Why India doesn't feature in the Top 100 universities in the world?

The recently released world university rankings i.e.— Times Higher Education World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities and QS . World University Rankings did not feature any Indian varsity in the top 100. India has a large higher education sector - the third largest in the world in student numbers after USA and China. It uses English as the primary medium of instruction in education and it is a country where academic freedoms are respected. Inspite of all these advantages there are a number of areas where higher education falls short. Bureaucracy Indian universities are responsible to both the central and the state governments. Few decisions can be made without approvals from above. In this scenario it becomes extremely difficult for universities to bring about rapid changes that could affect their future. The situation is such that creative and strategic modifications cannot be made to improve learning in these institutes without the rigmarole of lengthy discussions and approvals. Teaching staff Indian academics get paid low salaries in comparison to their American or British counterparts. Also the criteria for payment is based more on longevity rather than productivity. This not only hampers the motivation of professors but it also encourages a very lacklustre approach towards teaching. In addition there are also no systematic measurement systems in place to measure the performance of teachers. Culture Indian universities are deeply ingrained into the political fabric of the country. In many universities still, politicians rule the roost. Everything from admissions to executive postings have their seal of approval on them. An element of corruption exists at many levels of the higher education system, from favouritism in admissions, appointment to faculty positions, exam cheating, questionable coaching arrangements, and many others. Research To compete with world class institutes, Indian universities must give more emphasis towards research. Sure, institutes like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the All India

Institute of Medical Sciences are world renowned for their research papers, but there is so much scope for building institutes which foster a healthy mix of learning and research to advance the knowledge and technology of a burgeoning population. These shortfalls have certainly delayed the rise of Indian universities into the top 100 lists of the world, but there are some solutions which can improve the effectiveness of these institutes.

● The government needs to identify institutes and programmes of national prominence and adequately provide resources to sustain them. Academic salaries must be high enough to attract excellent scientists and scholars. An academic culture, based on merit-based norms and competition for advancement and research funds is necessary to ensure productivity.

● A clearly differentiated academic system where there are some clearly identified

institutions which receive significantly more resources than the others so as to nurture them to become educational hubs of the world.

● Managerial reforms and the introduction of effective administration.

● Merit based hiring and promotion policies for the academic profession and honest

recruitment, selection and instruction of students. India cannot build internationally acclaimed universities overnight, but the above mentioned elements can be put in place to strengthen and propel Indian universities into the spotlight in the future. It all depends on the speed and purpose with which these changes are rolled out.