Varsities for knowledge, or merely for NAAC grading?
Universities are the temples of knowledge, and the knowledge is for its own end. The true function of a university is to arrange for the study of all branches of knowledge in one institution. The primary objective is to train and refine the intellect of a student. The philosophers in the past believed that knowledge is the object that attracts the human after the satisfaction of physical needs. Education is much more than instruction. It is creative learning but not rotting memory. The acquisition of knowledge for its own sake not only trains the mind but also illuminates intellectual capacity. But in contemporary times knowledge is sought as a means of employment but not in its own end. The dictionary meaning of a university is an institution at the highest level of education where one can study for a degree or do research. The component of research is added to the primary objective of the university at a later stage. At present there are three components for Indian universities -Teaching, research and extension.
Till the introduction of NAAC grading, the universities were committed to disseminate knowledge through teaching and research. As the NAAC grading is made mandatory to get funding, universities shifted their priority and concentration, and work with the sole objective of getting the best grade possible. Here I would like to focus on research-related issues. Seminars and publication are the priority based on research. Every university teacher is supposed to submit self-appraisal forms which calculates the API score of a teacher and the submission of self-appraisal is linked with annual increments. India is producing thousands of PhDs – in low quality. That is a different story.
In addition to ISO certification, green, energy and environmental audit, seminars and publications are essential. Seminars have become academic melas. Sometimes in a two-day national seminar, there are nearly 100 paper presentations. One can imagine how much time a scholar is given for presentation. One should not forget that inauguration and valedictory are included in the two days of the seminar. If it is to be done in the right way, a full paper for about 15 to 20 minutes must be read and then thoroughly discussed. The scholar later may include the discussions and rewrite the paper. But now each presentation, with a huge rush at every seminar, is given 5 minutes and sometimes less than that. Academicians have long forgotten the practice of discussion in a seminar. In recent times many scholars are ignorant of that part of presentation called discussions.
Next, we look at the publication, which has become yet another "commercial act”. After making the publication mandatory for CAS promotions, NAAC grading and for submission of a PhD thesis, it has become a thriving business. There are many journals that do not review a research paper. "Pay the fee and get it published" is the slogan of the day.
While academicians and scholars are contributing their "best" for a better NAAC grade the authorities are trying their “best" possible, as grading is essential for their survival and has become highly competitive to get better than the other Institutions. Of course, competition is good if it is healthy.
In the first week of February 2025, news in the front pages of the newspapers and breaking news in TV channels shocked the academic world. It is that the KLEF has paid Rs 30 lakhs to get NAAC grade to the NAAC Committee, and the mediators and officers in the NAAC office, Bangalore. The CBI arrested 10 persons in this case. CBI has investigated and arrested representatives from the Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF) and members of the National assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) inspection team in a bribery case for a favourable rating. It is reported that the CBI conducted searches in various cities and seized more than thirty lakhs.
Two questions arise mainly out of this. One is whether many academic institutions are getting their ranks with bribes or influence? What is the sanctity of such grades? Whom do they deceive? If academic institutions are unethical, to whom does the common man/society look at? When there was no NAAC grading, India could produce many intellectuals and scholars and scientists.
Already the academic institutions fail to give quality education due to various factors. CBCS, outcome-based education, National Education Policy 2020, etc., are excellent on paper or in theory. But most of the students come out with degrees unfit for many jobs. Some institutions advertise for “guaranteed placement" that resulted yet in another mafia.
The institutions of higher education have become scapegoats in the political game. Too much interference from the government is also one of the reasons for lack of quality education – both teaching and research. The universities have lost their autonomy. Let education and educational institutes be free from meaningless politics. The government should not interfere with academics and freedom of academicians is to be honoured. Though the union and the state governments boast that they are giving the best education, the fact that lakhs of students opted to go to the USA, and other countries is a reality and proves that we fail in this area. Not only are our students opting for foreign countries for education, but our governments are inviting foreign universities to our country. May God redeem the Institutions of Higher Education from the unsuitable decisions related to the educational institutions!
(Writer works at Dept of English, SP Mahila University, Tirupati)