State varsities will have to pull up socks, or they will perish: Experts

The institutions in India should come out of comfort zone and pull up their socks, experts said. “The state must also take timely steps in sync with policies, otherwise it will lose out,” former Mumbai University vice chancellor Vijay Khole said.

Perhaps, not all the top most foreign universities will rush in once the bill becomes a law. But academicians said it was time for Indian universities to evaluate whether they were ready to face some serious competition. They added that lack of flexibility in state universities, along with vacant teaching positions, was cause for serious concern even in the absence of foreign players.

The state of affairs at Mumbai University indicate makes it clear that it is not ready to cope with the challenge. “Simple practices, such as international affairs office, single-window clearance for foreign students, are not there. The fact that the university is yet to renew its accreditation speaks of the kind of quality control that is in place,” a faculty member said.

“The state universities badly need to come out of their mode of mediocrity. Otherwise, there is a real danger of them being phased out,” Abhay Pethe, head of Economics department, Mumbai University, said.

Experts said that complacency would not do. “It will not affect our centres of excellence,  like the IITs and the IIMs. But undergraduate education in our country has to come out of its comfort zone,” HR College principal Indu Shahani said.

Experts said that encroachment by central universities had already robbed the state-run institutions of the best talent. And once the foreign players come in, whatever quality faculty was left, too would go.

Devang Khakhar, IIT Bombay director, said foreign universities were likely to impact faculty recruitment. “We recruit the best talent. So, we will be competing with foreign universities while trying to attract new talent,” he said.