afaqs! Round Table Conference: The good and the bad in education

At the third Round Table Conference, some of the burning issues faced by the education industry - such as mushrooming private institutes, quality of education and its importance in rural India and the right faculty were discussed

After discussing the issues concerning industries such as automobile and telecom earlier, the third round table conference by afaqs! Events delved into the challenges faced by the education industry.

The panellists included Prof. AK Sharma, director, Sardar Bhagwan Singh PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences & Research; Prof. GC Tewari, pro vice-chancellor, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies; Hemant Kumar Kochar, director, Madhuban Academy (MAHAR); Dr. Pawan Aggarwal, director, IMS, Dehradun; RC Pandey, principal, Government Hotel Management Institute; and Arvind Gupta, chairperson and managing director, Dolphin (PG) Institute of Biomedical and Natural Sciences.

Starting the discussion on a positive note, the entire panel was unanimous on the consistent growth witnessed by the education sector since independence. One of the downsides of this growth is the mushrooming of private institutes all over the country, raising doubts on the quality of education.

Aggarwal said that the quality of education is impacted by factors such as the right faculty, the ability of institutes to meet the ever changing requirements of the industry and the importance of keeping the cost of education (passed on to the students) in check.

Tewari mentioned how the education scene was transformed in the country with the advent of IT in the '90s. "Now, a pass out from a higher educational institute is supposed to be readily employable by the corporate houses. In such a scenario, the right orientation is needed and this can only be ensured by the participation of the professionals from the corporate world," he said.

Pandey of Government Hotel Management Institute highlighted how the hospitality industry is perceived as one where anybody (who could not manage to get into any other course) can get an admission. "Students do not get good salaries and work for 16-18 hours on a daily basis. There is a need for a forum where concerns of both - the students and the stakeholders in the hospitality industry - can be addressed," he added.

Kochar responded by suggesting how hotels can set up their own training institutes and ensure on the job training. He went on to discuss how, through counselling, students should be made aware about the available options when they are in the 9th or 10th standards.

Next, Sharma attracted the panellists' attention towards how educational institutes in the country are focussing on theoretical training, with hardly any attempt to incorporate innovations practiced actively by the universities and institutes abroad.

"The syllabus framed by the AICTE about 10 years ago is the last word and universities can only make variations in the range of 20-25 per cent. The government must restrict the mushrooming of educational institutions, identify the good ones and give them academic autonomy," he said.

With the metros showing signs of saturation, rural markets have been gaining importance for marketers and the same is applicable to the education industry. Tewari noted how there is a large chunk of unrecognised talent in the rural areas, which can only come forward if supported by the right infrastructure.

He remarked, "The bottom of the pyramid is what we need to look at as the first thing a student of a top university does after passing out is to look for options abroad. Proper school education and vocational training for the economically deprived classes can work wonders for India."

Gupta observed how very few students are opting for higher education after passing out of schools. He explained how, as per a latest survey, only 13 per cent students in the country are opting for further studies after completing their schooling. Out of this, only 3 per cent are successfully employed by various industries.

Aggarwal responded by throwing light on the fact that acquiring a degree takes precedence over the quality of education. "The private sector continues to contribute to the education industry in a big way. Any commercial unit has to be buyable and demand for education continues to grow. If the output (student passing out from various institutes) is not good, then there is something wrong with the quality of education. Mushrooming is a part of every industry," he concluded.

The quality of faculty in India and the issues concerning them were the next point addressed by the panel. Aggarwal mentioned the need for more faculty members across the country, due to the rapid growth of private institutions. According to him, many institutes employ the lesser qualified teachers and unfortunately, the quality of education being imparted to the student suffers.

Gupta agreed with Aggarwal on the poor quality of faculty and low compensation slabs in the industry. "While government teachers have job security, the teachers in the private institutes do not have either job security or a stable salary package," he said.

Pandey added that the way teaching (popularly known as a noble profession) is approached has changed over the years. Agreeing with him, Kochar attributed the change to the way the new generation approaches teaching.

One of the members of the audience asked the panel what could be done to use the reach of television to spread education.

Gupta responded by calling the use of media a budget related issue, depending on how much an institute can spend. He added that in most of the cases, print gets a better response from parents and students. "Television certainly helps an institute to stay fresh in the minds of its target group," he added.

(Held in Dehradun on September 22, the Round Table Conference on the challenges in education was sponsored by STAR News.)