1.
I am indeed
happy to have this opportunity to address the delegates of the Times Higher
Education BRICS and Emerging Economies’ Universities Summit, 2015. I welcome
the distinguished participants. I congratulate the Times Higher Education and
their partner in India - O.P. Jindal Global University - for taking the
initiative to organize this Summit on the important issue of “Why Emerging
Economies Need World Class Universities”. I am happy that representatives from
countries in BRICS region and many emerging as well as developed economies have
gathered in this Summit to deliberate on challenges facing the higher education
sector and on the importance of global bench-marking of educational
institutions.
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
2.
India has one
of the world’s largest higher education system comprising 712 universities and
over 36,000 colleges. The expansion of higher education network in India has
enabled us to create access to higher education across the country. However,
the quality of education in our institutes of higher learning remains a big
challenge.
3.
There was a
time when India played a dominant role in the higher education system and we
had renowned seats of learning like Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila,
Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri. However after them we have not been able
to find a place in world rankings which is commensurate with our size, culture
and civilization. India now has to work towards regaining that glory of the
past. Being Visitor to 114 institutions of higher learning, I had been
regularly emphasizing on how to improve rankings. I refused to believe that
not a single university could come up to the standard required for being in the
top two hundred universities in the international rankings.
4.
I am happy
that recently, two
Indian institutions have been ranked amongst the top 200 universities in the
world. One of the institutions is in the top 100 institutions in the
engineering and technology category. It is my firm belief that there are many
higher education institutions in India that have the potential to become one of
the best in the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
5.
The quality
of education has a direct co-relation with inclusive growth and development.
Emerging economies facing the challenge of meeting the developmental aspirations
of their citizens must build an educational system comparable to the best in
the world. A serious discourse on how to address the quality concerns in higher
education should therefore begin at the earliest.
6.
The higher
education sector in India must align itself with the global education sector.
The first University Commission of independent India, popularly known as the Radhakrishnan
Commission of 1948, pointed out that universities need to have
‘world-mindedness and national sentiments’. In the recent times, there has been
a growing interest in world-class universities amongst scholars, institutional
administrators and policy makers. A world-class university in today’s time is
one that can address the global problems of society having the entire world as
its constituency.
7.
Most
bench-marking agencies give considerable weightage to research output and
international outlook of an educational institution. To meet bench-marks,
institutions need to provide greater emphasis on quality research that is recognized
globally. This would help in their efforts to become world-class. What is
needed further is for such aspiring universities to reach out, communicate,
exchange and encourage mobility of persons and ideas across the globe. Adopting
a world-view would help an institution getting accepted by the global community
of higher education. It will also add to its ‘academic repute’, a parameter
considered by many global bench-marking and rating agencies, Times Higher
Education in particular.
8.
Over and
above a focused attention on cutting-edge research and an international
orientation, world-class universities must possess other enviable features.
Some of them, to my mind, are high quality faculty members, meritorious
students, an encouraging teaching learning environment, a high level of
resource availability, sound infrastructure, and existence of considerable
autonomy and robust governance structure. Presence of these elements in an
institution would automatically reflect in higher international rankings.
9.
Having said
that, the parameters of global rankings, many a times, do not reflect the
ground realities and socio-political conditions prevalent in various countries.
Many countries have therefore adopted their own ranking mechanism with
parameters more suited to the domestic setting. In the case of India, a
‘National Institutional Ranking Framework’ has been developed recently to
evaluate educational institutions. The National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) also operate in familiar territory, assessing and accrediting
institutions of higher education in our country. I believe these national
counterparts of the international rankings system will only reinforce and
concretize the push towards accountability and quality in educational
institutions. At the same time, they will inspire better performance of
institutions leading to improved international rankings.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
10.
The five
BRICS economies represent over 3 billion people, which is 42 percent of the
world population. They have a combined GDP of over 16 trillion US dollars with a world
share of 20 percent, and foreign exchange reserves of over 4 trillion US
dollars. In this context, the Times Higher Education ‘BRICS and Emerging
Economies Universities Ranking’ is an acknowledgment of the potential which
exists in the higher education sector in these five countries.
11.
In today’s
era of globalization, which rests on the pillars of Collaboration, Cooperation
and Communication, there are ample opportunities to use these “3Cs” to create
many world class universities. The combined strength of the five BRICS nations
can develop an educational eco-system for their citizens as well as for the
world citizens. I hope that this Summit will come out with innovative
solutions, with the cooperation of the private sector, for the emerging economies
to further strengthen their higher education system and in the process emerge
as leaders.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
12.
I once
again compliment the Times Higher Education and O.P. Jindal Global University
for taking the initiative and hosting this Summit to facilitate a greater
understanding of the challenges of the higher education sector by all
stakeholders. I am confident that this conclave will bring out new ideas and
thoughts that are important for policy makers and educationists to build world
class universities in the developing world. I wish all the participants and
delegates of this Summit a very successful outcome of their endeavour. I
welcome guests from outside India and wish for them not only a productive
outcome of the Summit but also a comfortable stay amidst us. I wish the Summit
great success.
Thank you.
Jai
Hind.
*****
AKT/AK/SBP