Access, Equity and Inclusion

The topic on access, equity and inclusion is very well conceived because
all the three issues are part of the same challenge as far as the Indian
Educational scenario is concerned.
Access to education is critical not only in terms of fulfilling the aspirations
of the large sections of the society who would certainly like to have
themselves equipped with higher skills and education, but it is particularly
crucial in todays knowledge era because knowledge is the basic capital.
The only constant is change and what is needed is higher education of the
type which not only builds skills but an ability to learn for life and adapt and
analyze according to the situation and the knowledge level, laying the
foundation for the individual to adapt to this new world. Hence education
will be the underlying foundation of a nations growth but also invaluable in
defining the global distribution of power and wealth in the 21st century.
The situations rather, facing India today is both of opportunity and alarm.
The opportunity is that the humongous population that was once
considered a liability on the balance sheet of India has somehow gone to
the assets side over the years, and become the engines of economic
growth in terms of skilled manpower with a young working age population
-a third of Indias population below 15 years of age, 20 per cent of the
population in the 15-24 age groups and more than 500 million Indians are
younger than 25 years.
Keeping this in view, what becomes important is how we are going to be
benefited from this demographic dividend. And by we include humanity
at large. But as it has been already shared time and again, there is a
cause for alarm, and this alarm is the gross enrolment ratio of 9-11%,
being vaguely reported certainly much less as compared to even counties

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like China, Brazil which have a similar population issue. And what is even
more alarming is that in our schooling system, by the time the children
come into Class XI, only 27% of our students are able to stay within the
system out of the 90-100% enrolled at the primary level, which means 73%
dropout , i.e. 21 millions children every year are out of the school system.
And there is no vocational education to take care of that, because currently
formal vocational education system has only 5% capacity of admitting
children as compared to 28 per cent in Mexico, 60 - 80 per cent in most
industrialised nations and as much as 96 per cent in Korea. It is an equally
critical area that needs to be addressed in order to make these dropouts
employable. However, it is certainly important that the dropouts that take
place after Class XII, who do not necessarily go to higher education which
is academic in nature, certainly should be given access to a higher
education which is purely skill-based. Thus, efforts need to be made in
increasing access, reducing the dropouts and provide them with relevant
education to make them employable.
This is to be seen in the background of the large scale unemployment both
of uneducated as well as educated including our graduates. What makes
the situation more alarming is the fact that this is to be contrasted with the
sheer shortage of trained manpower ranging right from Engineers, MBAs,
professionals to technicians, electricians, lath workers, mechanics, masons
lab technicians, nurses and even teachers etc. And this shortage is not
only just global where the working age population is shrinking but even so
in India.
1.

When we talk about Equity and inclusion, therefore the

starting point is to ensure as to what happens with our dropouts,
because in any case in order to give them access to higher and
technical education they need to be brought up to a minimum level from

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where they can even think of applying to, leave alone accepted by the
higher education system.
2.

Second issue is the definition of Higher Education System

needs to be looked at as any education system beyond class twelve,
because the assumption is that every one would like to aspire to higher
education and acquire a Bachelor Degree i.e., aspire for the traditional
higher education but certainly deserves and have the right to have
access to some kind of higher education beyond school level whether
vocational or otherwise which makes them employable.

3.

It is also interesting to note that today as never before industry

is very-very positive and willing to go out of its ways to collaborate, cooperate, and work with the educational systems to have access to
skilled manpower. This is not merely out of altruism but more so
because industry is crying out today for skilled manpower. There is an
acute shortage at all levels not only of Engineers and MBAs but also for
technicians, skilled electricians, for leth worker, accounts etc in any
area of endeavors that many be mentioned.

4.

This is the right time to harness this eagerness of industry and

I believe this would happen because it is in the industries self interest to
do so. We are not just speaking theoretically because already under
Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI) we have been
approached by Reliance to work on tripartite arrangement with
academic institutions for helping deliver on certified courses for retail.

5.

It should also be seen that although industry out of

desperation are running their own training programmes. But given the
high attrition rate and given the fact that this is not their area of core
competency they would be far happier in either tying up with individual
institutions to help in establishing courses or in moderating the

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curriculum of established courses both to get the type of manpower

they need. Also I think the time has come and I am happy to note that
AICTE has particularly taken an initiative in this regard to invite industry
to interact with and work in co-ordination with the All India Council of
Technical Education.
6.

I hope this will yield the kind of dividend that is expected, so

that many more existing courses can become more industry oriented.
This becomes more critical if we keep in mind that AICTE itself has
given figures in the past whereby they had mentioned that only 40% of
the engineering graduates passing out of the colleges are fit for
employment whereas 60% are not suitable.

7.

In this connection, it is also important to mention that the focus

of accreditation in our country has always been on infrastructure
[physical or academic]. I think time has come to measure the outcome,
what will actually ensure quality. So, accreditation really needs to focus
much more on placements and on certain parameters of measurement
for the graduates, who come out of this colleges / universities.

8.

Within these norms, it is important to allow and I think the

focus is more on outcome, it will allow curriculum to become much
more flexible rather than to be controlled.
It must be remembered that as far as the industry is concerned they
need people who are updated frequently [i.e. from month to month] on
what is happening and it is very difficult for this kind of updation to
always take place through the central regulatory system. At least this
type of flexibility should exist for certificate and diploma courses. There
should also be provision for people to enter back to the educational
system and take higher degrees after a period of work or after having

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taken a diploma.

Today such provision is not possible in present

system.
9.

The other important thing to keep in mind is that of curriculum.

Curriculum should be focused more on skills and basic knowledge and
how to apply it, rather than necessarily only the latest information on
that subject, because ultimately keeping in view the changing need of
the industry and the evolving technology nobody can be completely
updated after even having passed out of the best of universities. What
matters more is that now they are able to adapt, learn and acquire the
new skills and knowledge.
It may be noted that some of the best pioneers in the IT industry who
are not computer engineer (because the field was so new) but rather
people from mechanical, electrical, etc., backgrounds who converted
themselves into IT engineers and professionals.
For curriculum design it is better to invite HRD/ Training Personnel who
either themselves or through coordination in their organization can
contribute, because if we invite head of organization or some other
people they may not be able to contribute much on the ongoing basis.

10.

Another area where industry can fruitfully contribute is the

sheer army of retired manpower from industry whether at the chief
executive levels or at lower managements levels are concerned. Given
the acute shortage of both management, i.e. Directors & Principals,
etc., as well as the faculty in our existing institutions, leave aside, the
new institutions, which would have to be set up.

11.

It is important to leverage the talent source and move outside

the traditional requirements for such source. Apart from this even
existing industry people are more than happy to take classes at

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colleges but as of now this input is not as a recognized part of the

academic system.
12.

One thing very important is the sheer effort that is needed in

creating a greater supply in any case where private sector has to be
invited in large numbers and incentivised to achieve the milestone of
providing access to higher education to all those who aspire for it. The
government certainly should be investing as much as is possible to do
so. And to that extent they would be taking care, particularly of the
inclusive groups which I am going to talk about. But government alone
cannot take this gigantic task alone.

13.

What is inclusiveness? Apart from the traditional definition of

inclusiveness we move on to all these various groups (SC/ST including
dalits and subgroups, Economically Weaker Sections, Women, Rural area,
Physically Challenged and other disadvantaged sections of the society.) who are

traditionally left out. We have already talked about the population who
have dropped out at class VIII level, and classes IX, X, XI and XIIth
level and devise ways and means particularly when it comes to the
backward and marginalized section of the society whether socially,
economically to bring them at a point of higher education where they
can even be eligible or are in a position to take advantage of whatever
availability of higher education is there for them.
14.

This has to be done side by side because merely increasing

the supply of higher, technical and professional education institutions or
by making reservation of a large number of seats for them we will not
be able to bring them to the mainstream of higher education.

15.

Reservation in India has failed to yield the desired result.

There is no reason to think that they will succeed even for the above
mentioned lot.

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16.

I am more in favour of positive affirmation rather than

reservation, since I believe that reservations, even currently as they are
made, are not effective. I still think its a pity that we have not gone
ahead with an in-depth study not only to identify the extent of failure of
the reservation as a policy but also to see that what are the measures
that need to be taken as a result of the learning from these measures
that were attempted. But over and apart of them has it succeeded we
would not have been debating upon it today.

interventions
i. Affirmative action at the level of institutions in admissions
In the process of admission there should be a merit cut off for the
reserved category also, i.e. admission based on merit.

The institute should have the right to directly admit the students in the
general category as well as separately in the reserved category. The
criteria of admission should be fully transparent and strictly based
on merit.

(10% -15% leverage in the merit for the reserved category). There
merit may be 10%-15% lower then the lowest merit of the student
admitted from the general category. But it should be mandatory for those
students to qualify the minimum passing marks.

deprivation index would be used to provide weighted scores to

students, and cumulative scores to be used to supplement
students school examination scores.
There should be some mechanism to recover or compensate the cost
incurred on those students who belong to the weaker section
(reserved category). i.e. the state should come forward to take the
burden or the institution should be allowed to raise the fees of the
general category.

Certainly there is no point in making reservations where seats are just

going empty and nobody is benefiting out of the situation. (If sufficient
students are not found in the reserved category, the institution should be
allowed to fill those seats based on merit and accordingly intimate the
concerned authority/regulatory body). Similarly there should be a cut off
date for admission.

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ii. Adopting Schools: One innovative method can be tried out is that
higher education institutions can be allowed to adopt certain schools
for their classes XI & XII, and have interventions programmes to
bring them up especially in sciences, engineering and technology.
iii. Empowering women
by increasing the women participation in higher education by
opening of women universities in each state and more and more
women only colleges in each district, especially in rural areas.
take up gender sensitization in the society and create awareness
as to the need of women education at higher level.
Government to provide more fellowships for women students,
provide adequate hostel facilities, girl friendly environment, safety
and create more infrastructure in the institutions for women
students and staff.
iv. Physically challenged (for example, when AICTE is looking at the
infrastructure they should see that whether the infrastructure is handicapped
friendly or not)

v. Special interventions to pull the marginalized groups to higher

level of achievements from school to higher education Institutions.
To enable these students to move into the higher education scheme.
Provide:
Special Coaching; remedial classes; extra classes; bridge
courses; and special preparatory classes
vi. Optimum utilization of existing resources.
by having evening classes; double shifts in schools and colleges;

better utilization of faculty; using technology ICT enabled

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education; distance education; inviting industry people who are

retiring to come to teach; people as visiting faculties; to invite
retired academicians to come back to the system to teach. (All
these are the interventions to be done in the short run because
there is a lack of all types of resources, specifically teaching
resources, as it has been said that there is 70% shortage of
faculty.)
vii. Student welfare schemes: In my opinion, first and foremost, those
who can afford to pay should be made to pay the actual cost of their
education. Let them pay the market price for education. On the other
hand, the funds which will be saved in this manner (along with some
additional funds) should go towards subsidizing the education of
other financially-challenged candidates, through the provision of
either scholarships or loans. Industry can also be encouraged to
sponsor individual students in different educational institutions,
may be on getting a commitment from the students to join them for a
particular period after the completion of their studies.
viii. Bank Loans: The other measure can be loans through banks, or
through a special bank which may be formed for this very purpose
(i.e. Educational Development Bank of India). The banks should give
loans at very nominal interest rates so that the students can go to
the institution of their choice, and these loans can be repaid when
the student start earning. The scheme of students loans needs to be
extended at Polytechnic and ITI levels as well. Presently there is a
provision for this only at degree level.
ix. Partial subsidy/scholarship along with loan: may be given to the
needy students. The entire fees should not be subsidized, nor the
student be given the full scholarship, because any education which

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is totally free is never appreciated. The remaining amount can be

given on loan, and linked to some kind of minimum contribution to
the society, or the country, by way of community service/social
service, teaching at some rural centers for a specific period, after the
completion of education. These measures will ensure maximization
of funds available for supporting needy students and would also
ensure the value of education that is imparted to them.
x. This can further be substantiated by Earn while you learn
schemes to financially help students, especially from disadvantaged
sections. Also encouraging the provision of Earn, where you learn
is a trend quite popular abroad, which is the concept of 'jobs on
campus', wherein students can work and add to their finances. This
will also equip them with the necessary experience of handling work
pressure in future.
xi. Rural population. More and more institutions and educational
facilities in the rural areas where to minimize the regional disparities.
When we are talking about increasing access and in any case
ideally everybody need access and have to be provided access if we
truly want a equitable system. Any one who aspires or desires for
higher education should be allowed to have it. If we want adequate
representation of rural areas then we have to allow higher education
to proliferate and Increase supply equitably .
In the end I would only like to say that it is in the worlds interest to build
the capacity of the whirlpool of working age population into the talented
pool of knowledge workers at different skill based levels right up to
research levels. Knowledge has no boundaries and certainly the talent
pools will also have no boundaries. I would really wish to say that the time
for debate is over, we know what has to be done, now it is the time to act.
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Those who will seek today will survive tomorrow. Its a humongous task, it
can be done. Lets start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible,
and suddenly we may find we are doing the impossible

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