How GST lesson can unleash untapped potential of education
sector in India
An IT-enabled
registration process that also permits an automated system for offering various
programmes of learning by the institutions (with a strong back end IT
accreditation system) may pave way for unleashing the hitherto untapped
resources that this sector possesses.
The introduction of Goods and Services
Tax (GST), hailed as the mother of all tax reforms in India, underwent a
process of prolonged discussion and consultation, spanning almost two decades,
culminating in the enactment of the Constitutional 101st Amendment Act of 2016,
thus paving the way for GST from July 1, 2017. It subsumed within itself five
central Taxes, six state taxes, ratification by majority of the state
legislative assemblies, thousands of tax administrators and officials working
in the indirect tax administrative structures of the central government and the
state governments. This ‘one nation one tax’ is intended to bring benefits to
business, to governments and to consumers in manner and scale of unprecedented magnitude.
These apart, the transparency of transactions which the GST entails is expected
to unleash a cleansing of the economy, increase direct tax collection, improve
customer satisfaction, and according to some experts, may lead to an increase
in the gross domestic product by 1-2 percentage points. Are there learnings
from GST for the higher education sector? Just as a plethora of indirect taxes
of varying rates and structures on multiple points and destinations were levied
concurrently by both the Centre and the states in the pre-GST days, the higher
education sector is under control of both the Centre and the states through a
myriad of regulatory bodies—both statutory and non-statutory. Central
universities are governed by various statutes of the central government, state
universities, including private universities and affiliated colleges, are
regulated by various statutes of the state government; in fact these
institutions are governed by both the central and the state governments.
A typical University/institution is
regulated by the University Grants Commission of India (UGC India) under the
UGC Act, 1956. If it has to offer a course in MBBS, the Medical Council of
India has to be approached and permission obtained. If it proposes to begin a
course in Dentistry, it has to approach the Dental Council of India,
established under the Dentist Act, 1948. If it intends to begin a course in
pharmacy, it has to seek permission from the Pharmacy Council of India,
established under the Pharmacy Act, 1948. For a programme in Homeopathy, the
Central Council of Homeopathy has to be approached. For a programme in
Unani/Ayurveda, the Central Council of Indian Medicine has to be approached.
Permission of the Council for Architecture, established under the Architects Act,
1972 is necessary for commencing a course in architecture.
If a course in teacher education
(B.Ed, M.Ed., etc.) is intended, permission has to be obtained from the
National Council for Teacher Education established under the National Council
for Teacher Education Act, 1993. For any course in technical education (B.Tech,
MBA, etc.), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is the
concerned regulatory body. For a programme in legal education (LLB, etc.), the
Bar Council of India is to be approached. Again if an institution intends to
commence a degree program in distance education, permission has to be obtained
from UGC, which in 2012 replaced Distance Education Council (DEC) as the
regulator for offering programs in distance education. It’s difficult to
believe that a Central university cannot establish a department or increase its
faculty strength without the permission of the UGC. To add to these are the
various regulations/ statutes of the state governments.
It becomes amply clear that over time,
the higher education sector has become increasingly regulated and segmented,
and the very concept of autonomy of a University is under threat. Prime
minister Narendra Modi at the Indian Science Congress in January, 2015 gave a
call for giving more autonomy and academic freedom to universities. The
creation of multiple regulatory bodies, each viewing education in silos, has
led to the growth of standalone institutions, each offering a program of
learning in a segmented manner, divorced from other knowledge disciplines.
There is, at present, no institutional mechanism for coordination amongst the
various regulatory bodies, as these are under administration control of
numerous ministries/departments under the Government of India—the ministry of
human resource development, the ministry of health and family welfare, the
ministry of law and justice, etc, and similar line ministries/departments in
the state governments.
Each regulator lays down its own
standards of infrastructure, instructional facilities, minimum qualifications
for teachers, often without consulting other regulators, thus creating further
fragmentation and division in the higher education sector, while also making
mobility of academic staff sticky. From the perspective of a University/institution,
which is the seat of knowledge and learning, dealing with multiple laws and
regulations creates several inefficiencies—academics gets compromised as the
institution is more concerned with the norms and standards that each regulation
entails than the actual quality of teaching in classrooms. It is oft remarked
that a college teacher is more concerned about enhancing the Academic
Performance Indicators (API) score laid down by the UGC, which guarantees
him/her career progression, than the outcome of classroom teaching and its
impact on the learners. Denial of permission from regulators or withdrawal of
recognition by a regulator leads to litigation cases, the number of which is
mounting by the day in the Courts.
It is, therefore, time that we move
the GST way in higher education. To begin with, a Higher Education Council be
established at the apex level, with representatives drawn from the central
government, all state governments, and the various regulatory bodies to draw a
comprehensive roadmap—with an objective of de-regulating the higher education
sector, unburdening it from multiple norms and standards laid down by multiple
regulators, preparing a quality framework which encourages autonomy, innovation
and academic excellence at the institution level, with a strong accreditation
system, releasing energy for increasing competition, and making financing of
education more liberal. If Indian higher education sector has to make a mark
internationally, and give to its students and learners quality education which
is at par with developed countries, it has to make a significant departure from
the past in the way we govern and view the entire gamut of managing education.
Autonomy—academic, administrative and
financial, has to be encouraged and a new era created where the 45 Central
universities, 318 state universities, 185 private universities, 129
deemed-to-be-universities, 51 Institutes of National Importance and around
37,200 colleges, and many more to follow give to its learners quality
education, increasing employability and skill development, unwound and
unburdened from the shackles of a stifling regulatory environment. There is a
need to develop a national level information technology network, which links
all institutions of higher learning, their asset base, infrastructure
facilities, teachers and student profile, research work, curriculum
development, and all the soft skills so that knowledge is integrated, shared
and improved upon. An IT-enabled registration process which also permits an
automated system for offering various programs of learning by the institutions
(with a strong back end information technology accreditation system) may pave
way for unleashing the hitherto untapped resources which this sector possesses.
Regards!
Librarian
Rizvi
Institute of Management
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