The Indian Rennaissance by Sanjeev Sanyal

Author:Sanjeev Sanyal
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789385890307
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

A Brief History of Higher Education in India

India has a long and venerable history in the field of higher education. In ancient times, the country was home to perhaps the oldest formal universities in the world. The more important of these ancient universities were Takshila (now in Pakistan), Nalanda (in the modern state of Bihar) and Ujjaini (in modern Madhya Pradesh). These were famous in the ancient world and attracted students from all parts of India, Central Asia, China and South-east Asia. The Hindu-Buddhist university of Takshila, the oldest, was probably established in the sixth century BC. Unfortunately, Takshila university were destroyed by the White Huns (Ephthalites) around 460 AD. In 1193, Nalanda was sacked and totally destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji. This event not only ended the university but was also followed by a rapid decline in the practise of Buddhism in India. In 1235, Sultan Iltutmish completely destroyed Ujjaini—a major centre for mathematics, literature, philosophy and astronomy. It is significant that at exactly the same time, half-way across the world, Oxford University was being established.

The following centuries saw a few centres of Islamic and Hindu learning emerge. However, India would not produce another world-class university for several hundred years. It was only during British colonial rule that formal university education was revived. Modern colleges were set up in Agra, Nagpur, Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in the early nineteenth century. This introduction of Western knowledge, made accessible through the knowledge of English, was a very important factor that allowed the emergence of India’s middle class. In 1857, three federal examining universities on the pattern of London University were established in the three main British-controlled cities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras.9 The existing colleges were affiliated to these universities. Over the next several decades, more universities were created and by 1947 there were 25 universities in the country.

After Independence, higher education went through rapid expansion. The number of universities in the country jumped from 25 in 1947 to 348 in 2005.10 Enrollment rose from 0.1 million in 1947 to 10.5 million in 2005. This may appear at first sight to be a major success but the numbers are misleading. There are serious problems with quality when one looks beyond the handful of elite institutions like the IIMs, the IITs and Delhi University. The level of research even in the elite universities has steadily deteriorated over the years. Few of the best students stay back after graduation—many leaving the country for universities in the West. This is why the country is suddenly suffering from serious shortages in skilled manpower. In short, India’s tertiary education system is in no position to take on the challenge of supporting a dynamic economic engine.

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