Public universities are few compared to the need
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Sajib Mazumdar
Traditionally, the public universities have been regarded as suitable centres of higher education as these possess in all cases sufficient campus space, faculties and other physical attributes to justify being regarded as full fledged universities unlike the private universities with their namesake campuses only. Besides, public universities are also the first choice for the majority of higher education seekers because they are affordable compared to the private universities, where tuition fees and other charges are many times higher. The standard of education at the public universities, on the whole, is also judged to be better than the private ones although a few private universities maintain perhaps better educational standard than the public universities.
For the above reasons, it is desirable that public universities should increase in number as these are found conforming broadly to standards expected of universities and helping to fulfill the higher educational ambitions of a far larger number of students who find the costs of private university education unbearable. Indeed, the practice in many better governed countries, is to make public resources available for public education. Making education resources almost free for the young citizens pays off in the form of creation of human resources who then can spur economic growth. Therefore, there would be ample justification both to increase government allocations to the existing public universities and to increase the number of such universities.
Less than three dozen public universities for a nation of over 150 million people seem too few. Considerable investment in the establishment of public universities has not been noted since the independence of the country and this is unfortunate. Government needs to refocus attention and strategy to channel substantially increased resources to the establishment of more public universities. It should also increase allocations for the existing ones.
Reportedly the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently submitted its observations to the relevant parliamentary standing committee. Its report, as was noted is a section of the media, has disclosed that only about 12 per cent of the budget of the public universities are spent on education and the rest goes mainly to pay salaries and other allowances to teachers and general employees of these universities. The scanty amount spent on education underlines the pressing necessity to increase governmental allocations for the universities although the same in no way diminishes the need for taking steps by the university administrations on their own to strike a balance between amounts spent on education and amounts utilised to pay the teachers and general employees.
The public universities have the opportunity to also increase their fees which are very low. Guardians are not likely to mind reasonable and bearable increases in fees if they realise that the same would then be spent on providing better education. There is also scope for the public universities to earn substantial amounts of money from undertaking research for the public and the private sectors and also discharging professional services to them.
Traditionally, the public universities have been regarded as suitable centres of higher education as these possess in all cases sufficient campus space, faculties and other physical attributes to justify being regarded as full fledged universities unlike the private universities with their namesake campuses only. Besides, public universities are also the first choice for the majority of higher education seekers because they are affordable compared to the private universities, where tuition fees and other charges are many times higher. The standard of education at the public universities, on the whole, is also judged to be better than the private ones although a few private universities maintain perhaps better educational standard than the public universities.
For the above reasons, it is desirable that public universities should increase in number as these are found conforming broadly to standards expected of universities and helping to fulfill the higher educational ambitions of a far larger number of students who find the costs of private university education unbearable. Indeed, the practice in many better governed countries, is to make public resources available for public education. Making education resources almost free for the young citizens pays off in the form of creation of human resources who then can spur economic growth. Therefore, there would be ample justification both to increase government allocations to the existing public universities and to increase the number of such universities.
Less than three dozen public universities for a nation of over 150 million people seem too few. Considerable investment in the establishment of public universities has not been noted since the independence of the country and this is unfortunate. Government needs to refocus attention and strategy to channel substantially increased resources to the establishment of more public universities. It should also increase allocations for the existing ones.
Reportedly the University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently submitted its observations to the relevant parliamentary standing committee. Its report, as was noted is a section of the media, has disclosed that only about 12 per cent of the budget of the public universities are spent on education and the rest goes mainly to pay salaries and other allowances to teachers and general employees of these universities. The scanty amount spent on education underlines the pressing necessity to increase governmental allocations for the universities although the same in no way diminishes the need for taking steps by the university administrations on their own to strike a balance between amounts spent on education and amounts utilised to pay the teachers and general employees.
The public universities have the opportunity to also increase their fees which are very low. Guardians are not likely to mind reasonable and bearable increases in fees if they realise that the same would then be spent on providing better education. There is also scope for the public universities to earn substantial amounts of money from undertaking research for the public and the private sectors and also discharging professional services to them.