Higher Education in India: Why it's time to ask some tough questions

Recently, I visited universities in Raipur, Bhopal, Lucknow, Mysore and interacted with students, faculty and administrators in these institutions of higher education. Given the admission season and start of the new term, I found excitement and hope amongst new entrants — youthful students, mostly girls. I also encountered a somewhat cynical faculty and teachers, generally feeling that the days of the past were better, with not much hope for the future. University administrators and vice-chancellors were generally hassled, over-stretched and mostly doing everything other than matters relating to teaching and research in their institutions. More...