AUTONOMIZING TECHNICAL EDUCATION
Anil Chotmarada
In the wake of the world shrinking to a global village, it has become imperative that technical graduates of a country be able to share the platform with the best in the world. A review of the prevailing scenario, however, indicates by and large a lack of technical competence. Barring the IITs most technical schools churn out young professionals annually who are not able to make a mark in their respective fields. This grim reality hence warrants taking stock of the existing policy of technical education in the country in the lap of liberalisation. This is not to imply that the technical education programme has never been under review. But there is the need to emphasise an integrated rather than a piecemeal approach.
The opening up of the economy has brought about dramatic increase in the demand for efficient technical man power. The process of globalization and liberalisation calls for a change in the complete attitude towards the whole gamut of technical education entailing a fresh approach to introduce changes which become inherent to the system instead of being only superficial changes. Our response to this demand has been far from adequate. While there are several factors responsible for the current state of affairs, this paper attempts to deal with the role and structure of the managing authorities of our technical institutions and their making a meaningful contribution to the creation of an invaluable human base in today’s world.
As of now, most technical institutions in the country are being managed by either the Central or State governments with a few being managed by patrons whose credibility to manage technical schools is questionable. The number of autonomous institution like the I.I.T.s is very nominal given the total number of technical schools in the country. The inability of the majority of technical institutions to respond to the challenges of the present times poses a big question mark on the efficacy of the system. As in all other sectors of development, privatisation of technical education is being projected as a panacea with the objective of changing the complexion of technical education to meet contemporary demands. It therefore becomes a worthwhile exercise to evaluate the contribution of the private sector (be it an individual patron, private institution or industry) against the existing pattern with a view to generate a technical education programme that is wholesome and ready to walk into the millennium.
ADMINISTRATION OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS.
Most technical schools in the country are under the charge of the government. This system leaves the helm of affairs in the hands of bureaucrats who are non-technical managers. It is therefore only expected that their handling of administrative matters may not be very realistic, with priorities often misplaced and personal whims being on the forefront. The situation deteriorates further by the arrival of politicians on the scene. Their regular meddling in the day to day affairs of an institution tends to stymie any worthwhile endeavour being otherwise made. Often the bureaucrat politician nexus may defeat the very purpose of setting up a technical institution.
On the other hand, the government’s socialist manifesto results in excessive under utilisation of manpower resources. It is not uncommon to find a nearly balanced equation in terms of strength of students and staff in some schools. Such a practice breeds inefficiency and slows down the pace of the entire establishment. The governing body also has no means to keep a check on the performance of its staff. The absence of pressure to perform well kills the spirit of competition and results in a apathetic attitude reflected by low standards and corrupt practices.
Such administrative fall outs can be avoided in a private set up by granting autonomy in the management of schools affairs provided the patron initiates the project out of a sympathetic attitude towards technical education unlike the apathetic attitude of the blind bureaucracy and rapacious politicians. The administration can then be entrusted to professionally trained technical managers who are well versed in the discipline and are aware of the problems that are likely to emerge. Their tackling of the situation, based on ground realities shall be effective. The mangers with the patrons support will also ensure non interference by any outside agency in the smooth running of the institution. The administration because of its concern and involvement will encourage optimum man-power utilisation with a view to curb inefficiency. Moreover, the work environs will be made competitive with insistence on periodic reviews of performance, where failure to comply with pre- determined performance level shall be totally unacceptable.
While privatisation seems to be the answer for effective management of technical schools, it may have its own set of problems. The patron can run the institution on his/her personal whim or else the patron could use the institution as a forum to give vent to personal grudge against individuals. Additionally, the lack of stability of jobs coupled with the constant fear of dismissal may result in a chaotic situation. To effectively counter this problem a monitoring agency would be needed at the national level. This body could then regulate the norms for all technical institutions in the country. It shall have to be invested with necessary powers, unlike the existing All India Council For Technical Education, to implement its recommendations regarding all matter pertaining to technical education. Needless to say, this agency shall comprise technical professionals drawn from diverse disciplines with least bureaucratic input.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS
Technical education in India is heavily subsidised and causes a perpetual paucity of funds to run the institution. This socialist outlook is also responsible for inculcating a feeling of callousness in the student community as they pay virtually nothing for a professional degree. This in no way implies that students with a poor economic background be not given a chance to be trained as technical personnel. For such students there should be a provision of soft loans which are to be repaid by the students to inculcate a sense of seriousness of purpose which at the moment is lacking in a good number of students who have managed to get admission in technical schools managed by the government.
It is not that the government does not provide sufficient funds to institutions managed by it, it is only that financial schemes are mismanaged due to procedural complications and lack of foresight of the managers. The government has a tendency of viewing technical schools as just another department of its gigantic structure, to be managed with same bureaucratic attitude as say, the department of animal husbandry. A private management would go out of its way to optimise its resources.
While it can be appreciated that running an educational institution is not to be seen as a lucrative venture, it is also true that an economically unviable institution is also not desirable. Private management can ensure the appropriate student response by regulating the fee structure as human tendency is to respect an expensive service. The idea is not to encourage teaching-shops but allow the technical schools to become a self sustaining entity.
IMPROVED STUDENT ENVIRONMENT
The prevailing practice of an applicant’s entry to a technical school managed by the government, on the basis of region or caste needs to be reviewed. Such a policy leads to intelligence disparity in a batch hence resulting in lowering of overall academic standards. Besides, a diverse student group contributes to making the learning process more stimulating through constant interaction, in addition to providing a cross-cultural fertilisation enhancing national integrity. Once privatised, technical schools shall do away with the region and caste based reservation policy for student intake the focus shall instead be on consistency in levels of awareness and intelligence in a batch. This can then be sought via a common platform on the national level by devising an aptitude testing method for various disciplines which is possible only in an ambience of liberal thinking which is quite out of the domain of red tape bound bureaucrats.
A RESPONSIBLE FACULTY
Faculty selection as of now is highly superficial. The reservation policy of the government often comes in the way of the right candidate getting the job. The criteria for selection should rest on firmer grounds than mere possession of a professional degree. Any individual joining the teaching profession has on him/herself the onus of training young impressionable minds. Therefore, in addition to technical competence, a certain degree of maturity is called for. In governmental institutions selection procedures have been blurred to the extent that all governmental appointments are suspect.
In a private establishment because of the patron’s desire to maintain an image, certain optimum academic standard will automatically have to be ensured for a careful faculty selection. The State, with additional private expertise, providing a constant monitoring of performance will ensure the setting up of a conducive learning environment. At the same time, the monitoring agency must ensure that the patron’s partisan attitude does not play a significant role in the selection of the faculty. To counter such an eventuality the monitoring agency recommended earlier must lay down guidelines for a candidate’s selection and must be invested with the power to even close down the institution if it fails to comply with the guidelines.
RAISED ACADEMIC STANDARDS
Upkeep of high academic standards is one of the major areas of concern for any technical institution. However, under the present system of government management, academic standards leave much to be desired. The inherent inadequacies of the set-up in terms of student faculty intake abet a non academic environment. The failure to screen applicants both students and faculty at the time of admission later gives rise to low standards. A non competitive work place further aggravates the situation. There is no worthwhile attempt to reassess the curriculum and recommends its up gradation in this age of technical advancement. The interface between theory and practice is discouraged for all intents and purposes, creating an imbalance in the curriculum structure.
The government in its role as the ever forgiving patron stems the students desire to perform well. It does not come as a surprise that in some technical schools the government policy allows a student to proceed to a higher class without having cleared even a single course of the previous number of classes. Such magnanimity on the part of the patron, like the university, is highly misplaced and has far reaching detrimental consequences.
Privatisation not only takes into account the quantitative but also the qualitative component of technical education. The syllabi is geared to meet effectively the various innovations offered by the diverse facets of industry. The right selection criteria for student, staff intake also adds to ensuring academic standards. Insistence on academic excellence, together with the threat of being held back or expelled shall act as a deterrent for students to take a professional course casually.
UPKEEP OF DISCIPLINE
Maintenance of decorum in government run technical institutions is currently not high on the managing body’s agenda. Let us not forget that a technical school is not only a centre for learning a particular discipline, but also a breeding ground for upright citizens of tomorrow. Excellence in academics is not the only parameter to gauge proficiency as discipline is an equal contributor in this relationship.
Most government run technical schools have over the years indicated steadily falling discipline levels leading to a near total collapse of the system. In so far as instilling discipline in both students and faculty is concerned - this is an area of total neglect because of the perpetual interference of politicians at all levels in the institution. While it is understandable that there are grievances, the methods adopted for their redress defy all civilised conventions of discipline. Resorting to strikes that more often than not result in hooliganism is a common occurrence in most technical schools. The management’s handling of the situation is for from dextrous. The authorities for most part are reluctant to negotiate and the disgruntled faculty members and the frustrated students are not willing to give in because of the general apathetic attitude of all concerned. A stalemate between the warring factions throws the entire academic schedule out of balance. Slanderous aspersions do the campus rounds adding fuel to fire, with no conscious effort on any side to diffuse the situation. A professionally managed school will have discipline as one of the priority areas. The endeavour will be to keep discontentment at arm’s length, through meaningful dialogue and negotiation as it would reflect badly on the image of the patron.
WELL DEVELOPED INFRASTRUCTURE
It is mandatory for a technical institute to have adequate infrastructure that acts as a support system for academic enhancement. The infrastructure ranges from research cells to laboratory and workshop facilities. For any academic programme to take concrete shape, the dual input of theory and practice is required. This interface is in the form of consultancy, with its amalgam of varied components. Consultancy is the medium by which theory is advanced.
A government supported technical institute may not take too kindly to infrastructure development. Here the non technical managers, the politicians’ clout and general apathy are the major role players. Only a professionally trained technical manager can appreciate the role of infrastructure in the larger academic interested. In-house quality research, active intervention of the industry and provision of laboratory and workshop peripherals will go hand in hand with academic growth.
There have been instances of private schools flouting the prescribed norms and setting up teaching shops that provide sub standard infrastructure with little or no scope for research or consultancy but this situation prevails in all government managed schools. To curb all such practices, greater privatisation is imperative but stringent controls need to be applied by the monitoring agency. Institutions that fail to comply with the recommendations of this agency will then have to shut down.
CONCLUSION
The arguments given above are a pointer to the need of privatising technical schools to face the challenges of the present times as the existing systems are near collapse. Technical schools need to be viewed as breeding grounds of not only technical personnel but also the builders of tomorrow instead of these becoming mere government offices. The equation tilts in favour of privatisation from all angles as has been proved by the fact that a good number of sick private organisations have been reborn and are growing in a healthy fashion in the hands of private entrepreneurs. There is however the need to impose strict checks and measures by an appropriately strong authority which can impose its edicts to maintain excellence in all realms of technical education.
Anil Chotmarada is a Faculty & Director in Gateway College of Architecture & Design, Sonipat-131001, India.