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India is among the top five economies in the world now, but how many universities does it have in the top 5? Posing this rhetorical question, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan answered it himself. “None.” There is not one Indian university in the top 100; maybe the Indian Institute of Science and a few IITs figure in the world’s top 500 universities, Rajan said, making out the case for fostering universities of global standards in the country, using a combination of technology and manpower.
In a conversation with R Srinivasan, Editor, BusinessLine , on “Leveraging India’s human capital – Higher education for a new generation”, at a ‘Breakfast with BusinessLine’ event, hosted by Taj Coromandel, Rajan pointed out that nearly half a million Indians went abroad for studies every year. Some of them get Ph.Ds and some work on Artificial Intelligence in Silicon Valley. There is a tremendous reservoir of talent because of past exports. “We are actually importing education,” he said.
Rajan, who is an advisor to Krea University, a new-age liberal arts and sciences institution that is coming up in Tada, Andhra Pradesh, said it was not just Indian universities, even schools in the country were poor in standard.
Addressing a gathering that included educationists, the corporate elite and consular representatives, Rajan pointed out that in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment, which tests the learning levels of 15-year-olds in reading, mathematics and science), Asian countries fared well, but India’s record was dismal, indicating that the average schooling of our country was much worse.
‘World of ideas’ needed
Along with efforts to create world-class universities, India needs to contribute to the world of ideas. Not just in R&D, but also in social sciences, economics and political science. Those are things that top-class universities do. “Today, we are essentially idea absorbers from the rest of the world,” he said.
He said historically India had an environment of tolerance, which was a strength. “We have to maintain that. Because in an atmosphere which tolerates dissent, you can exchange and create new ideas, in the social sciences, humanities and other areas.” This strength would carry the country forward when it built top universities, as scholars would be able to voice their views without any fear.
India, Rajan said, could make big strides in education through a credible certification framework, emphasising on continuing education and combining technology with human expertise. Accreditation bodies should support the entry of new institutions and start-ups and focus on properly evaluating institutions.
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