Relevance : GS Paper II
Theme of the Article
India’s ability to attract global faculty hinges on dramatic changes in its higher education structure.
Why has this Issue been Raised?
The flow of academics, for decades, has been from India to other countries. This flow of talent has heavily impacted the availability of highly qualified academics in Indian universities.
Efforts by the Govt to Counter ‘brain drain’
To counter this “brain drain” and to quickly improve top Indian institutions, the government introduced flagship programmes such as the
- Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN),
- Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty Scheme (VAJRA), and
- Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC).
Foreign Faculties at Indian higher Educational Institutions
- There are just 40 foreign teachers at all of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) — 1% of the total faculty of 5,400 — despite the government’s goal to attract 20% international faculty at higher education institutions such as the IITs.
- This is despite the fact that internationalisation in general and the appointment of global staff is central to the new ‘Institutions of Eminence’ programme.
- The Graded Autonomy Regulations of the University Grants Commission also now allows the highest performing universities to hire up to 20% foreign faculty on tenure basis.
Have Govt Efforts been Successful?
- The major recent initiative of the Indian government, GIAN, has been successful in attracting many academics of Indian origin from different countries for shorter durations.
- However, the experiences of two prominent universities sponsored by Indian and other regional governments — the South Asian University in Delhi and Nalanda in Bihar — show that offering higher salaries with exemption from taxation has not been very successful in attracting senior faculty of foreign origin.
Challenges in Attracting Foreign Faculties
- It is virtually impossible for India to attract large numbers of international professors of high standing and ability without dramatic changes in many aspects of the existing governance structure in higher education. Dramatically enhanced funding would also be required.
- The structural and practical realities of Indian universities make them generally unattractive to academic talent from abroad.
- Scales of salary Indian academic salaries are not globally competitive, even taking into account variations in living costs.
Way forward to Attract Foreign Faculties
- In some ways, the best Indian universities would require a kind of “cultural revolution” to join the ranks of global world-class universities — and to be able to lure top faculty.
- The key motivation for hiring foreign faculty is to improve international competitiveness and secure positions in global rankings, which in turn would also attract more motivated students.
Conclusion
Some private institutions have proved that it is possible to attract foreign faculty, at least those with an Indian ethnic background. But the challenges faced by public institution seem insurmountable.
