Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Image: FLAMEThe quality of college education is closely related to individual happiness in later lifeEnrolment and graduationEarly professionalizing reflects a need for employability discernible inthe rising enrolments for bachelor’s degrees in business management,mass media and computer applications that have become increasinglypopular since the late 1990s when first introduced at the undergraduatelevel. Only recently are some of these degrees even being offered inlanguages other than English. While the eschewing of local relevanceis exacerbated by franchises and the trend to twinning degrees (wherestudents study in India, but pay exorbitant fees to receive their degreesfrom abroad), state-owned private colleges have long since renderedmany debates on local and federal controls moot. One example ofthis is manifested in the issue of reservations and caste-based quotas.Regulations on universalizing access and quotas for disadvantagedclasses to secure admissions have historically not been applicable inprivate colleges that receive no aid from state funding. While stateassistance could enhance the ability of private colleges to better providefor linked research resources and enhanced exposure, even heavilysubsidized state colleges do not presume to provide such infrastructure,and private investors prefer to preserve their autonomy over acceptingthe strings attached with state aid. Consequently, several debates thatfocus on quotas, grants and regulations do little to genuinely push foran increased quality of education for Indian college students.For India’s young demographic to compete globally, the need forupdated choices, access to research resources and a talented facultyhave justified the push to liberalize education. Despite the noise aboutgrowth rates and new markets, excellence in college education cannotbe represented by enrolment ratios and consumer choices, but by thequality of graduating classes. True liberalization would go beyondviewing education as a sector only in need of regulation and investmentin scale, to tackling the bigger challenge of producing muchneeded excellence. Early professional specialization, privatization ofinfrastructure and maximally efficient mass testing through competitiveexaminations might be perceived as answers to closing the gapbetween outdated curricula and current needs. However, these measuresbarely begin to confront questions of student-teacher ratios, oraffording the time needed to fully explore options and strengths inthe quest for true graduation. The sheer scale of India’syouth ought to invite honest reflection on what it meansto liberalize the quality of college education, especiallysince it is quality that remains in short supply.The FLAME experimentSince decisions made at college fundamentally determinecareer choices in India, the quality of college educationis deeply related to individual happiness later in life. Atthe tender age of 18, not every student already knowstheir strengths or inclinations towards making irreversibledecisions with regard to their careers. Consequently,a pioneering effort at providing students with choicesto fully explore their options and reverse the watertightselections between arts, science and commerce has beenattempted since 2007 at The Foundation for Liberal andManagement Education (FLAME) in Pune.It is a unique and singular experiment in the Indianeducation landscape, and has attempted to prove thatliberal education can work in a competitive Indianeducational environment. According to the FLAME planof study, students spend their first two years acquiringa solid foundation in the fundamentals of several disciplines.Simple as this may seem, this pattern stands indirect contrast to the tendency towards specializationthat is encouraged very early in the Indian system. Theliberal education model seeks to push away from thatdominant logic, instead encouraging a breadth of exposureto the inherent inter-disciplinarily of all knowledge.The cornerstones of liberal education are the promotionof a true understanding of global affairs and thefostering of individual curiosity. Class size and scaleare important to cultivating individual learning, anddespite the small size of a college, FLAME has managedto keep the student teacher ratio at 15:1 and to offeras many as 80 courses to less than 160 students. This[ 181 ]