To improve Universities, change the leaders and their selection process
Deepak Maun
Guides & Mentors “Confused but Motivated” students from India's Non-Elite Universities for Better Learning & Career Outcomes | Unconventional Teacher | Conventional Researcher | Unschooling Parent |
One thing that Government must do to change Indian Higher Education Landscape: Change its leaders.
Get the right leaders, and they will change the Universities.
Too many of our Vice Chancellors, Registrars, Deans are not stellar academics, have reached their positions due to political connections (or connections to Funders in case of private universities), focus too much on staying in power, and are afraid of accepting uncomfortable realities and stating uncomfortable truth to their masters (Govt., Funders, or VCs).
If government can remove itself (Education Ministries and Bureaucrats) (in Public Universities) and Funders (in private Universities) from selection process, ensure a strong Governing Board, and give them all power to select University Leadership, a lot can change for better.
A good leader needs to understand the aspirations of teachers and students but also the possibilities that her institution can create (and should aspire to create). She should have foresight to define the vision for the institution (University, College, Institute) and the courage to involve her team (Faculty and Staff) in creating and executing this plan. She must be process-oriented and create mechanisms to find the best faculty and staff to occupy the leadership positions. She must have the capability to create a stellar team that can execute the plan. And last, she must not be insecure about her own position. She must have guts to speak the truth and listen to harsh feedback.
Unless the funders and governments do not allow institutions to have such independent minded, capable leaders, nothing will change. Whatever small number of institutions are doing well at present have strong leaders who have guts to resist unjust demands from their Bosses (I am sure they keep their resignation letters in their pockets). These institutions also have been able to create processes that allow students and faculty to give feedback to the management, however unpleasant, with no negative repercussions. Last, they create a pipeline of leaders ready to share responsibilities now, and in future.
Change in Higher Education in complex, but to start with, it needs to begin at the top. Else, nothing else will change.
Public Policy | Education | Cultural Anthropology | Data Sciences
4 年While leadership is key to institutional growth, it might not result in the expected change if circumstances/environment doesn't change. Locating the "leadership' independent of the socio-economic and cultural realities of a place or time privileges a managerial understanding of "leadership", that is both artificial and exclusionary. Many colonial and post-colonial Universities/higher education institutions in India had a very promising start. From Allahabad University to Aligarh Muslim University to Maharaja Sayajirao University, all were considered as the finest institutions in the 50s and 60s. These institutions saw a sharp decay in the ensuing decades despite having an "abled" leadership at the top. Many scholars (especially Kapur and Mehta, 2017) have argued how it was the politics of the 80s and 90s, rooted in the peculiarities of a new caste system, and a neoliberal imagination of higher education that sought to institutionalize the inbreeding, nepotism and favouritism led to this perpetual decline of higher educational institutions in India. Sharing two articles that I have read on the decline of higher education institutions in India, that argue that there are deep structural issues that are plaguing the higher education system, and their scope may go much the beyond the mere "leadership". 1) https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/closed-nature-indian-universities#:~:text=Inbreeding%20and%20nepotism%20have%20for,negative%20impact%20on%20academic%20culture. 2) https://theprint.in/opinion/almost-everyone-in-faculty-is-promoted-in-indian-universities-du-started-the-damage-in-1970/468524/
Salesforce Consultant at Accenture | PSPO Certified | Salesforce | MBA Dean’s List
4 年Yeah right, leaders with the intention to change the system Somehow there are still few professors, HOD’s etc who are just there to earn money or enjoy a comfortable life. When more and more passionate faculties will join, a change for betterment is bond to happen. There are professors in everyone’s life who goes beyond merely teaching the curriculum rather than is dedicated to bring the change in system for the betterment of students. Unfortunately that population is less and hopefully we get more of them
Mother of 2 self learners, creative and adventurous soul listening to whispers of my heart, living a minimalist and conscious life while creating a beautiful co-creation space in the universe.
4 年Yes totally agree. Our indian vedic system believes in ???? ?????? ?????. Meaning leader can change the circumstances