Extra focus will be laid on Government's Higher Education Plan
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With the 11th Five Years Plan coming to an end, the UPA government is set to lay further emphasis on the quality of higher education rather than on quantity. The government's higher education plan of the 11th plan includes launching of an unparallel expansion of higher educational institutions in the country which was hampered by lack of infrastructure and talented teachers. The government had announced the setting up of 51 public-funded higher education institutions which comprises eight IITs and seven IIMs during the 11th Five Year Plan period from 2007-2012. 
However, due to various deficiencies and threatening brand equity, all these plans have not been implemented successfully. Major obstacles include:
- Shortage of faculty (50% shortage in Universities and 30-40% shortage in IIMs
- Land Acquisition: Delay in acquiring land has delayed construction of new institutions.
- Increase in cost price: Delay in acquiring land also resulted in escalation of cost. E.g. the initial cost of setting up an IIT was INR 760 crore which is now expected to be INR 900 crore.
Considering these obstacles, the 12th plan (2012-17) will go slow in adding more institutions. As per an HRD ministry official, to ensure the quality of higher education and to compete with the global best would be the objective of the 12th, instead of opening a number of new institutes. However, the 12th plan will add four new IITs but no new IIMs. The plan will also include fourteen innovation universities and 374 model colleges which were a part of the 11th plan but could not be established.
Even if the union cabinet have approved Rs 10,000 crore for establishing new IITs and IIMs in 2008, construction work have been started for only four technology and five management institutes with approximately 40% of the faculty posts lying vacant.
Another cause as mentioned by a ministry official was the huge delay in land acquisition by the state government. For instance, part of the land allotted for IIM-Rohtak was claimed by the Haryana Police. A There has also been no decision where the central university in Bihar should come up as the state government has been insisting on a campus in the educationally backward Motihari district, which was rightfully rejected by the ministry.
In the coming few years, the ministry plans huge investments to set up IITs, IIMs and 16 new central universities with international quality research facilities and faculties. According to a ministry official, IIT-Bhubaneswar should have the same level of excellence as IIT-Bombay or IIT Delhi.
Shortage of faculty is also a major problem. With more than 30% to 40% faculty seats in IITs and approximately 30% faculty seats vacant in IIMs, it is equivalent to 50% of the teaching posts in the university system. A senior UGC official asserted that many universities have started from temporary campuses with just a few courses because of faculty shortage and space.
The 12th plan will allocate more funds to enhance higher-quality research in educational institutions and incentives to have more PhD-holders, whose number has been gradually decreasing in the past couple of years. Already approved by the ministry, the proposal of government's higher education plan will soon be submitted for approval to the planning commission, which has been authorized to finalize the 12th plan for India.
Source: Ningombam Biswamitra Singh (Shiksha Team)
