent challenges.

In the words of Prof. (Dr.) A K Bakhshi, Vice-Chancellor, PDM University, Bahadurgarh, Haryana, some of the innovative practices of the private universities include amongst others: industry-ready curricula at both under graduate and post-graduate levels.

“Focus on research with social relevance; seed money to develop research proposals; incentives for faculty members presenting papers/posters/invited talks at State/National /International conferences as well as for publications in indexed journals; arranging various training programmes for professional development of educators; integration of ICT with education; creation of Entrepreneurship Development Cell to motivate students to become self-employed; representation of students on various committees of Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC);hiring of a professional HR Director to take care of staff recruitment, induction, inservice training and performance appraisal,” Bakshi added.

On one hand, there is need to enhance access to quality education and at the same, without sacrificing the quality of admitted students, opines Dr ORS Rao, Vice Chancellor, ICFAI University,Ranchi.

“We need to groom the students as per the changing Industry Requirements so that they are employable. Besides knowledge and skills, it is also becoming imperative to focus efforts on cultivating character of the students.”

“For new universities, raising consultancies especially from the corporate sector, is also a challenge,” said Zora Singh, Vice Chancellor, Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh, while mentioning about the university located in rural region. “Raising finances and grants for project and research from government bodies is a challenge.”

Dr. S.K. Salwan, Vice Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon, says an alarming concern for the higher education policy makers and educationists is the requirement to inculcate and maintain high academic standards. “There is a concern that in the absence of external checks, universities will exercise powers in an arbitrary manner and offer courses and programmes which are destitute of academic content.”

In the words of Amit Agrawal, Vice Chairman, of the JECRC University (JU), a private university situated in Jaipur: “JECRC University is driven by the spirit of innovation led research and manifests itself in infrastructure as well as practices. The multifaceted research encompasses subject specific exploration as well as the contexts of the business environment in which its students operate and perform.”

The privatisation of education brings more and more options in higher education for students in India. Admission to these universities is conducted through various state and national-level exams across the country. Akash Tomer of Elets News Network (ENN) writes about the admission processes and admission regulatory bodies.

From 10 private universities in 2006, the number of private universities in India has risen more than 25 times that of in 2016. According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), the country had around 259 universities in 2016. Rajasthan had most number of private universities (42) in the country, followed by Uttar Pradesh (28), Gujarat (26) and Madhya Pradesh (22). States like Haryana (18), Himachal Pradesh (17) and Punjab (14) also have a good number of private universities. The data indicates that the number of private universities in India is growing at a rapid rate and students are feeling drawn to seek admissions to these universities.

Why private universities are mushrooming in the country? India, largely being a young nation, there is a huge requirement for higher educational institutions in India due to its huge youth populace. to fulfill the educational institutions of country’s young population. As the data reflects, Central and State universities aren’t adequate enough to accommodate all students in the country. That’s why the private investments are considered as the only answer to this requirement and thus turned vital. private universities are autonomous institutions. These educational institutes follow the regulations laid down by the UGC to maintain minimum standards for academic and physical infrastructure.

Admission to the Private Universities

As per the Government of India’s stated aims for higher education enrolment, 14 million seats in higher education sector will be required to be added during 2014-2020. It is quite clear; this demand can only be met primarily by the private sector. The government is planning for overall revamp of higher education sector with its new policies. Single common medical entrance test – National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has been introduced by the government in 2016. Medical colleges of the country are allowed to fill their seats only through the NEET. It is expected that on the lines of NEET, a single common entrance test may also be introduced for engineering aspirants.

Other than engineering and medical, there are various other streams for which exams are conducted at state and national level. Private universities across the country are accepting the scores of these exams for admission of candidates to the respective streams.

The percentage of graduates and their possibility to get jobs is a concern which deserves to? The need to retrain students as per career requirement should be some of vital concerns of the present day education system, writes Akash Tomer for Elets News Network (ENN).

Placement is one of the most important yardsticks for assessment of higher educational institutes. Better placement guarantees better ranking of the institute. As far as placement of government institutes of India are concerned, it has the best in the country. However, private universities and institutes have to toil hard for placement of their students. Placement of a student on an appropriate position requires a quality and mandatory student assessment and advising system. Academic and personal support services are needed for every student at the beginning of their careers to success. Appropriate level of developmental course structured as per the industry requirements and services ensure placement of the students in their respective fields. and tailored academic and affective support commensurate with student skills and abilities.

According to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) Education Committee (AEC) for 2014-2016, only 7% of the pass-outs are actually employable in India excepting graduates from IIMs.

The study further reveals that on an average each student spent nearly Rs 3 to Rs 5 lakh on a two-year MBA programme but their current monthly salary is a measly Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. The report says that the quality of IIM/IIT students passing out now has dwindled as compared to last 15 years. It is happening due to deteriorating quality of school education in these institutions. Low education quality coupled with the economic slowdown, from 2014 to 2016, campus recruitments have gone down by a whopping 45 per cent.

Of the 15 lakh engineering graduates, India produces annually, 20-30% of them do not find jobs and many other get jobs well below their technical qualification.

Growth rate of Indian economy and number of engineers are the same. IT sector absorbs approximately most number of engineers, between 50-75%. Graduating engineers have huge mismatch in their aspirations and job readiness. 97% engineers aspire for a job in IT and core engineering. However, only 18.43% employable in IT and 7.49% in core engineering, the study added

Importance of Placement and Training

Student Perspective
From a student perspective, high quality placements can bring a range of benefits and positive impacts. For a student, placements and training are extremely valuable as it helps them to enhance or learn industry centric skills beneficial for their future career growth. Best training and placement practices at a private university help students to alleviate barriers to employment for graduates and encourage them to grab all possible opportunities. The Wilson Review of higher education argues that both sandwich placements and student/ graduate internships hold considerable value for the personal and professional development of students. “Sandwich Placement” is a validated work experience opportunity which forms part of a university degree programme (usually the third year, of a four year course).

Improved Skills and Knowledge
Placements and training is an opportunity for students to gain subject-specific skills or industry- specific skills along with the employability skills. These skills help students to improve their knowledge of an industry or sector that further enable them to make better decisions during job or about future career choices. According to a research, carried out at University of Aston to explore the possible link between placements and academic achievement, it was revealed that placements do improve degree performance. The research also suggested that students with better grades are more likely to undertake placements in their first attempt and a successful placement automatically improves the academic performance of a candidate in the very next semester. Better understanding of work and improved personal maturity:

After placements, students are provided the opportunity to work in a team. The team-based working is totally contrasting to academic study where students follow individual-centric approach. This kind of experience helps a person to work collaboratively and enhances problem-solving skills gained at university with better self management. Another beneficial output for students from undertaking a placement is the ability to effectively provide evidence to their experiences present on their CV. Body language of students is a contextual proof for their skills and abilities coupled with documented reference.

Ability to Compete in a Turbulent Marketplace
Ability to Compete in a Turbulent Marketplace Completing a placement can sometimes lead directly to subsequent employment with the same employer following graduation. It can be “a foot in the door” that could lead to a temporary or permanent contract.

Interaction with other professionals while on placement can also bring strong effective in terms of networking. For example, engaging with professionals in their chosen career can provide a foundation of contacts on which to build and draw upon in future.

University Perspective
In universities, students often belong to varying streams, stratas and exposure of life. Some of them are from cities, towns, villages and urbanised villages and thus there is always a probability of them not being aware of expectations from them or exact nature of work. In order to make students aware about the real corporate scenarios and handle their problems, a placement cell is highly recommended in every university. The placement cell of a private university or an institute usually consists of an entire panel to help students during their graduation. The cell helps the students in getting a job, enrollment for a training or internship. One can go to them and they will help you out with placements after college.

Raising the Institution’s Profile
Providing placement opportunities enhances an institution’s reputation among aspiring graduates. Alluring placements are felt to improve student employability which enhances students’ satisfaction that benefits the institutes with better reputation among students and towards providing better quality higher education experience. In theory, this also translates into better performance in league tables based on student employment levels postgraduation. This could significantly improve the attractiveness of the institution to prospective students, who are increasingly mindful of the value of their studies to employers, and improving their job opportunities.

Increased contact with employers High-quality placements can improve a university’s broader engagement and relationships with business. High quality placement experience more likely compel the employers return year after year with additional placement vacancies. Moreover, the employers try to look for other opportunities to link with the university or the institution.

Business Engagement
Placements can pave the way to form constructive relationships with local, national and international organisations. Quality placement at any institute draws the attention of large organisations along with small and medium-sized enterprises. This is helpful for any institution to develop variety of income-generating mechanisms with the organisations. More and more engagement of enterprises helps the universities to knowledge transfer partnerships (KTPs), industry-specific trainings and consultancy and work-based learning.