Monday, 19 December 2022 | Onkar Singh
GUEST COLUMN
Onkar Singh
Indian Himalayan States have always been viewed as tourist destinations. A huge inflow of tourists to relish natural beauty is compelling for a lot of developments. In the recent past, the upsurge in the number of higher education institutions (HEIs) disproportionate to their population in a few Himalayan States points to their resurgence as higher education destinations. But the general perception of natives of these States about higher education opportunities outside their State being better necessitates certain critical interventions for making education accessible to them with equity and good quality.
The migration of youth from Himalayan States to other States for higher education and livelihood is evident from the villages getting emptied and stories of various pockets left with only women and old people residing there. Given the population of these States being not too large, the mobility of aboriginal students outside the State on account of inadequacies on different accounts is worrisome. The small population of these States, fragile ecology and difficult but beautiful natural geographical terrains are the key factors which need to be considered while making them worthy destinations for higher education.
STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE
Looking at the state of higher education after 75 years of independence of the country, one can figure out the setting up of a large number of universities and colleges. Presently, the gross enrolment ratio crossing 27 is a happy situation but much more is required to take it to 50 by 2035 as targeted by National Education Policy 2020. In the specific context of Himalayan States, the situation of higher education is quite interesting. Uttarakhand with a population of around 11.25 million has 11 State and 21 private universities, Himachal Pradesh with around 7.5 million population has seven State and 17 private universities, Jammu and Kashmir with a population of around 13.61 million has nine State universities, Assam with around 35.61 million population has 18 State and six private universities, Arunachal Pradesh with a population of around 1.58 million has one State and eight private universities, Ladakh with a population of around 0.29 million has one State university, Manipur with a population of around 3.1 million has three State and five private universities, Meghalaya with a population of 3.37 million has nine private universities, Mizoram with a population of around 1.24 million has one private university, Nagaland with around 2.25 million population has four private universities, Sikkim with a population of around 0.7 million has two State and eight private universities while Tripura with a population of around 4.17 million has one State and one private university.
In the current scenario, there is a reasonable presence of private sector HEIs as compared to HEIs of the public sector in a few Himalayan states. A large number of private universities as compared to State universities substantiates that the private sector HEIs have a certain edge in Himalayan states vis-à-vis other States. The thriving of private sector HEIs despite their higher cost of education and the small population of respective States calls for comprehensive analysis. On the other hand, the State universities are unable to attract a sufficient number of students despite having a low cost of education, adequate regulations and a positive public perception.
CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES
The mountainous region has the inherent limitation of constrained travel opportunities and in most situations road transport is the only mode. Travel time per unit distance is a bit longer as compared to the plain region. Also, the weather conditions do not remain conducive for travelling at any time. This makes it challenging for the students to commute from their places of residence to the HEIs on a daily basis and the hostel accommodation on campus or nearby is a necessity. HEIs in the mountains ought to create residential facilities for students for optimal utilisation of time in studies and self-development. Quite often, teachers and staff members are also reluctant to serve in far-off locations which should also be addressed suitably through proper compensation, better service conditions, proper schooling of children, medical services, etc. for serving in hard locations. Augmenting residential facilities in HEIs offers multiple advantages of good quality campus life, all-time opportunities for interaction, extra curricular activities, community living and peer learning. Attempting to start innovation, incubation and economic activities in HEIs and around will help in the holistic development of students. HEIs are privileged to have young minds with the ability to think out of the box. The creativity and intellectual strengths of students should be utilised by HEIs in solving the community problems about Himalayan States in particular and society in general. The students should be engaged in carrying out studies, product development, process development and finding viable remedies to the difficulties faced by the community around them. These academic outcomes in the form of reports can be refined further till society is benefitted from them.
At times, the higher cost of education deprives regional students due to penury. The poor socio-economic conditions in the mountain region make it unaffordable for its residents to exploit good quality educational opportunities. The cost of good quality education needs regulation, or else it may be subsidised or borne by the State or benefactors of humankind for keeping it in the reach of its natives.
The issue of internet access to remote locations in Himalayan States is another vital deterrent to bringing all residents into the mainstream. The digital divide of mountain terrain affects online access to education for children. The ICT revolution of the 21st century vociferates bridging the digital divide for uniform access to information and learning opportunities of online/blended learning/self-learning. Ubiquitous solar energy and an abundance of hydro energy are blessings in disguise to cater to electricity requirements for realising educational and other economic activities in the mountain region.
In some instances, the inadequacy of teaching-learning infrastructure, teachers and staff members in public sector HEIs act as inhibitors for good quality education and these are unable to attract meritorious ones. The enriching HEIs with the best quality teachers, staff and teaching-learning infrastructure will enable them also to capitalise on the innate desire of outside State youth for spending a period of life in Himalayan States that are beautifully placed to offer good quality serene life along with offering educational opportunities.
WAY FORWARD
The governance of Himalayan States and academics have to collectively contemplate the precarious situation in HIEs established in their territory. HEIs in the private sector have to remodel their educational framework for special treatment to the local population to offer them affordable and good quality higher education. At the same time, the public sector HEIs under the control of the government should be amply financed for carrying out teaching-learning processes with adequate teachers, staff and requisite infrastructure while keeping cost of education within reach of low and middle income groups. The States have to enhance their spending on education to capitalise on the potential of its people for sustainable development in future. Addressing the shortage of teachers and staff, and expediting the procedures through digital interventions for transparency and accountability will be game-changers for HEIs in the public sector. The charm of Himalayan States must be harnessed for creating them as sought after destinations of higher education in India and abroad.
(The author is the vice chancellor of Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University, Dehradun. Views expressed are personal)
