Mathur Ritika Passi

oadband line the same way it has access
to electricity within the next five years.
Higher Education Reform
India has systematically underinvested in
tertiary education in the last four decades.
The challenges of improving higher
education can do with a chapter all of
its own. But it is critical for SDG targets
4.3 and 4.4. The rising enrolment rates in
middle and secondary schooling will hit
a wall if we do not have adequate supply
capacity to absorb students. Moreover,
industry and research will suffer if the
country is not preparing scientists, thinkers,
researchers and professionals.
There are three important structural
issues to confront immediately. First, as
a matter of urgent principle, it makes no
sense for higher education to be as heavily
regulated as it is. The “license raj” mandate
of the University Grants Commission
should be reduced and restricted to public
funded or aided universities only. Private
universities should be allowed to establish
independent and diverse governance
structures without requiring legislative
permission. Accreditation can be enabled
within a predefined period, based on public
declaration of transparent and measurable
compliance with independently set academic
standards. Second, endowment-based,
low-fee models for private universities
should be encouraged to maximise access
for students. India has the third highest
number of billionaires in the world, a
fact not reflected in private philanthropy
to higher education, largely because of
a legal structure that discourages clean,
transparent giving. Third, the government’s
primary role in higher education should
be to create a robust environment to
encourage research and innovation so that
a pipeline of research grants is available to
encourage basic and applied research; and
to support the emergence of innovation
hubs and partnerships with the business
community so that entrepreneurship, skills
and employment opportunities are created
in consultation between academia and
industry.
Financing Framework
of GDP on education. While detailed cost
estimates are not available, it is likely that
an expansion of K12 education, tertiary
education and a significant investment in
quality, all at the same time, will require
spending 5.5% of GDP, which is in line
with international norms on education
spending. 18 The numbers will inevitably
depend on efficiency. Private schools often
manage to provide comparable quality
at a third of the costs of public schools,
for example. The structure of cost-sharing
between the Centre and states, and the
role of centrally sponsored schemes will
determine the overall fiscal burden. It is
critical to note that spending effectively for
a high-quality education is a smart public
investment, and very often, this spending has
to cross a certain threshold to be effective. 19
But costs can be moderated without
compromising on results—as examples of
countries like Sri Lanka, Thailand and South
Korea show, all of which invested heavily in
education with limited resources.
The Indian government has
taken several steps to improve
education in the past 15
years, and results show in
the expansion of enrolments
across levels of education. The mandate of
the SDGs is infinitely more ambitious, but
good for India’s long-term development
trajectory. The question is one of time. Our
demographic structure does not allow us the
luxury to wait or to continue on the path
that we have been on.
To take advantage of the youth bulge, India
will need to take on the challenges of quality
and access on a war footing. The next
decade will be critical. If targeted, strategic
actions are taken now, their impact will
create a force multiplier that will make other
programmes, like Skill India and Make In
India, a success. Such an effort will need
political consensus across parties, states
and levels of government. A Decade-Long
Mission for Education with a laser-like
vision on improving quality and access will
yield rich dividends as we build a society
with greater prosperity, a sustainable future,
decent work and an improved quality of
civic life and public discourse. Our children
deserve no less.
Finally, achieving SDG 4 will cost money.
India currently spends approximately 4.3%
40