Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges

Observer Research Foundation Mumbai
Ideas and Action for a Better India

WHITHER SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIAN COLLEGES?
Urgent reforms to meet the challenges of a Knowledge Society
Students of the Pardhi community (a nomadic tribe) from Yamgarwadi, Maharashtra, explain the structure of
DNA to Sir Harold Kroto, Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 1986, during an interaction at a function organised by the
Dr. Catarina Correia I Dr. Leena Chandran-Wadia I Radha Viswanathan I Adithi Muralidhar
Foreword by Bharat Ratna Dr. C.N.R.Rao

Every classroom in the country must echo with the
excitement and curiosity of science

P a g e | i
FOREWORD

I am delighted that the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai has produced a report titled
WHITHER SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIAN COLLEGES? Urgent Reforms to Meet the Challenges of
Knowledge Society. It is a comprehensive and well-researched study of how science is taught and
learnt in Indian colleges. It also suggests how science should be taught and learnt, so that it benefits
the students, becomes relevant to society, aids the goal of nation-building in multiple ways, and
contributes to the reservoir of human knowledge. I compliment the authors of the report
Dr. Catarina Correia, Dr. Leena Chandran-Wadia, Radha Viswanathan and Adithi Muralidhar.
The subject of this report appeals to me since I have been a student of science for long, a teacher of
science, a practicing scientist for over five decades, and a participant in policy making at the national
level. I am glad to have been asked to share my thoughts on it.
Science touches every realm of living. Indeed, science is the script-writer of modernity since life in
modern societies is unthinkable without the countless benefits of scientific research. If we want to
see Indias accelerated rise as a strong, prosperous and self-confident nation occupying its rightful
place in the modern world, our country must pay far greater attention to the quality and relevance of
science education and scientific research than has been the case so far.
Science has its origins in the passion, curiosity and creativity of young minds and these traits are the
critical building blocks of a nations scientific temperament and indeed achievement. India has a rich
B H A R A T R A T N A
P R O F . C . N . R . R A O
Every classroom in the country
must echo with the excitement
and curiosity of science

P a g e | ii
scientific heritage that is both ancient and modern and this has to be revived if it has to scale the
pinnacles of scientific achievement.
My vision for science education is that every classroom in the country from the kindergarten to the
most advanced research laboratory must echo the excitement and curiosity of science. If we are
able to excite young minds about science, that would propel them to take up careers in science. If we
are able to sow the seeds of scientific curiosity and endeavour in the young fertile and creative minds
of today, the nation will reap benefits from a robust population of enthusiastic and committed
researchers, teachers and science communicators.
In this context I recall the words of Professor C.V. Raman, the Nobel laureate, whose visit to my
school when I was 11 years old was a source of great inspiration to me:
"I would like to tell the young men and women before me not to lose hope and courage.
Success can only come to you by courageous devotion to the task lying in front of you and
there is nothing worth in this world that can come without the sweat of our brow. I can
assert without fear of contradiction that the quality of the Indian mind is equal to the quality
of any Teutonic, Nordic or Anglo-Saxon mind. What we lack is perhaps courage, what we lack
is perhaps the driving force which takes one anywhere. We have, I think, developed an
inferiority complex. I think what is needed in India today is the destruction of that defeatist
spirit. We need a spirit of victory, a spirit that will carry us to our rightful place under the sun,
a spirit which will recognise that we, as inheritors of a proud civilization, are entitled to a
rightful place on this planet. If that indomitable spirit were to arise, nothing can hold us from
achieving our rightful destiny."
These words continue to inspire me. Nothing kindles, and sustains, interest in science in bright young
minds more than a motivating appeal to overcome odds in the pursuit of excellence.
I was pleased to see the cover photo on this report which shows Nobel laureate Prof. Harold Krotos
interaction with the high school students of a tribal settlement in Maharashtra. This would have been
no less inspiring for those first-generation school-going students who are blessed with the same
quality of intellect as the children studying in elite schools. If they get good educational opportunities
to develop their innate interest in science, they are bound to become as accomplished in their
professional lives as the children from privileged backgrounds. I laud the Observer Research
Foundation for having made this interaction possible.
Sadly, the value system in our society today does not favour the development of science as a first-
choice career option for bright students since it gives greater importance to material pursuits and
accomplishments over intellectual development. This has led to a career in science being devalued
compared to other professions. As a result, knowledge creation has suffered and the input of energy
and enthusiasm into the scientific search for solutions to our nations problems, which are in many
ways common to large populations residing in other countries around the world, has greatly reduced.
The status of the teacher, once hallowed, has been seriously eroded.
We should not ignore the fact that science education in colleges has been a weak link in our overall
national strategy for development of science. We have an examination system, not an education

P a g e | iii
system. Many of our universities have become examination-conducting centres, and not centres for
knowledge creation and knowledge dissemination. This is not only true of science education, but also
of education in general.
I entirely endorse the recommendation made in the report that we should end bureaucratic control
and interference of politicians in the functioning of universities and colleges. We must recognise that
excessive bureaucratic controls have stifled scientific progress. The paucity of quality institutions for
the propagation of science has stunted the growth of scientific talent in the country; we have been
slow in building them. One way to de-bureacratise the education system is to make colleges with a
reputation for quality and there are several of them in the country autonomous. It is a good idea
to give effective autonomy academic, financial, administrative to all colleges with proven skills in
running institutions.
Another idea I have liked in the report is to make science education in Indian colleges relevant to the
needs of our society so that education becomes an effective contributor to solving the nations
problems and enhancing the employability of our large population of youth. When we talk of Indias
scientific achievements, we often mention our advancements in atomic energy and space, which are
regarded as big science. However, accomplishments in small science have the potential to benefit
India even more. Small sciences potential to solve mankinds problems such as food security, energy
security, cure for illnesses and mitigating the effects of climate change have far-reaching effects on
the lives of ordinary people. As has been rightly pointed out in the report, this will require
empowering our teachers to introduce innovations that will make the curriculum relevant to local
conditions and strengthen college-industry, college-agriculture and college-society interaction.
I cannot overstate the need to prioritise equity and excellence at all levels of education. Spanning the
entire spectrum of education we need institutions, teachers, bureaucrats, and managements that
work in consonance to make India a global leader in science. Specifically, we need hundreds of
institutions of excellence like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Indian Institute of
Science (IISc) and the recently established Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research
(IISER). Such institutions would help to employ a large number of young scientists and give them
opportunities for professional development. While we need to set up new institutions of excellence,
the real challenge which is also a big opportunity is to improve our universities and affiliated
colleges. There is simply no other choice. This message comes very clearly and starkly from the report
by Observer Research Foundation Mumbai.
I appreciate the effort of researchers of the Observer Research Foundation who have produced this
timely and thought-provoking report. I hope that it will
receive due attention from all concerned.

June 2014

P a g e | iv
PREFACE
Why should India, an upaasak of gyan and vigyan,
tolerate mediocrity in science education?

he photograph on the cover of this report has a story.
It shows Sir Harold Kroto, who won, along with two others, the
1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry specifically for his discovery of
Buckminsterfullerene (C
60
), a new form of carbon structure
shaped like a tiny soccer ball that has amazing applications in
nanotechnology. He was interacting with a group of secondary school
students from Yamgarwadi village near Solapur, a poverty-ridden part of
southern Maharashtra. The children, who belonged to nomadic tribes,
showed him several amazing scientific experiments, using simple and
low-cost gadgets, which they had themselves made with the help of
their teachers and using local materials.
For example, this is how a seventh class student explained in Marathi, his mother tongue, the
concept of convex and concave lenses using the sole of a worn-out rubber slipper, which had five-six
equidistant holes punched in lengthwise, with a soft drink straw stuck in each of them. Imagine the
sole to be a lens and the straws to be sun rays. I bend the sole to make the straws point inwards. This
is how a convex lens works. When I bend it the other way to make the straws point outwards, it
becomes a concave lens.
The students also demonstrated the structure of DNA using a simple, self-made, lowest-cost device.
Dr. Kroto could not hide his astonishment and admiration.
If first generation learners from a poor tribal community have the intellect to wow a Nobel laureate
scientist, then nobody can doubt that India, with a population of 1.2 billion people, has the potential
to emerge as a front-ranking nation in science and technology provided our system of school and
college education ends its preference for mediocrity.
The occasion of Dr. Krotos interaction with these bright students of science from rural Maharashtra
was a talk by him on nanotechnology, which the Observer Research Foundation had organised in
2011. The venue of the talk was a slum colony in Mumbai. Dr. Kroto has been an avid champion of the
peoples science movement, whose motto is Science for the People, Science to the People, and
Science by the People. The Vega Science Trust set up by him gives top-notch scientists in the world a
broadcasting platform to educate students, teachers and the general public directly about exciting
and useful scientific matters.
T
S U D H E E N D R A K U L K A R N I
C H A I R MA N , O R F MU M B A I

P a g e | v
The students who demonstrated scientific experiments to him belong to tribal communities which
suffer from extreme poverty and social exclusion, and rank lowest in formal school education. Yet,
there is a silent social revolution taking place in their communities, thanks to the struggles and
constructive activities led by a group of socially committed activists. During my visit to Yamgarwadi, I
was amazed by their childrens scientific knowledge about the environment around them. They knew
the medicinal properties of all the locally grown weeds. They could identify different birds from their
sounds. Accustomed to sleeping in ramshackle tents in the open, they could name the stars in the
night sky. In a little room that served as the science laboratory in the school, all the various types of
snakes, crabs and scorpions kept in specimen jars had been caught by the children themselves. And
these kids were also incredibly talented in singing, dancing, playing local sports, and using their
magical hands to create things of beauty in wood, mud and grass!
Thus, a world-renowned scientists talk on nanotechnology, at a slum colony in Mumbai, with the
participation of tribal students from a remote village, became a rendezvous for high science and low
science, both wedded to the common goal of promoting the welfare of humanity.
We have deliberately used this photograph for the cover of this report, even though the report itself
is about the challenges of science education in Indian colleges. Its message transcends its context,
and compels us to think of the wide chasm between Indias enormous need and potential in the field
of science-propelled development on the one hand, and, on the other, the current ability of Indias
system of science education to fulfill the need and tap the potential.
Viewed from a holistic perspective, the biggest challenge of science education in Indias education
system (school, college and university system) is five-fold:
How to ignite the scientific spirit in all sections of Indian society;
How to develop curiosity in, and love for, science among young Indians, enabling more and
more of them, especially those belonging to excluded communities, to pursue science
learning and scientific research as attractive career options;
How to integrate high science and low science modern science of the scientists and
traditional science of the masses and make both relevant for the pressing needs of Indias
all-round development;
How to integrate knowledge of the material world, and knowledge about material
development, with universal ethical values;
How India can contribute its full share to the rapidly expanding global pool of science (vigyan)
and all other inter-related streams of knowledge (gyan) for the collective and peaceful
development of humanity.
* * *
India has been an upaasak (worshipper or extoller) of gyan and vigyan since time immemorial. The
best minds in India in every era were engaged in harmonious pursuit of knowledge about mans outer
universe and also his inner universe, both aimed at enabling human beings to live in accordance with
the purpose for which they have been created. Application of that knowledge for the fulfillment of

P a g e | vi
the material needs of society was one aspect of that pursuit. The other aspect was the use of that
knowledge for people to realise the higher purpose and possibilities of life.
Those who were engaged in pursuit of scientific knowledge, and who developed various
technologies, products, skills and artistic traditions for this purpose, enjoyed high social prestige. This
meant the entire working population. This also meant that all the categories of working population
were repositories of some or the other kind of traditional knowledge, both scientific and artistic.
Ancient India did not erect a wall between science and art, or between science and spirituality.
Another important point, India welcomed and assimilated knowledge that originated in other parts
of the world, just as it sent out knowledge workers to other parts of the world to propagate what
it had learnt.
There were, of course, aberrations and conflicts in Indian society from time to time, which gave rise
to discrimination and injustice. But, by and large, the identity of India was that of a KNOWLEDGE
SOCIETY. Had this not been the case, Indian civilisation would not have survived the vicissitudes of
thousands of years of history. The many scientific and technological achievements of ancient and
medieval Indian science are, sadly, not included in school and college curricula.
The British rule exposed India to the rise of modern science in the West. This was undoubtedly a
positive development. However, it also had a negative fallout. It destroyed, to a large extent, Indias
traditional education system. Additionally, it created a mindset of inferiority among, and about, those
who could not find a place in the modern economy or modern education. Even after nearly
seven decades of independence, India has not quite liberated itself from this mindset. A large section
of our population is regarded as lacking in education simply because it is illiterate or semi-literate.
And the criterion of knowledge has come to be equated with a college degree any degree.
This tight equation between a degree certificate and education has created several distortions, both
in society and in the system of education itself. It has placed disproportionate emphasis on
standardised examinations and the students ability to score well in them. On the one hand, this has
reduced most Indian universities to examination-conducting centres. On the other hand, this has
forced most students and teachers to resort to rote learning and teaching. The impact of this on the
quality of science education in colleges has been particularly deleterious. Memorisation of facts and
formulae has triumphed over mastery of concepts, independent and creative thinking, integrative
thinking that connects understanding of different subjects, and ability to apply that understanding to
solve practical problems of society.
The problem is worsened by the vice-like bureaucratic control of the education system, in which
neither students and teachers nor college managements have the freedom and flexibility to
introduce innovations in learning and teaching. There is very little focus on supplementing and
enriching textbook learning with college-industry, college-agriculture and college-community
interaction. No wonder, most graduates are unemployable. No wonder, most of them end up
pursuing careers unrelated to the subjects of their study. No wonder, most of them discover that
much of what they learnt has very little relevance in their working life.

P a g e | vii
And no wonder, science is not a preferred academic stream for students, even though this fact has
been a matter of lament in the speeches at every session of the Indian Science Congress.
What a colossal waste of precious human resources.
There is also another serious aspect of the problem. The Gross Enrolment Ratio in college education
in India stands at around 20 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This is no doubt an achievement as
far as it goes, even though there are sharp regional, social and gender disparities. India could even
achieve a GER of 30 percent by 2020. However, quite apart from the mediocre quality of education
that many of the college students will receive, what about the remaining 70 percent of the
population in the college-going age group? A small section of them is sought to be covered by the
skill development mission, but this mission is again driven solely by quantitative targets with little
attention paid to quality and employability outcomes. There is also the danger of skill development
being carried out with no relation to basic understanding of scientific concepts and theory.
Thus, India is facing two kinds of disconnect: a formal science education pedagogy in colleges that is
too theory-based and is disconnected from the practical world; and a large work force in the informal
sector of the economy whose practice is disconnected from science education.
This is not to deny Indias remarkable achievements in various fields of science and technology. They
are indeed a source of national pride. But while rejoicing in these achievements, we cannot be blind
to the fact that they are far below our needs as well as our potential.
Therefore, if the strategic goal of science education in India is Science for the People, Science to the
People, and Science by the People, then it is obvious that we must critically review whether this goal
is reflected in the working of our schools, colleges and universities. This report by ORF Mumbai is an
attempt at doing such a review. We do not claim it to be comprehensive. Indeed, its purview is only
science education in colleges. Nevertheless, our study is certainly objective, and is motivated by a
deep concern that perpetuation of the numerous shortcomings in the system (which have been
boldly highlighted in our study) would shatter the dreams of hundreds of millions of young Indians.
Our study also recommends specific and practical reforms for the removal of these shortcomings.
Some of these urgently needed reforms are:
1. End bureaucratic control and interference of politicians in the functioning of universities and
colleges.
2. Give automatic, complete and effective autonomy academic, financial, administrative to
all colleges with A grade in NAAC accreditation.
3. Completely overhaul and update curricula and do so on a frequent basis to capture fast-
paced developments in the world of science and technology. As part of this, create a fast-
track plan for the academic progress of exceptionally intelligent students.
4. End rote teaching and learning. The focus of science education should be on how to learn,
and not merely on what to learn.

P a g e | viii
5. Make world-class ICT infrastructure, along with creative digital content, available to all
science colleges.
6. Empower teachers and college managements to introduce such innovations as will make the
curriculum relevant to local conditions and strengthen college-industry, college-agriculture
(especially in rural areas) and college-society interaction with a practical, problem-solving and
employability-enhancing orientation.
7. Taking the college to the community, and bringing the community to the college, should be a
mandatory part of college activities. This will require making appropriately designed courses /
workshops available in non-English languages to community learners. This will also require a
special effort to discover, capture and popularise traditional scientific knowledge.
8. Introduce more and more inter-disciplinary science subjects, as well as humanities and
character development subjects, in the curricula.
9. Since science and technology are the biggest drivers of wealth creation, research and
development, commercialisation of R&D, and promotion of entrepreneurship should be
actively encouraged both among teachers and students.
10. Teacher recruitment and promotion must be strictly on merit basis. Teacher training and re-
training on a regular basis must be mandatory. Good teachers should have ample
opportunities to participate in scientific conferences in India and abroad.

* * *
I compliment my colleagues Dr. Catarina Correia, Dr. Leena Chandran-Wadia, Radha Viswanathan and
Adithi Muralidhar for producing this important study. Their passion for the subject is evident in each
page of the report.
I would like to thank Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh, professor of Life Sciences at University of Mumbai, for
guiding this study in its initial stages.
The purpose of producing this report is to contribute to the current (unfortunately, rather weak)
national debate on science education and scientific research in India. We urge all the stakeholders
policy makers in central and state governments; leaders of universities and research institutions;
leading scientists; science teachers; managements of science colleges; thought leaders in industry,
agriculture, society and mass media; students and parents to take due note of this report and make
it a subject of wider action-oriented discussion.
Needless to add, your critical comments are most welcome.
June 2014

* * *

P a g e | ix
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ndia has a rich history of science and technology, which is embedded in our intellectual, material
and cultural heritage. Though many of our scientific achievements have been creditworthy and a
boost to the economy, it seems that the beacon of advancement in science and technology has
dimmed in the recent past. The government has envisioned an ambitious goal to make India a global
leader in science by 2020, by significantly increasing the investments in S&T, research, education,
and innovation over the next five years. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013, coming
as it does in the Decade of Innovation (2010-20), will advance Indias prowess in a number of
strategic sectors and will emphasise S&T led innovations by linking contributions of the scientific
research and innovation system with the inclusive socio-economic growth agenda.
It undoubtedly follows that the highly-skilled labour force for S&T led development in India must
emerge from our colleges and universities. While the government has been working to improve the
equity, quality and access in higher education, it seems that there is a wide rift between the national
vision for science and the ground reality. Even though enrolment in science courses in colleges has
been sustained and improving over the years, the quality of science education remains rather
variable. There are a few world class institutions followed by a vast majority of institutions of
indifferent quality. Further, with India harbouring the largest youth populations in the world, it is
interesting to note the trends amongst those who choose careers in science. It seems that the lack of
high quality institutions and universities, dearth of opportunities for attractive employment, weak
focus on entrepreneurship, lack of opportunities for research and a curriculum disconnected from
the practical world are some of the many reasons as to why the younger generation is seen to opt
out of careers in science.
This report by the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai titled Whither Science Education in
Indian Colleges? places its study of tertiary science education in India in the context of reclaiming
Indias space in science by strengthening the college education system which is a building block for
preparing the human resource needed for scientific advancement. The study involved primary
qualitative research that comprised interviews and consultation with major stakeholders like
principals, teachers, educationists, students, researchers and employers, and secondary research that
included review of existing policy documents and scientific literature. A roundtable was also
organised by ORF Mumbai, on Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges today?. Different
stakeholders came together to deliberate on the pressing issues currently prevailing in science
education.
This report identifies several factors responsible for the falling standards of Indian science colleges as
centres of learning and research, which need to be urgently addressed. Poor quality of teaching,
inadequate infrastructural facilities, inadequate funding, limited employment options, dearth of good
I

P a g e | x
science teachers at primary and secondary levels and a serious lack of inspiring academic leadership
that conveys a vision for science and research are some of the issues discussed. Additionally, the
report also dwells on concerns regarding the outdated curricula, the excessive focus on
examinations, poor teacher development programmes, low motivational levels among teachers, and
the schism between academic learning and the needs of industry, agriculture and socio-economic
development in general.
The study also raises concerns on how the governance system in higher education has not kept pace
with the massive expansion of universities. It reveals the unfortunate state of some of the best
colleges in the country which fall short of world standards in various sectors from teaching quality to
research output mainly due to poor and faulty governance at the university level. The report urges
that it is time for the Indian universities to work towards reversing a long trend towards
obsolescence, and to lay the foundations of a world class and broad based R&D infrastructure.
The report also makes a few recommendations by suggesting potential solutions for improvement of
our science colleges. A special case for autonomy of educational institutions is made, which would
help in building capacity in these centres of learning. The report discusses how this can be achieved
by encouraging cluster college models in the tertiary education system, with specific
recommendations on how to initiate and sustain such a set-up. Academic autonomy with an
administrative ethos that is democratic, decentralised and consultative in nature coupled with
unbiased regular performance review and measures for creating strict accountability are of crucial
importance to achieve a holistic and high standard of academic excellence. Finally, the report makes
some recommendations on how to improve leadership and accountability, how to upgrade curricula,
and how to use and integrate Information and Communications Technology in education to improve
quality of science teaching and learning, in order to create a talent pool for a vibrant scientific
community in India.
Improvement of the existing system of higher education mandates changes and owing to Indias
immense diversity in her citizens, it is but obvious that no single model of science education and
research would cater to the needs of this diverse nation which nurtures both curiosity and creativity
amongst her citizens. Specifically, there is a need to integrate knowledge about Indias rich heritage
of scientific and technological knowledge in science education in schools and colleges.
However, there are some basic steps that can be taken to provide a relatively better standard of
education, to integrate high quality research with undergraduate teaching and to enhance the
academic and industry linkages in the country. The report appeals to the policy makers and
implementers that reforming Indias science education scenario should be seen as the primary step to
unlock her immense human resource potential to enhance Indias global competitiveness.

P a g e | xi

No national scientific enterprise can be
sustainable in the long term if it does not contain
generous room for curiosity-driven research.
While the technological outcomes and social
benefits of basic science are almost always long-
term and rarely predictable, such science creates
and consolidates overall competence and
intellectual diversity
(A Draft Vision Document for Indian Science,
Indian National Science Academy, 2010)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1.CHALLENGES AHEAD.........................................................................................................................10
2. REFORMS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION: CASE STUDIES .......................................................................... 16
2.1. THE CASE OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...................................................................................17
2.2. THE CASE OF SOUTH KOREA ............................................................................................................19
2.3. REFORMS IN INDIA .............................................................................................................................20
2.4. PRIVATE EFFORTS AT INNOVATION IN SCIENCE EDUCATION .....................................................23
2.5. SCIENCE EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS ...............................................................................................27
3. ORF MUMBAIS STUDY: STATE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIAN COLLEGES ............................ 29
3.1. ORF MUMBAIS STUDY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIAN COLLEGES ..................................30
3.2. POOR QUALITY OF TEACHING ........................................................................................................32
3.3. INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACILITIES...........................................................................40
3.4. INADEQUATE FUNDING ....................................................................................................................42
3.5. LOW EMPLOYABILITY AND LIMITED CAREER OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS .....................................45
4. REVAMPING SCIENCE EDUCATION: ADDRESSING THE CRITICAL BARRIERS .................................. 48
4.1. STRENGTHENING THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM .....................................................................................51
4.2. IMPROVING LEADERSHIP .................................................................................................................56
4.3. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF TEACHING ......................................................................................57
4.4. USE OF ICT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION ..............................................................................................60
4.5. IMPROVING THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF TEACHERS AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ..........62
4.6. IMPROVING CURRICULA ..................................................................................................................63
5. THE BIG QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ 65
5.1. THE INTEGRATED SCIENCE CURRICULUM ......................................................................................66
5.2. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE ...........................................................................70
5.3. WIDENING THE SOURCES OF FUNDING .........................................................................................72
5.4. IMPROVING INSTITUTE-INDUSTRY AND INSTITUTE-AGRICULTURE LINKAGES .............................73
5.5. IMPROVING EMPLOYABILITY ...........................................................................................................75
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................77
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................................81
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................................83
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................................83
ANNEXURE 1: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES ..............................................................................................................84
ANNEXURE 2: LIST OF ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS: WHITHER SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIAN
COLLEGES TODAY? 10 JULY 2011 .............................................................................................................86
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................................88
ABOUT THE AUTHORS ........................................................................................................................................89
ABOUT ORF MUMBAI ........................................................................................................................................90
ORF MUMBAIS INITIATIVES IN EDUCATION ...................................................................................................91
ORF MUMBAIS PUBLICATIONS ON EDUCATION .........................................................................................92

It is science alone that can solve the
problems of hunger and poverty, of
insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition
and deadening custom and tradition, of vast
resources running to waste, or a rich country
inhabited by starving people... Who indeed
could afford to ignore science today? At
every turn we have to seek its aid... The
future belongs to science and those who
make friends with science.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
1. INTRODUCTION

P a g e | 2
ndia prides itself in a great tradition of scientific learning dating back to the Vedic times.
Aryabhata who lived and studied in Pataliputra (modern Patna) in the 5
th
century, wrote his
treatise Aryabhata comprising one hundred and twenty one cryptic verses. This was the basis of
every subsequent text on Indian mathematics and astronomy. From Aryabhata in the 5
th
century to
Bhaskara in the 11
th
century, the period when Europe was nowhere on the intellectual scene, the
world looked to India for new ideas
1
. In the 11
th
century, Al Beruni translated the Sanskrit works by
Brahmagupta and others on astronomy and mathematics. However, this tradition could not be
sustained in later centuries.
As the period known in Europe as the age of discovery merged into an age of
enlightenment, India marked not a renewal, but the terminal decline of a tradition of
learning going back three thousand years to the Vedic times. No worthwhile new
mathematical or astronomical knowledge emerged in Kerala or in India as a whole after
about 1600 until we come to modern times.
2

Prof Jayant Narlikar
3
talks of the resurgence of the old spirit of scientific enquiry in the beginning of
the twentieth century, when even under the colonial rule, Indians began to assert their intellectual
potential in science. Srinivasa Ramanujan, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Meghnad Saha, Satyendra Nath Bose,
C.V. Raman are examples of this new resurgence... These people were all distinguished as teachers who
inspired younger generations of students. Succeeding generations of students in the 1930s, 1940s and
1950s were motivated by them to take up research and teaching in basic sciences.
4

After Independence, Indias visionaries, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who saw a close link
between science and socio-economic development laid the foundation for a strong science and
technology ecosystem. Dr Homi Bhabha, world-renowned scientist and a great institution builder, set
up the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
(BARC). He also chaired the Electronics Committee which prepared a road map for electronics
development in India. Dr Vikram Sarabhai another doyen of Indian science, prepared the ground for
the establishment of the Physical Research Laboratory and the more spectacular Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO). The 50s and 60s saw the establishment of the Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs) as premier institutes of national importance.
While post-colonial Indias achievements in science have been creditworthy, the advancement of
science and technology ceased to be pursued with the same sense of purpose in the subsequent
decades. In 2005 the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India
5
(SAC-PM), the top
body representing the cream of the scientific establishment, was reconstituted after fifteen years to
deliberate on science and technology policy issues. To see India as a global leader in science is the
resounding vision of the Scientific Advisory Council, which envisages the Union government spending
at least 2.5 percent of the GNP for science by 2020 and greater collaboration between scientific

1
P.P. Divakaran, Calculus Under the Coconut Palms: The Last Hurrah of Medieval Indian Mathematics, IUCCA, Pune
2
ibid
3
Renowned astronomer and former Director, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.
4
Jayant V. Narlikar, How to Recapture the Thrill for Basic Sciences in Higher Education, UGC Golden Jubilee Lecture Series,
2002-03
5
Website of Scientific Advisory Council to Prime Minister - http://sactopm.gov.in/
I

P a g e | 3

communities of India and other countries across the globe. The SAC-PM recommends that
educational and research institutions in the country would have to go more global and make special
schemes for exchange of scientists at various levels with selected partner nations or institutions
across the globe
6
.
Significantly, on the issue of establishing world class universities, this apex body for Science has
categorically stated: As the present system is by common consent inimical to the success of such a
project, a new framework has to be devised (p.22).Their criteria for defining a new framework
include:
Seeking dynamic leadership at the top and providing real autonomy with minimal
bureaucratic and political interference;
Getting the best faculty and establishing a proper faculty promotion policy;
Establishing the best facilities;
Welcoming private investment and support;
Assembling a diverse student body balancing excellence and inclusion;
Combining undergraduate teaching and world-class research.
This report by the Observer Research Foundation Mumbai tracks the long road India must tread to
reclaim its rightful space in science. This study, the result of primary qualitative research and
consultation with primary stakeholders
7
, reveals how even the colleges accredited A Grade, by the
national accrediting body (NAAC) fall seriously short of world standards in terms of well qualified
faculty, research output or infrastructure indicating that even our best universities and colleges need
to become better. The report underscores the need to reform the science education landscape as the
first step to unlock Indias human resource potential for enhancing Indias global competitiveness.
While, the existence of a handful of institutions of international repute (like the IITs, IISc
8
) is
heartening, it is insufficient to fulfil the grand national vision. The findings of this report show that
there is a wide chasm between the national vision for India to be a global leader in science and the
ground reality in the educational institutions that prepare students for careers in science. It is this
harsh reality that feeds the popular perception of science being an unwise career choice that fails to
attract the most promising talent, though this waning interest in science as a career is by no means
unique to India. In turn, scientific talent needs a suitable ecosystem in which it can be nurtured. The
two pillars for the growth of science Education and Ecosystem have a salutary effect on each
other and therefore need to be improved and strengthened in a collaborative and coordinated
manner. The following pages shed light on Indias performance in Science, Technology and
Innovation measured against the best around the world, and highlight how far from perfect the
education system and the ecosystem in India are.

6
http://www.dst.gov.in/Vision_Document.pdf (p27)
7
Primary stakeholders included principals, teachers, educators, students, researchers and employers.
8
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/IITs-find-a-place-in-2014-world-ranking/articleshow/31043491.cms

P a g e | 4

Investment in R&D: The present level of investment in the country for Research and Development
(R&D) in science and technology sector is 0.88 percent of GDP
9
. The private investment in R&D as a
percentage of GDP in India is only 0.23 percent which has not kept pace with many developed and
emerging countries in the world. More than 55 percent of Gross Expenditure in R&D (GERD) in the
last few decades is consumed by the strategic sectors of defence (DRDO), atomic energy (DAE), and
space (ISRO). Thus, India, with one of the lowest R&D/GDP ratios, is also expending the resources in
areas that have a weak connection to industry, thereby missing out on opportunities for economic
growth as seen in the case of South Korea, China or Israel. More than a quarter of R&D investment
goes towards basic research, against 5 per cent in China and 17 per cent in the United States (Ghosh,
2012). Table 1 shows the comparative science expenditure of developed and developing countries as
per a recent study (Bound and Thornton, 2012).

Table 1: Comparative Science Expenditure
Source: Bound and Thornton, 2012
The R&D investment in industry has paid rich dividends in South Korea. In the 1990s, the South
Korean government poured $3.5 billion dollars into twenty-three projects in setting up centres of
excellence aimed at improving competitiveness in fields such as biosciences, nanotechnology and
space technology. In 2008, South Korea devoted $ 286 million to R&D, accounting for 3-4 percent of
GDP, equalling about half of the figure for the U.S. Also, the government employed over 4,000
researchers in its R&D labs, nearly doubling the figure in a matter of eight years. Private facilities
accounted for two-thirds of both total spending and researchers, while eighty percent of the rest
worked at universities. Unsurprisingly, most corporate researchers work on applied technologies
(Campbell, 2012).
Out of Indias already low investment in R&D, what reaches universities and affiliated colleges is
meagre. For the decade 1997-2007, universities were allocated just 5 percent of GERD (Krishna, 2013)
while the lions share went to government bodies. The OECD Better Policy Series 2012, in the chapter
Strengthening Innovation states that Universities and Public Research Institutes (PRIs) strongly

9
Status of Scientific Research in the Country , 04 March 2013, Press Release,
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=92924

P a g e | 5

dominate Indias R&D system and 73 percent of public research is funded by block grants - reflecting
a lack of competition mechanisms in the public R&D system. But since it is also true that hardly 15
percent of our universities come under the label of teaching and research universities (Krishna, 2013),
most of the funding goes to PRIs. In other emerging economies, while government shares are
significant (just over 25 percent in Brazil; around 20 percent in China), they are much lower than
Indias (close to 70 percent). Figure 1 presents a comparison of R&D resource allocation in different
countries.

Figure 1: R&D Resource Allocation
Chinese universities increased their share of GERD from around 5 percent in the 1990s to over 12
percent currently. In China, in the mid-1990s, as part of the national innovation strategy termed
Project 211, a massive infusion of funds, $7.98 billion, was made for 100 universities. Starting from
the late 1990s, with a budget of $4.87 billion, 39 universities were shortlisted under Project 985 to
develop a Chinese Ivy League (Krishna, 2013).
The pillar of South Koreas Science and Technology policy was the creation of a state-led research and
educational capacity, centred on state-run research institutes, and in-house research and
development efforts by the large industrial conglomerates (Campbell, 2012).
Universities in the OECD countries accounted for 20 percent and Japanese universities accounted for
around 15 percent of GERD in the last decade (Krishna, 2013).
Patents: For research to increase economic competitiveness there must be efforts to commercialise
a significant portion of it. While Indias patent filings have grown rapidly since the mid-1990s (with a
compounded growth rate of 10 percent per annum); China had an annual growth rate of 25 percent
during 1995-2007. Patent filings per million people have remained low in India, touching a maximum
of six (Ghosh, 2012).

P a g e | 6
However, as presented in Figure 2, India produces more patents than China per dollar spent on R&D.
Research publications: According to Elsevier (2012), Indias output in terms of articles published
per year increased from 41,200 in 2006 to 65,487
in 2010, thus showing an overall high Compound
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12.3 percent. In
comparison, countries like China and Iran showed
a better rise with 13.7 percent and 25.2 percent
CAGR respectively. It is also interesting to note
that several developed countries like United
States (1.9 percent), United Kingdom (2.9
percent) and Israel (1 percent) showed CAGR
much below the world average of 4 percent.
Further, a comparison of competencies of
research publications in 16 major scientific fields
in terms of citation impact revealed that India had
a higher value of 0.68 as compared to 0.53 of
China during 2006-10
10
. Indias output of scientific and technical articles, which stagnated through the
late 1990s, began to rise after 2000, and the volume of S&T publications by Indian authors nearly
doubled by 2009. Indias world ranking however changed only moderately, from 12th in 1995 to 11th
place in 2009
11
.

10
Union Minister of Science &Technology and Earth Sciences Shri S.Jaipal Reddy gave this information in reply to a written
question in the Rajya Sabha DST Press release March 4, 2013
11
http://www.oecd.org, India Brochure 2012
Figure 2: Patents per R&D spend; Patents per million population
Figure 3: Publications per R&D spend

P a g e | 7

This indicates the level of competition and the race among countries to stay ahead. Nevertheless,
Figure 3 shows that India produces more scientific publications per dollar of spending than the USA
and China (Bound and Thornton, 2012).
Indias record of research publications and patents exposes the underlying weaknesses and clearly
establishes the need to improve the quantity and quality of its science human resource with a view to
improving its competitiveness and efficiency in serving the cause of inclusive growth, particularly in
the areas of food security, energy security, health security, environmental security and employment
security.
Human Resources in Science: India has dynamic, developed and diversified industrial and
service sectors established on the strength of its own talents. Our technological achievements are
substantial and, in certain areas, these are world class. A testimony to Indias S&T capability is the
recent launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) by ISRO in January 2014
the first successful flight of the GSLV Mark II using the indigenously developed cryogenic engine.
Dr. Michiel Kolman, Senior Vice-President, Academic Relations, at Elsevier, which was commissioned
by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to do a study on International Comparative
Performance of Indias Scientific Research in 2012, comments that, India shows a net inflow of
scientists, with the productivity of the incoming and visiting scientists being higher than that of the
average staying and outgoing scientist; so in fact a case can be made for an Indian Brain Gain rather
than the commonly believed Brain Drain.
12

In its Major Recommendations & Accomplishments of the SAC-PM
13
(2004 - 2013), the apex scientific
advisory body identifies the lack of strongly integrated programmes involving human resources
development as one of the weaknesses
that India needs to overcome. This
report avers that human resource is the
core issue.
Although the communication put out by
the Ministry says that there is no lack of
dedicated scientific personnel in the
country
14
, available statistics points to
the fact that the core Human Resource
in Science and Technology (based both
on education and occupation) is actually
very small in the country compared to
other developed and leading developing
countries, as presented in Figure 4 (UGC,
Higher Education at a Glance 2013) and

12
http://www.elsevier.com/about/press-releases/science-and-technology/elsevier-analysis-reveals-brain-gain-rather-than-
brain-drain-for-india
13
http://sactopm.gov.in/Science%20in%20India%20-%20Book.pdf
14
http://www.dst.gov.in/whats_new/press-release13/pib_04-03-2013_1.htm
Figure 4: Faculty-wise Student Enrolment in Higher Education 2011-'12
Source: UGC, Higher Education at a Glance 2013
1

P a g e | 8
Figure 5 (Bound and Thornton, 2012). This is not in line
with the growing enrolments in Science as UGCs
annual data for 2011-2012 show (registering a 21 percent
increase over the figure in 2010-11). This is primarily due
to the fact that science and technology as a career
option is not very attractive to young graduates even
to those graduating from our premier higher education
institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology
as many pursue unrelated career paths.
Despite a large tertiary student population, India has
not been able to increase the number of PhDs in
science and engineering significantly (from 54 per 10
million in 1983 to 70 in 2004). China, which lagged India
until a decade ago, now has 174 science and
engineering PhDs per 10 million population.
The SAC-PM Vision Document (2010), that lays the roadmap for India to become the global leader in
science calls for a target of producing 30,000 per year, by 2025, as against 8286 PhDs (S&T,
agriculture, medicine, veterinary)
produced in 2013, Figure 6 (UGC
Higher Education at a Glance,
2013). This will require an
exponential shift in the quality of
existing institutions that produce
PhDs. It will also involve sustained
efforts to attract the best talent to
science. An obvious numerical
challenge that comes into play
here is that not enough post-
graduate seats are allotted to
facilitate the smooth transition
from under-graduate to PhD
programmes. This will be discussed
in detail in the next section.
Our discussion above helps us infer why when it comes to high technology balance of trade India
represents only 1.2 percent and 0.4 percent of the worlds high technology imports and exports,
respectively (see Table 2).

Figure 5: Researchers/Population
Figure 6: Faculty-wise Doctoral Degrees (PhD) awarded during 2010-'11
Source: UGC, Higher Education at a Glance 2013

P a g e | 9

Table 2: World's High-tech Imports and Exports (2007)
Source: UNESCO Science Report 2010
Policy Framework: Indias science and technology policies though lofty in content have been
weak in implementation. The examples of China, South Korea, USA and Israel, presented here and
elsewhere in the report reveal how strengthening the competitiveness in universities with good
leadership, adequate resources and a commitment to continuous improvement, should form the very
bedrock of a nations S&T policy.
The Scientific Policy Resolution of 1958, the first policy document outlining Indias vision for science,
and largely attributed to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Homi Bhabha, aimed "to promote,
foster, cultivate and sustain science and scientific research" and at the intense cultivation of science
on a large scale and its application to meet a country's requirements. The Technology Policy
Statement (TPS) of 1983 focused on attaining technological competence and self-sufficiency.
Two decades later, the new Science and Technology Policy introduced in 2003, called for integrating
programmes of the socio-economic sectors with the national R&D system and the creation of a
national innovation system. The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy 2013, coming as it
does in the Decade of Innovation (2010-20), aims to focus on Science & Technology led innovations
by linking contributions of scientific research and innovation system with the inclusive economic
growth agenda. So, in summation, we concur with the vision of the SAC-PM, that in order to set up an
Indian Agenda for Leadership in Science-led Innovation, the essential elements of a powerful
national ecosystem comprise physical, intellectual and cultural constructs. Beyond mere research
labs, it includes idea incubators, technology parks, a conducive intellectual property rights regime,
balanced regulatory systems, strategically designed standards, academics who believe in not just
publish or perish, but patent, publish and prosper, some scientists, who have the passion to
become technopreneurs, potent inventor investor engagement, adventure capital, and passionate
innovation leaders(SAC-PM 2013, p.191).

P a g e | 10
1.1. Challenges ahead
The preceding introduction brings us to the basic premise of this report Whither Science Education
in Indian Colleges? - which is, to attract good talent to science, we need to turn the tide of popular
perception that studying science is an unwise career choice, by bringing about urgent reforms in
science education, particularly at the tertiary level.
Enhancing quantity and quality of human resources: STIP 2013, like its predecessor,
recognizes the importance of improving both the quality and quantity of our scientific manpower;
and expects the total number of R&D personnel to increase by at least 66 percent. But STIP does not
spell out how these growth targets were arrived at and the specific schemes for incentivising science
and engineering as a career option to young graduates (Mani, 2013)

.
To build depth into the knowledge base in Science, Technology and Innovation, we need institutions
that ingrain the culture of excellence and lifelong learning in their students. With rapid changes in
technology there is a rising demand for a strong set of foundation skills upon which further learning
builds. The skills and knowledge that individuals bring to their jobs, to further studies, and to our
society, play an important role in determining our economic success and our overall quality of life.
In this context, the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Index (2013) commenting on
the abysmal participation of women in the workforce in India claims that, with a ratio women-to-men
of 0.36:1 , India has the lowest percentage of working women outside the Arab world. Science is
often viewed as a masculine subject (Kelly 1985). In a country like India, socially dictated stereotypical
roles of women in society; lack of female role models in science; lack of career options after pursuing
science; could be some of the reasons for the under-participation of women in science related fields.
Attracting women to science is one area that needs to be paid serious heed to. Interestingly, studies
have shown that the gender gap in the choice of S&T subjects both at school and tertiary level has
been seen in developed countries as well.
Eliminating the bottleneck at the post-graduation level
If we are to increase our core S&T human resource, inclusiveness needs to be coupled with better
access. The SAC-PM Document 2013 calls for at least an increase of 3 lakh PG scientists per year by
2025. In order to achieve the goal of producing 30,000 PhDs per year, by 2025, we need to ensure a
fairly large and consistent supply of postgraduates into the education system. But a quick glance at
some universities tells us that this is not the case. For example, the University of Mumbai,
Department of Physics Brochure 2012-13 states that there are a total of 316 students enrolled in
University for the MSc programme of which 64 students are enrolled in the Department opting for
the eight areas of specialisation offered at the second year, while the remaining 143 seats are allotted
in the Mumbai Universitys affiliated colleges and other sub-centres, which constitute a total of 19
institutes. About 20 seats are available for M.Sc. by research programme.

P a g e | 11

The brochure further states that the demand ratio of the M.Sc. programme is high; about 450
applications are received for the 240 available seats (p. 21). Thus the seats for the post graduate
programmes are barely meeting half of the student demands to pursue higher studies.
15

The University of Delhi in its annual bulletin
16
for admission to postgraduate science courses (2013-14),
announced the number of seats that students have to compete for in order to get into the Masters
programme of their choice, which can be seen in Table 3. To be eligible for these, one has to either
qualify through their B.Sc merit, for which 50% of the above seats are allotted; or through a M.Sc
entrance exam, for which the remaining seats are allotted. The overall low number of post-graduate
seats in particular specialisations within a core subject allotted by the University can constrict the
entry of prospective students, who are genuinely interested in science
17
.

Source: Bulletin of information for admission to post-graduate science courses, 2013-14. University of Delhi
Strengthening Indias science and technology capabilities by strengthening the
university system: As we have seen, R&D is globally done in three types of organisations
universities, government-owned labs and company labs -- the first two are influenced a great deal by
government policies and investment. Global experience tells us that out of the two, except for some
focussed R&D related to defence, space etc., the efficiency and effectiveness of the university is
higher. Most research output comes from universities, and most of the Nobel Prize winners work in
academia (Malik & Jalote, 2011). This report therefore makes a strong case for strengthening R&D
capabilities of Indian universities.
Historically our universities have been teaching-only places. TIFR was established in 1945 and soon
after independence, specialised autonomous research institutes and laboratories like the CSIR, DST,
DAE, DRDO, DOS, DBT, etc. set up their own autonomous research centres in specified areas. This led
to the unintended but disastrous consequence of separation of university students from research.

15
In 2013, the University of Mumbai issued a circular which informed prospective students, the number of seats allotted for
MSc in each subject. The number of seats in the MSc level entry are 161 seats (botany), 162 seats (zoology), 173 seats
(microbiology), 90 seats (biochemistry) and 316 seats (physics). The demand for admission varies subject to subject. See
http://www.mu.ac.in/sa/sa_tybscsem6cbsgs.pdf and http://www.mu.ac.in/science/physics/Brochure_Physics5.pdf
16
http://www.du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/students/Pdf/admissions/2013/PG/07052013_facultyofscience_info-bulletin.pdf
17
The case Kashmir University: More aspirants, fewer seats. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2013/Apr/3/more-
aspirants-fewer-seats-30.asp
Table 3: Subject wise seats allotted by the University.

P a g e | 12
While research progressively took a back seat in universities, teaching became noticeably absent
from the research institutions. Only in recent years has this anomaly sought to be corrected, with
poor results so far.

Besides the direct R&D output, universities also produce PhDs and Masters degree holders who form
the main resource pool for corporate and government research centres; as well as teachers at
schools, colleges and universities themselves. Unless this university nucleus does well, it is not
possible to build either a strong R&D ecosystem in a nation or a large enough reservoir of top-notch
teachers.
Promoting research in academia: Experts say that there is no policy support in STIP 2013 to
promote R&D activities and research intensity in the higher education sector namely, in our
universities and colleges (Krishna 2013). Although education has been a concurrent subject since 1976
the bulk of the colleges and universities in India, well over 90% of the enrollment, are under the
purview of the State governments. The latter have been spending very little of their Gross State
Domestic Product (GSDP) on education and much less so on higher education. The only mechanism
through which universities and affiliated colleges can receive financial assistance from the Central
government is if they come under the 12B classification of the UGC Act 1956.
18
However, less than a
third of these institutions are eligible to receive any kind of financial assistance from the UGC, and
much less so for research.
In Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China, leading universities are not only moving towards
infusing entrepreneurial culture but are embedded in national innovation strategies as frontiers of
innovation (Krishna, 2013). India too must move towards making our universities the centre of
innovation and new knowledge creation. The newly announced Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan
(RUSA) mission is a step to strengthen state universities.

Building competitive spirit: Unlike in the United States, there is little competition for getting
research funding the number of academic institutions with the capability to truly conduct R&D is so
small that there is no pressure to achieve excellence in order to get government funds. Now, with the
emergence of corporate research labs in India, there is at least an emergence of external competition
for recruiting faculty in some sectors. Competition among universities can be strengthened
considerably by having independent and rigorous evaluation on a regular basis using a proper
framework that compares Indian universities and their departments with each other, as well as with
universities across the world. These evaluations (as in the case of National Science Foundation (NSF)
discussed in the subsequent pages) will generate a sense of competition between the universities
and, if done in a proper manner, can also provide universities with some directions for improvement.
Establishing a centre like the Centre for Measuring University Performance in the US can be a major
step in this direction, say Jitendra Malik

and Pankaj Jalote (2011) in their essay, Ideate and Innovate:
R&D ecosystem in India must be fixed.

18
http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/UGC-ACT-1956.aspx

P a g e | 13

Autonomy: It should be clear that supporting a competitive spirit among universities will
necessarily require them to have much more than academic autonomy they also need
administrative and financial autonomy. An organisation cannot compete if it does not have basic
tools like the ability to decide compensation, incentive structure, etc. Here, the argument that since
the government provides most of the funding, it must exercise control does not hold. Universities in
the US, Europe, Singapore, Australia etc. are heavily funded by the government, yet they are very
autonomous in deciding their salaries, their incentives and administrative processes.
Strengthening institute-industry linkages: Autonomy will empower Indian universities to
develop linkages with industry partners, explore opportunities for funding outside the government
grant channels. At the same time, if businesses have to sustain global competitiveness in the
knowledge era, they have to be supported with quality human resources and modern tools. The role
of institute-industry also, institute-agriculture linkage in designing courses, developing skills and
imparting training in the regional and rural innovation systems needs to be emphasised.
There is a critical need for forging links between formal R&D institutions and the needs and demands
of firms in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and clusters, which provide far more employment
and wealth creation opportunities than large enterprises. There is no large funding agency like the
NSF in USA that can step up R&D investments. Nor is there a model to tap into multiple sources of
grass roots innovation and make them commercially viable. A networked model involving academic
and industry institutions can match Indias need to strengthen bottom-up entrepreneurship. If these
technologies and capabilities are harnessed, Indias economic competitiveness would certainly get a
boost.
Strengthening institute-agriculture linkages: One of the biggest weaknesses in science
education in India is the weak or, rather, non-existent linkage between educational institutions in
rural areas and the agriculture-based socio-economic environment around them. There are two
assumptions or dogmas at work here. Firstly, many in the government and education sector believe
that rural students have nothing to learn from, or about, agriculture. Secondly, Indian agriculture
does not need any inputs of scientific knowledge and research, beyond what is provided in
specialised agriculture colleges, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and government programmes.
A third dogma has entered the mindset of urban-based policy-makers and intelligentsia they believe
that since the share of agriculture in Indias GDP is steadily falling (now standing at around 18
percent), there is no need to pay much attention to it.
Sociologically too, a new thinking is rapidly gaining ground in rural India. Educated youth in villages
coming from agricultural families do not want to pursue agriculture as their career, considering it to
be inferior to jobs in towns and cities. This, in addition to other factors contributing to the crisis in
Indian agriculture, has led to large-scale migration of people from villages to urban centres. It does
not take much reflection to realise the disastrous consequences of this trend.
To strengthen institute-industry and institute-agriculture research linkage, a dedicated institution
could advise universities on procedural reforms. This would also encourage industry investments in

P a g e | 14
university R&D whereby some of their research could be outsourced to universities without fear of
intellectual property theft.
Strengthening leadership and global competitiveness: India needs a young, informed
and motivated leadership in charge of policy-making and at all levels in the science, technology and
innovation value chain. The Global Competitiveness Index 2013 lists low enrolment rates in higher
education, lack of technological readiness (the capacity to fully leverage technologies especially ICT
in daily activities and production processes for increased efficiency) and the dismally low
participation of women in the workforce, as being constraining factors in Indias competitiveness
19
.
The access to higher education can be measured in term of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), which is a
ratio of number of persons enrolled in higher education institutions to total population of the
persons in age group of 18 to 23 years. The estimate based on Selected Education Statistic indicates
that the access to higher education measured in term of gross enrolment ratio increased from 0.7
percent in 1950/51 to 1.4 percent in 1960-61. By 2006/7 the GER increased to about 11 percent (UGC,
2008). Indias Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education, currently stands at 19 percent, which
is far below the ratio in developed and several emerging countries (MHRD & CII, 2013).
To enhance the quality of Human Resource in Science and Technology we believe that the foundation
will have to be laid from school education itself. And our study shows that this is where India
flounders. To be an innovative society, much more than enhanced R&D budgets are needed. Building
an open society, one that appreciates diversity and one that attracts creativity and openness are
strategies that will encourage innovation (Weber and Duderstadt, 2010).
Popularising science at the grassroots: India has a strong tradition of voluntary
organisations working at the grassroots for the popularisation of science and science education to
develop scientific temper, entrepreneurial spirit and transforming lives in the process. These efforts
need to be replicated nationwide for maximum impact. The comment by Dr. Shirley Tilghman (former
President of Princeton University) that science education should instil a comprehension of the
scientific matters even in those that will not pursue a scientific career holds good for our society too.
In full appreciation of the transformative role of S&T in daily life, she states, Without well-informed
policy makers and a discriminating public, scientific progress will be slowed down or misdirected, to
everyones detriment. From embryonic stem cells to evolution, from climate change to manned space
exploration, scientists and non-scientists have found themselves at cross purposes, partly because the
scientific community can be frustratingly insular, but largely because we [USA], as a nation, have failed
to acquire a general understanding of and respect for the foundational principles of scientific research.
(Tilghman, 2010)
To conclude, reforms in science education in India are imperative. In this context, it is important to
revisit the timeless wisdom of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904), doyen of Indian industry: There
is one kind of charity common enough among us It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes
the ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick. I am far from decrying the noble spirit which seeks to

19
The Global Competitiveness Index, 2013 (World Economic Forum) - http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2013-
14/GCR_CountryHighlights_2013-2014.pdf

P a g e | 15

help a poor or suffering fellow being [However] what advances a nation or a community is not so
much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, but to lift up the best and the most gifted,
so as to make them of the greatest service to the country
20
.
In 1909, when the House of the Tatas established the Research Institute of Science for India (now
known as the Indian Institute of Science) in Bangalore, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tatas vision of students
with ascetic spirit who will devote their lives to the cultivation of sciences natural and
humanistic was realised. This institute stands as a proud beacon of scientific achievement today and
is rated among the best universities in the world. What India needs is several such institutes that can
nurture and unleash the innovative spirit among millions of young Indians for service to the country
and indeed to humanity.

20
The quotable Jamsetji Tata - http://www.tata.in/aboutus/articles/inside.aspx?artid=1U2QamAhqtA=

P a g e | 16
Educationists should build
the capacities of the spirit of
inquiry, creativity,
entrepreneurial and moral
leadership among students
and become their role
model.
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
2. REFORMS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION:
CASE STUDIES

P a g e | 17

ver the last fifty years, many countries have been reforming their science education system
21
.
These reforms not only targeted primary, secondary and tertiary education, but also
addressed the entire ecosystem of science and technology, with varying degrees of success.
But in a competitive environment which is driven by sound policies, such reforms have invariably
yielded good results.
In spite of a natural cross-fertilisation of ideas (e.g. due to academic debate, globalisation, and
information circulation through the internet), each country has embarked on its own reform process.
(Rajput & Srivastava, 2001; Atkin & Black, 2006). Many countries have been engaged in national
debates to reform science education and how it can be made more relevant to society in general.

2.1. The case of United States of America
For several years the United States has been at the forefront of scientific advancement. Its
universities occupy the top ranks in any academic ranking
22
. In 1944, President F.D. Roosevelt stated
that when ability, and not the circumstance of family fortune, determines who shall receive higher
education in science, then we shall be assured of constantly improving quality at every level of
scientific activity. In July 1945, in a report to the President, titled Science the Endless Frontier,
Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, outlined what is

21
E.g. China, Japan, South-Korea and Singapore, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, ,Norway,
United States of America, Australia and New Zealand.

22
Times Higher Education Ranking 2012-13 http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-
ranking/region/north-america
O
Reforms in science education all over the world have been propelled by several factors
(Guo, 2007):
Decline in the number of students pursuing basic science degrees;
Wide gap between learning goals and learning outcomes;
Adoption of constructivist learning theories in science learning;
The debate on science for citizenship;
The results from cross-national studies on students learning (TIMSS PISA, and SAS);
Globalisation and liberalisation;
Advances in science, technology especially information and communication
technologies (ICT);
Concerns over sustainability of the growth process.

P a g e | 18
considered the road map that helped the United States take the lead in scientific progress a lead
which they have maintained ever since. Linking scientific progress to cultural progress Vannevar Bush
stated that, Scientific progress is one essential key to our security as a nation, to our better health, to
more jobs, to a higher standard of living, and to our cultural progress
23
.
In 1950, the National Science Foundation (NSF) was established.
The latest report on science funding in the United States, (Kennedy 2012) shows that the private
industry spent $247.4 billion, or 62 percent of total R&D spending, while the federal government
spent $124.4 billion, accounting for 31 percent of the nations spending on R&D. Universities and
colleges get nearly 58 percent of its R&D funds from federal funding.

23
Science The Endless Frontier - http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/nsf50/vbush1945.htm
National Science Foundation (NSF)
What made USA the world leader in S&T
An independent federal agency created by the US Congress in 1950 to promote the progress
of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national
defense
Funding: Annual budget of about $7.0 billion (FY 2012)
Funds approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by
Americas colleges and universities.
Major source of federal backing in many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the
social sciences
Grants and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school
systems, businesses, informal science organisations and other research organisations
Currently about 11,000 new awards per year, with an average duration of three years
Evaluation of proposals: Nearly every proposal is evaluated by a minimum of three
independent reviewers consisting of scientists, engineers and educators who do not work at
NSF a national pool of 50,000 experts in each field evaluates proposals
Support for Science education: From pre-K through graduate school and beyond the research
funded by NSF is thoroughly integrated with education to help ensure the availability of plenty
of skilled people to work in new and emerging scientific, engineering and technological fields,
and plenty of capable teachers to educate the next generation.
About 200,000 scientists, engineers, educators and students at universities, laboratories and
field sites all over the United States and throughout the world are supported.
The NSF-funded researchers have won more than 200 Nobel Prizes!

P a g e | 19

Excellence and competitiveness is pursued in the American university system at three levels:
Competition to get good students all the main universities vie for them;
Competition to attract the best faculty universities go out of their way to get good faculty
and vigorously compete even with corporate research labs (and, they often win this
competition);
Strong competition for research funding.
In spite of the leadership status of USA in Science and Technology in 2009, President Obama with a
view to stay ahead as a top-ranking nation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
(STEM) initiated the Educate to Innovate programme providing billions in additional federal funding
for STEM education programs across the country.
24

In 2008, in India, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), described as an Indian
counterpart of the NSF, was set up as a statutory body for supporting basic research in emerging
areas of science & engineering. Contrary to the claims to liberate science from bureaucracy
25
, this
body now functions under the bureaucratic control of the Department of Science and Technology.
2.2. The case of South Korea
The pillar of Koreas Science and Technology policy was creation of state-led research and
educational capacity centred on state-run research institutes, and in-house research and
development efforts by large industrial conglomerates called chaebol (Campbell, 2012).
Korea has been investing heavily in education. In 2008 it spent nearly 20 percent of its budget on
education 11 percent was for tertiary education and 88 percent for K-12 education. 3.37 percent of
GDP was devoted to R&D, almost a full percent increase over 1998.
To further support Big Science, the Korean government enacted the ambitious 577 Program:
to raise R&D investment to five percent of GDP;
to focus on seven major technological areas along with traditional industrial automotive,
electronics, and military technologies were included the space program, nuclear
development, and convergence technology (nanotech and robotics);
to achieve global Top Seven status in terms of scientific citations and international patent
applications.
The Long-Term Vision for Science and Technology Development, put forward in 2010:
shifting the locus of the national innovation system from government to private sector;
enhancing the efficiency of R&D investments;

24
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/educate-innovate
25
India as a Global Leader in Science, 2010, pg 32, http://www.dst.gov.in/Vision_Document.pdf

P a g e | 20
upgrading R&D to world standards;
science and technology promotion in different regions of the country and not just in the
Seoul region;
and trying to harvest the opportunities presented by new technologies.
(Source: Campbell, 2012)
2.3. Reforms in India
The Indian government is devising more opportunities for capacity expansion, making fullest use of
Indian scientific talent to work in Indian academia & scientific research institutions and laboratories.
In 2013, the Department of Biotechnology started three major new science clusters in the National
Capital Region (NCR), Mohali and Bangalore. These institutions have expanded their institutional and
other programs to provide excellent opportunities and working environment to attract the best
Indian scientists working abroad to work in India.
Since 2000, several new initiatives have been undertaken or are being explored:
i. Establishment of a large number of centres of excellence: Indian Institutes of Science Education
and Research (IISERs in Kolkata, Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram), National
Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER in Bhubaneswar), National Institutes of
Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER in Mohali)
ii. Establishment of specialised centres of research and education in space technology, defence
technology, translational research, biotechnology and stem cell biology.
iii. Expansion of existing institutes such as IITs, initiating undergraduate education programs at IISc
and initiating study programmes at TIFR.
In the book Science in India (SAC-PM 2013) in the chapter titled Major Recommendations &
Accomplishments of the SAC-PM (2004 - 2013) the following has been listed as accomplishments:
Establishing the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Earth Commission
Establishing of the Department of Health Education and Research
Setting up the new research funding agency, Science & Engineering Research Board
Important institutional structures in life sciences and biotechnology have been established:
Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI)
National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad
Regional Centre of Biotechnology in collaboration with UNESCO, Hyderabad
Translational Health Science Technology Institute, Gurgaon
National Institute of Agriculture Biotechnology, Mohali

P a g e | 21

National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kolkata
Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru

Supercomputing roadmap: The Planning Commission has drawn a National Supercomputing
Roadmap for the 12th Plan (2012-2017) period covering several aspects of supercomputing namely
Architecture, Supercomputing Grid resting on the National Knowledge Network and the Million Core
Cloud Supercomputer
26
.
In recent months, the government has introduced several new schemes with public private
partnerships to increase spending on R&D to help the quick commercialisation of basic and academic
research into products of direct relevance to the industry. To encourage entrepreneurship and
innovation in new scientific concepts and technologies, the Government has lined up several
programmes ranging from venture-capital funding to the development of incubation centres.
The buzzword at the centenary of the Indian Science Congress
27
(ISC) held in Kolkata in January 2013
was Science, Technology and Innovation for the people with a call to bring forward the youth to
work for the promotion of science for Indias future. Some of the key recommendations were
28
:
Attract talent and develop human resource for science, technology and innovation;
Prepare a youthful leadership pipeline in the science sector to shape the future of India;
Re-adjust governance processes in the universities for rejuvenation of research in academia;

26
DST Press release March 14, 2013
27
The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin to two British Chemists, Professor J. L. Simonsen and
Professor P.S. MacMahon who envisioned that scientific research in India might be stimulated if an annual meeting of
research workers somewhat on the lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science could be arranged.
http://www.sciencecongress.nic.in
28
http://dst.gov.in/whats_new/press-release13/pib_07-01-2013_1.htm
The specific targets of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy
2013 underscore the need for creating a world class scientific talent pool:
Positioning India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020 (by increasing the
share of global scientific publications from 3.5 percent to over 7 percent and quadrupling
the number of papers in top 1 percent journals from the current levels);
Increasing the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of R&D personnel in India by at least 66
percent of the present strength in 5 years;
And, above all, raising Gross Expenditure in Research and Development (GERD) to 2 percent
from the present 1 percent of the GDP in this decade with a public investment of Rs. 1,20,430
crore ($ 18.5 Billion) and an approximately eight-fold increase in the engagement of the private
sector into R&D in PPP mode. Indian industry needs to come forward to contribute about 50
per cent of the increase in R&D spending.

P a g e | 22
Invest special efforts to develop the requisite human resources critical to the investments
planned in mega-science projects;
Link the discovery processes in science to the problem solving responsibilities of the research and
development activities by creating institutions to convert scientific discoveries into commercial
products and processes, quickly;
Enhance public outreach of science by creating a new breed of scientists who are also effective
communicators, (in the language understood by people) to bridge the growing perception-gap
on numerous aspects of science and technology which impact people directly;
Invest in new modes of pursuing scientific research to meet the countrys challenges for food and
nutrition, energy and environment, water and sanitation, affordable health care;
Strengthen Public and Private Partnerships in R & D sector.
2.3.1. Schemes to attract talent to science

Table 4: Schemes to attract talent in science

P a g e | 23

There are various schemes to spot and encourage young talent, to attract overseas Indians to work in
S&T and to attract resources as faculty. Some of these are presented in Table 4.
Apart from this, Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) is a programme
under Research & Development head of the Department of Science and Technology introduced in
2008 to incentivise university publications. Consolidation of University Research, Innovation and
Excellence (CURIE) has been designed to strengthen R&D in all six women-only universities in the
country (DST Annual Report 2010-2011).
The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai, is the nodal centre of the country for
Olympiad programmes
29
which aims at promoting excellence in science and mathematics among pre-
university students. The Mathematics Olympiad is conducted under the aegis of the National Board of
Higher Mathematics (NBHM). Since August 2008, a new integrated National Steering Committee has
been overseeing the entire activity (in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy and the Junior Science
departments) comprising the Indian Association of Physics Teachers (IAPT) and the Homi Bhabha
Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), financially supported by the Government of India.
The National Innovation Foundation (NIF), an autonomous body of the Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India, has been actively engaged in promoting creativity and innovation
in India. One of its main aims is to recognize and reward grassroots technological innovators and
traditional knowledge experts. The NIF hosts the National Biennial Awards where the President of
India felicitates the grassroots innovators of our country. Prof. Anil Gupta of IIM-Ahmedabad, a
pioneer in the promotion of grassroots innovation in the country is its Executive Vice Chairperson.
2.4. Private efforts at innovation in science education
Science education forms the very basis on which a nations scientific temper, spirit of enquiry,
innovativeness and problem solving approach rests. In the Indian context, in view of the diversity of
faiths and cultures, issues such as communication for science awareness for the masses through
Indian languages, study of science and faith, creating a symbiotic relationship between traditional
and modern medicinal systems, assume significance.
India has a strong tradition of voluntary organisations working at the grass roots for the
popularisation of science and science education. In the post-Independence period, SS Kalbag, Anil
Sadgopal, Vinod Raina, Vivek Monteiro and several others left their promising mainstream careers to
dedicate their lives to the task of strengthening science among people. Their life work extends
beyond the sphere of science education producing low-cost educational tools, creating a scientific
temper, entrepreneurial spirit and transforming lives in the process
30
.
The following pages provide examples of movements that are replete with lessons for strengthening
the educational system and popularising science among the public. Since the 1970s, the Peoples
Science Movement (PSM) has been an umbrella body of grassroots organisations of various

29
HBCSE Olympiad official website - http://olympiads.hbcse.tifr.res.in/
30
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/education-visionary/1174320/3

P a g e | 24
ideologies (Marxists, postmodernists, environmentalists, feminists, multiculturalists, social
constructivists), working in a much decentralised manner, on diverse issues, to reclaim science to
work for people. The group also works for changing peoples mind-set of fatalism and belief in
superstition to rational thinking. Many groups, therefore, work to popularise science in a number of
areas such as health, education, nutrition, housing, environment, communication, agriculture, and
sanitation, so people can also enjoy benefits of science. Some of them are:
All India Anti-Imperialist Forum
All India People's Science Network
Patriotic People for Science and Technology (PPST)
Vigyan Shiksha Kendra
Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti
Bhopal Gas Affected Working Women's Union
Chilka Bachao Andolan, Chipko Movement, Narmada Bachao Andolan
Friends of Rural Society
Kishore Bharati
Eklavya
Total Literacy Campaign
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP)
Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament (MIND)
National Fish Workers Forum
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) or Maharashtra Blind faith Eradication
Committee
Samskrita Bharati
Eklavya, founded by the late Dr Vinod Raina, also played a key role in the movement. It engaged in
policy research and advocacy, involving all stakeholders in the process policymakers, scientific
institutions and the general public to move towards the democratisation of science and technology
at all levels, so that the people at large could become informed participants in decision-making on
issues that crucially impacted their lives (Varma, 2001). Dr Raina joined his other PSM colleagues in
taking this experience international and in catalysing the nascent World Forum for Science and
Democracy.

P a g e | 25

Vigyan Ashram

In 1983, Dr Shrinath Kalbag, PhD in Food Technology from the University of Illinois, Chicago,
quit a lucrative career in a multinational, to start his dream project, Vigyan Ashram, at a village
called Pabal in Pune district to promote non-formal education for rural youths, especially
school drop-outs. Over the years, the ashram has made a significant contribution in the field
of vocational education and reforming the education system. Its focus is on education for
technological innovation that is needed to create livelihood opportunities for the masses.
Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab:
Fab Lab, a brain child of Dr. Neil Gershenfeld (Director, Center of Bits and Atoms,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology), is a distributed international network of scientific
researchers and community inventors to define, conduct and apply new discoveries and
inventions to benefit both research and local communities. In 2002, the first Fab Lab outside
MIT was set up at Vigyan Ashram. Some of the projects taken up at Vigyan Ashrams Fab Lab
are i) Human power based lighting solution ii) LED lights iii) Egg incubator iv) Agri sensors etc.
Vigyan Ashram Fab Lab also hosts several innovative students projects (Diploma-Graduate-
Masters) every year.

Source: http://www.vigyanashram.com
Chai and Why

TIFRs (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research) Science Popularisation and Public Outreach
Committee develops programmes for teachers of science to communicate to the community.
One of its initiatives is Chai and Why.
This initiative:
Reaches out especially to less privileged students in rural and urban areas and explains to
them the scientific work being done at TIFR.
Inspires students to pursue a career in basic sciences.
Informs the public about the latest trends and developments in scientific research.
Conveys the importance of exciting new developments in science and technology.
Provides authentic information to journalists who write about science.

Source: http://www.tifr.res.in/~outreach/outreach/outreachchai.html

P a g e | 26

These efforts need to be feted, strengthened and replicated.

Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme (HSTP) and Eklavya
In 1972, the government of Madhya Pradesh and two NGOs -- Friends Rural Centre (FRC), Rasulia,
and Kishore Bharati (KB) undertook a pilot project in 16 middle schools to study the feasibility
of introducing a discovery-based approach to learning science in rural schools in place of the
traditional textbook-centred rote learning to help build an analytical and enquiring culture
among children. This project came to be known as the Hoshangabad Science Teaching
Programme (HSTP). Prof Anil Sadgopal, a student of molecular biology from California Institute
of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, was the man behind this mission. Prof Anil Sadgopal has
dedicated his life for a just and equitable society. With the state granting administrative backing
and academic freedom to experiment with books, kit, curricula, teacher training and
examinations, the HSTP was able to address innovation and quality improvement in science
education holistically, focusing on all aspects of school functioning. The programme has also
benefitted from the active involvement of young scientists, educators and research students
from some of the leading academic and research institutions such as the All-India Science
Teachers Association (Physics Study Group), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR),
Mumbai, University of Delhi, IITs, various universities and post-graduate colleges.
The UGC granted fellowships to faculty members from Delhi University and other academic
institutions to participate in the programme at the field level. The Madhya Pradesh government
also permitted its college science teachers to interact on a regular basis from 1975.
This synergy between the university, community and school science teachers in developing
academically sound curricular materials for village schools was also a unique feature of the
programme. In 1982, out of this programme was born Eklavya, an NGO for educational research,
to identify and create mechanisms and structures for translating micro-level innovations into
macro-level action programmes. Late Vinod Raina was the founder. Today the HSTP has evolved
as a comprehensive model for implementing innovative science teaching in the mainstream
education system at the upper primary stage: development of curriculum and text books;
teacher training; academic support to schools; reforming examination and evaluation systems.
Source: http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/8pR1bqeZQYUl3wMlQ3jbYI/Freedom-to-study--Anil-Sadgopal.html
http://www.eklavya.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=12&id=52&Itemid=74

P a g e | 27

2.5. Science education in schools
Science education in primary and secondary schools lays the basic foundations of students scientific
knowledge. A detailed analysis of the state of science education in Indian primary and secondary
schools is out of the scope of this report. Nevertheless, given its importance for science education at
the college level, a brief sketch of the state of science education in Indian schools is provided here.
For the last five decades, science and mathematics education have been part of compulsory general
education during the first ten years of schooling (Rajput & Srivastava in Poisson, 2000). The
importance given to science and mathematics education has been a constant in Indian policy on
education. However, there is a wide gap between desired and achieved outcomes. The quality of
science education, as that in other subject matters, is affected by four main factors: 1) curriculum
overload; 2) poor focus on conceptual development, promotion of curiosity and free enquiry; 3)
inadequate teacher training; and 4) inadequate and faulty assessment of learning outcomes.
The science curriculum content is needlessly excessive, often decontextualised and outdated. The
preparation of pre-service and in-service teachers is inadequate with significant cross national
asymmetries. The assessment methodologies are woefully inadequate, promoting rote instead of
meaningful learning. These problems naturally permeate into tertiary education, as will be observed
in the following sections. (For reforms introduced until 2001 in science education at primary and
secondary level see review by Rajput and Srivastava in Poisson, 2000).
Although central and state governments have been engaged in solving these problems, and some
improvements have been made, there is a crying need for fast paced and large scale improvements.
This is an uphill task given the serious problems of corruption and lack of accountability faced at
central and state government institutions, along with the geographic and demographic dimensions
of the country.
Indias PISA scores in science literacy
The multi-national Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) from the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a longitudinal study on the reading,
mathematical and scientific literacy of 15-year-olds, across OECD and some non-OECD countries (PISA
website). PISA aims to inform governments policy to improve educational outcomes. PISA surveys
are designed to assess the application of knowledge in everyday contexts, and to avoid rote problem
solving.
PISA (Walker, 2011) defines scientific literacy as: An individuals scientific knowledge and use of that
knowledge to identify questions, to acquire new knowledge, to explain scientific phenomena, and to
draw evidence-based conclusions about science related issues, understanding of the characteristic
features of science as a form of human knowledge and enquiry, awareness of how science and
technology shape our material, intellectual, and cultural environments, and willingness to engage in
science-related issues, and with the ideas of science, as a reflective citizen. (p. 4)
In 2009, the two Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh participated in the PISA study.

P a g e | 28
Both Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh scored well below the OECD average (501 points), with 348
and 325 points respectively. However these results should be taken as mere indicators as the
students sampling of both Indian states did not meet PISA standards of sampling. China, Finland and
Singapore, were the countries that scored higher; with 575/545, 554 and 542 points respectively
(ACER PISA Report, 2011). PISA assessment classifies students scientific literacy in six proficiency
levels with level 1 being the lowest and 6 being the highest. The results for India are presented in
Table 4 (Walker, 2011).

< Level 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6
Boys

Himachal Pradesh 51.8 % 34.6% 10.4% 2.3 % 0.5% Nil Nil
Tamil Nadu 46.8 % 40.3% 10.6% 1.8% 0.5% Nil Nil
Girls
Himachal Pradesh 63.6% 27.5% 6.9% 1.6% 0.4% Nil Nil
Tamil Nadu 41.0% 41.3% 14.6% 2.8% 0.4% Nil Nil
Table 5: Results of Indian students scientific literacy in six proficiency levels
Source: Walker, 2011
All students scored below level 5, with a clear majority of students (both genders) scoring below level
2. In general the level of scientific literacy in both states is comparable. From the results, there is no
apparent gender difference in terms of scientific literacy between girls and boys.
Level 1, students have such a limited scientific knowledge that it can only be applied to a few, familiar
situations. They can present scientific explanations that are obvious and follow explicitly from given
evidence.
At Level 2, students have adequate scientific knowledge to provide possible explanations in familiar
contexts or draw conclusions based on simple investigations. They are capable of direct reasoning and
making literal interpretations of the results of scientific inquiry or technological problem solving.(ACER
PISA Report, 2011)
Results suggest that nearly half of the students in both Indian states do not have the scientific
knowledge required to make sense of familiar situations, nor can they present obvious scientific
explanations. The remaining can do so only for a few familiar contexts. From the results students
capacity to engage with higher order reasoning also seems to be limited. Could this be a result of the
inadequacy of the designed questions, given the Indian context? It is unlikely, as questions are
designed to take into account cultural heterogeneity. These results seem to suggest that science
education needs to be improved at both primary and secondary levels, to support students in
developing their scientific literacy. Moreover, both Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are among the
top ranking states in literacy. One cannot but wonder what would be the PISA results in states which
are lower in the literacy ranking.

P a g e | 29

Creativity is
contagious. Pass it
on.

Albert Einstein

3. ORF MUMBAIS STUDY:
STATE OF SCIENCE EDUCATION IN
INDIAN COLLEGES

P a g e | 30
3.1. ORF Mumbais study of science education in Indian colleges
he Observer Research Foundation Mumbai conducted primary research in 2011 to probe the
state of science education in Indian colleges, focussing primarily on urban centres like Mumbai,
Chennai and Delhi. Some colleges in Maharashtra, outside Mumbai, were also selected.
Secondary research involved review of existing policy documents and scientific literature. The main
objectives of this study were to provide a holistic portrait of the state of science education; identify
the bottlenecks in the education system; and to provide a roadmap for revamping science education.
Extensive survey of committee reports and review of literature helped set the context of this study.
This study was undertaken through several structured and semi-structured interviews with the main
stakeholders, namely, principals, vice-principals, teachers, research scholars, students, educators,
placement officers from science colleges in Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai, members from the
industry, potential employers and researchers. The interviews were recorded and transcribed
verbatim for subsequent analysis. The profile of the colleges and universities participating in this
study is presented in Annexure 1. The interview responses were organised by category and analysed
qualitatively.
For this project, ORF Mumbai collaborated with Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh (Head of Department, Life
Sciences, University of Mumbai) and Ms. Adithi Muralidhar (M.Sc. Zoology, University of Mumbai,
T
Figure 7: Study sites of ORF Mumbai's project

P a g e | 31

who has subsequently joined our organisation).
This was followed by a consultative roundtable conference
31
on 10
th
July, 2011 which saw participation
of members from all stakeholder groups. The roundtable was organised for two reasons: 1) To
present the preliminary findings of the study on the status of science education in Indian colleges and
2) To consult with various stakeholder groups regarding solutions. Several important points were
voiced during the course of the roundtable which have been incorporated in the report.
The roundtable was chaired by renowned academician, Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT-Madras. Some
of the issues raised in this report were reiterated by Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala:
The current system has not delivered and the changes made have not been good enough.
In communication theory, the half life of new knowledge is 3 to 4 years. By graduation fifty
percent of the knowledge gained is gone. Hence we need to teach how to learn. Learning is a
lifelong process and with our own knowledge the same contents evolve, because we
understand them from different angles.
Autonomy is very important; the teacher needs to have the freedom to decide how to go
about what needs to be taught. We have made attempts to address the quantity and equity
problem, but not the quality problems.
There is a need to devise new and more sustainable models for financing education. Perhaps
Government, instead of banks, can start giving educational loans to students with zero
percent interest. Perhaps when one repays the loan back, that amount can be made tax-
deductable.
There is also a poor delivery on the potential of ICT in Education. We have not experimented
sufficiently with pedagogy in ICT based education.
We need to teach students knowledge relevant to todays society, both local and global. They
need to be taught concepts that can be applicable locally.
There is no emphasis on the importance of liberal arts.
Lastly, we have failed to take leadership in the education system (this pertains specially to
senior scientists from top institutions).
The results presented in this section provide a holistic perspective of the state of science education
viewed through the lens of some of the best colleges in India in science streams. The problems and
obstacles faced by these colleges are expected to be amplified in many other colleges in tier-two
urban areas and rural areas.
When asked to identify the most critical challenges in science education, participants in the survey
frequently cited the following points:
Poor quality of teaching;

31
For list of roundtable participants, refer Annexure 2

P a g e | 32
Inadequate infrastructure and facilities;
Inadequate funding;
Low employability and limited career options for students;
To this must be added the lack of good science teachers at primary and secondary levels of
education; and the lack of inspiring leadership at institutional or national level that conveys a vision
for science, science education, research, and their critical role in Indias all-round development. These
points are a mere tip of the iceberg, revealing deep dysfunctionalities in our educational system as
well as in our society.
3.2. Poor quality of teaching
There is a serious shortage of 3.8 lakh of faculty in higher education and this is likely to grow to 13
lakhs in a decades time. This leads to the highly inappropriate practice of ad-hoc hiring of teachers
32
.
The poor quality of teaching is a consequence of the following factors:
Lack of training for teachers in pedagogy and delivery mechanisms and lack of mastery over
content;
Excessive focus on examinations;
Lack of accountability of teachers and educational institutions to educational outcomes;
Low motivational levels of faculty;
Outdated, compartmentalised and disconnected curricula;
Poor quality of educational materials;
Poor recruitment policies for teaching positions.
The roundtable also highlighted some issues faced by the teachers regarding the non-payment of
arrears of the Sixth-Pay Commission salaries, which further increased resistance from teachers
unions, in terms of workload and work hours.
Lack of training for teachers in pedagogy and delivery mechanisms and lack of
mastery over content
Teachers in most of the institutions do not undergo training programs on pedagogy and delivery
mechanisms. As a consequence many fail to actively engage with their students. Some of the
students interviewed made reference to a great heterogeneity in the quality of teaching. While some
teachers actively engage their students in classroom discussions and are receptive to questions,
others resort to a lecture mode limiting discussion and Q&A sessions. For some students this is a
reflection of a certain degree of diffidence on the part of the teacher regarding his / her mastery over

32
Report of the Task Force on Faculty Shortage and the Design of Performance Appraisal System, July 2011,
http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/6675510_taskforce.pdf

P a g e | 33

The quality of these refresher courses varies
widely. Hardly one third of the teachers are actually
interested and committed, the rest attend these
courses for the sake of a promotion.
Prof P. Riyazuddin,
University of Madras
India does not have an educational system, it
has instead an examination system.
Bharat Ratna Dr. C.N.R. Rao
what he / she is teaching. Many teachers
do not understand the core concepts of
their areas of expertise; this is a serious
limitation to the transmission of
knowledge and leads to rote teaching.
33

The University Grants Commission (UGC)
and the Academic Staff Colleges of universities provide refresher courses for teachers (UGC website).
Three training sessions (of 21 days) are compulsory for career progression. Nevertheless, these
courses are focussed exclusively on specific subjects, with no reference to education technology and
pedagogy. The quality of these refresher courses varies widely. Hardly one third of the teachers are
actually interested and committed, the rest attend these courses for the sake of a promotion
34
. The
reactions to these courses vary widely: some teachers find them extremely useful while others feel
that they are not learning anything new. The refresher courses are not well designed; they need to be
far more creative and innovative. These courses are not helping teachers in their present form. We need
to get out of the routine.
35

Modern technology can in many ways help in the teaching-learning process. Substantial research
backs up the potential of using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the classrooms,
as a means of effective communication between teachers and students. In what concerns the use of
ICT, some of the colleges participating in this study have only a few classrooms equipped with
laptops, projectors and Internet access, as well as fully equipped computer rooms. While some of
their faculty members are actively using the audio-visual and digital media in the classroom, many are
still strangers to technology. Sophia College, Mumbai organises internal workshops on informatics to
foster the teachers use of ICT in education.
Excessive focus on examinations
As Professor C.N.R. Rao, Chairman of the SAC-PM, stated, India does not have an educational
system, it has instead an examination system
36
. The excessive focus on centralised examinations has
reduced the Indian educational system to a mechanism of unimaginative delivery and reproduction of
content. This has also affected the morale of teachers, as they have to teach only for the examination
purpose (Chandran-Wadia, Correia, Joseph,
Vishwanathan, 2011).
The educational system fosters rote learning
which consists of memorising facts without
properly integrating them in a knowledge
structure: Teachers are the product of a

33
From an interview with Professor K.V. V. Murthy from IIT Gandhinagar.
34
From an interview with a Professor Riyazuddin from University of Madras.
35
From an interview with Dr. C. Natarajan from HBCSE.
36
Talk given at the EDGE Conference in New Delhi, 2011

P a g e | 34
Competitive exams are killing the taste for science in
the country. Almost five lakh students start from a
very tender age to prepare for exams like JEE,
attending coaching classes, doing nothing but
studying science and this gives people a wrong
impression of science.
Prof Kannan Moudgalya,
IIT Bombay

defective educational system oriented towards memorisation rather than comprehension; this leads to a
closed loop of rote teaching rote learning.
37
Rote learning impairs the development of critical
thinking skills, a crucial skill for the study of any discipline, in any academic stream.
Under the affiliated college system, teachers are not involved in their students assessment. This does
prevent feedback in the teaching-learning process either from the teacher to the student or from
the student to the teacher. This in turn
impacts the teachers accountability to
outcomes.
In order to tackle this serious problem of
evaluation, several universities are in the
process of adopting the more accepted
methods of assessment and evaluation
like Continuous Comprehensive
Evaluation (CCE) and Choice Based Credit
System (CBCS). Even prestigious
universities like the University of Mumbai
have introduced the Choice Based Credit
and Grading system only as recently 2010-11. Dr. Rajan Welukar, Vice Chancellor of University of
Mumbai states: It is hardly a debatable matter now as to whether a University or any other higher
education provider for that matter should adopt a Credit Based System or not. We must recognize the
fact that every student has the right to learn what he wants to learn and from wherever he wants to
learn. The system of assigning Credits to each course or module undertaken and allowing flexibility of
course combinations both within an institution as well as across institutions respects this Autonomy of
the student.
38
He further added that The Credit Based System which provides a clear accounting of
the students efforts and learning load, places the student at the centre stage of all academic
transactions and facilitates the bringing of all the education providers on a common platform. In this
sense, the system is ideally suited for respecting the independence of the student and promoting the
much required Learner Mobility. It is imperative; therefore, that every forward looking institution takes
a bold step in setting up an appropriate Credit Based System and the University of Mumbai cannot afford
to lag behind.
Lack of accountability of teachers and educational institutions to educational
outcomes
The lack of accountability of teachers and educational institutions is yet another key dimension that
contributes to poor quality in education. The absence of formal checks and balances and adequate
sanction mechanisms combined with teachers low motivational levels (to be discussed below) has
led many teachers to neglect their responsibilities. This lack of accountability of academic and non-

37
From an interview with Professor K.V. V. Murthy from IIT Gandhi Nagar
38
Manual of Choice Based Credit Systems (CBCS) and Grading, University of Mumbai, 2011, Page 4

P a g e | 35

academic staff, as well as of educational institutions has been a serious problem over the past few
decades.
One of the most striking effects of the lack of accountability is teachers absenteeism, Some
teachers consider their college duties as part-time jobs, and often engage in tuition/coaching classes or
other remunerative activities.
39
This problem is faced by many affiliated colleges and university
departments. Educational institutions are not empowered to prevent absenteeism. As an example,
Delhi University has been struggling with this problem for quite some time and attempted to
introduce in 2009 a biometric system of attendance for teachers. Teachers unions went on strike for
more than a month and the university could not enforce it and was forced to withdraw. However,
many conscientious teachers do feel that the actions of a few discredit their profession, and that
accountability mechanisms should be implemented to fight malpractices.
Another striking example of lack of accountability is the fact that many students do not have access
to their corrected papers/exams (which can be attributed to a shortage in administrative staff and/or
to the work load of faculty). Teachers do not and often cannot provide a detailed correction of
the paper/exam to students
40
. This poses a serious pedagogical problem, as students get only very
limited feedback on their performance, based exclusively on their marks. Students have therefore no
information whatsoever on the themes that were well understood and on those that require further
study. This will naturally affect their quality of learning.
There is effectively no standard national level monitoring in terms of quality for most of the
educational institutions. The coverage of accreditation through the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC) and program accreditation through the National Board of Accreditation
(NBA) is still small and mainly optional. Less than one-third (179 out of 574) eligible universities and
one-seventh (5,156 out of 35,539) of eligible colleges have been accredited so far. Private universities
and private colleges have shown little enthusiasm for accreditation. (MHRD, 2013)
The NAAC accreditation is based on the submission of a self-study report prepared by the educational
institution, followed by an on-site visit and a recommendation of assessment from a peer team, to be
validated by the NAAC Executive Council. The assessment is made on the following criteria: curricular
aspects; teaching and evaluation; research and consultancy; infrastructure; learning resources;
student support and progression; governance and leadership and innovative practices
41
. The
accreditation system has revealed several deficiencies that need to be addressed: the system is
focussed on inputs rather than outcomes; there is no continuous accreditation; accreditation of
courses and institutions are not concomitant; stakeholders have no voice; there are no penalties; only
to mention a few (Planning Commission Sub-Committee, 2009, p. 15). The report has issued in 2009 a
set of recommendations to address these issues and revamp the accreditation system
42
.

39
From the interviews with Professor P. Riyazuddin from the University of Madras and Professor H. P. Singh Proctor of Delhi
University.
40
Information provided by students from Ruia College, Mumbai.
41
NAAC - http://www.naac.gov.in/
42
http://planningcommission.gov.in/reports/genrep/skilldev/sub_accrd.pdf

P a g e | 36
In 2010, a Bill on National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Education was submitted to
the Lok Sabha that called for compulsory accreditation of all Higher Educational Institutions.
Programmes will also have to be accredited for academic quality. The Bill in its present form poses
some potential obstacles to an effective accreditation system: While it seeks to end NAACs
monopoly, only government controlled agencies are allowed to accredit, ruling out the possibility of
healthy competition with private agencies. Accreditation agencies are expected to guide institutes in
improving their quality if this is not the case the agency will be penalised which might give rise to
conflict of interest, and partial evaluation (Sanyal, 2010). According to the Mandatory Assessment
and Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions Regulations, 2012, any institution of higher
learning, other than those in technical institutions, will have to compulsorily get accreditation by an
accrediting agency, after passing out of two batches or six years, whichever is earlier in accordance
with the norms and methodology prescribed by such agency or the commission. Those institutes who
do not comply with this can be penalised.
43

NAAC has enforced the existence of an Internal Quality Assessment Cell (IQAC) in every accredited
college. This encourages the institution to design an internal assessment system to monitor the
quality of its academic and non-academic activities, as well as the performance of their academic and
non-academic staff. Several colleges produce annual IQAC reports, available on-line at the colleges
website. As part of their IQA systems, many colleges have implemented student feedback surveys.
The surveys are usually collected and used for faculty improvement programmes. There is a plan to
introduce performance-based funding for universities and colleges through the proposed state
higher education councils.
44
This is likely to ensure a spirit of competition among institutions and
improve the efficiency of funds usage.
Low motivational levels of faculty
Poor quality of teaching seems also to be correlated in some cases with teachers low motivational
levels.
How can a teacher be motivated when his / her professional dignity is being challenged?
Most teachers do not actively contribute to the design of the curriculum and of educational
materials. They do not have a voice in students assessment. Many of their students have very low
motivational levels for learning (see students difficulties sub-section, below). Teachers often face a
lack of adequate infrastructure, and they are rarely exposed to workshops, as well as national and
international conferences. Teachers have poor career advancement prospects. There are very few
incentives for good performance. The system does not incentivise merit and there is no external
motivation to excel. Teachers face high teaching workloads due to teacher shortage. Apart from the
academic work, teachers are often burdened with administrative duties in schools and outside. This
further contributes to the already heavy workload they have. The teacher to student ratio is adverse
(again due to the shortage of teachers) which impacts the quality of their interaction with students.

43
UGC released Notice in Gazette of India, January 2013, http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/8541429_English.PDF
44
Performance-based funding soon : UGC Vice-Chairman - http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-
nadu/performancebased-funding-soon-ugc-vicechairman/article5096316.ece; September 5, 2013

P a g e | 37

Outdated, compartmentalised and disconnected curricula
Science curricula and syllabi are designed as highly compartmentalised subjects. These are often
excessively theoretical leaving little room for application and experimentation. Curricula are typically
revised every 15-20 years in government-run affiliated colleges, while in a few privately-run affiliated
colleges this gap is reduced to less than five years. In many affiliated colleges teachers are not
interested in designing new experiments, we still have the same old 50-year experiments running
today.
45

There is an overall consensus among educators and teachers that curricula are frequently outdated.
This is not surprising given the slow pace at which they are revised. Outside educational institutions
there is a dynamic market-driven system that is in constant update, informed by the advances in
technology and new research avenues. In Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United
States, 25 percent of the postgraduate curricula are revised and changed every year. At
undergraduate level, where fundamentals are typically introduced, it is to be expected that curricula
revisions would take place after a couple of years.
The curricula and syllabi taught in colleges are framed by Boards of Study (BOS) of the university to
which the college is affiliated. In the case of Mumbai University, at the undergraduate level, the
Universitys vice-chancellor appoints the BOS members comprising: chairman (usually a professor
cadre academician with proven and acknowledged academic track record in that same subject); two
eminent academicians from the university and one external resource (e.g. an academician from
another university or a representative from industry).
In contrast, in the case of institutions like St. Xaviers College in Mumbai, which has been conferred
academic autonomy, the boards are headed by each head of department and three senior faculty and
include representatives from the University of Mumbai, from industry and alumni. For a given subject,
teachers will draft the curriculum to be presented to the respective BOS. Every department found
that it was an energising activity to discuss the curriculum with the Board of Study. The boards in turn
felt that they had received good input and feedback. It is a very healthy practice.
46

Science curricula appears to be, to a great extent, disconnected from reality. The dissociation
between research, industry and teaching in Indian educational institutes has contributed to the
alienation of curricula from the pressing challenges faced by industries and other sectors of the
economy. Some of the students interviewed in this study have expressed their frustration for not
having the opportunity to address real problems, as well as for the lack of opportunities to apply
their knowledge.
Poor quality of educational materials
At undergraduate and postgraduate levels, students are expected to study using different reference
books and on-line materials. Some teachers provide their personal notes. There are numerous
textbooks in the market considered by many teachers as low quality educational material. Some

45
From the interview with Professor H. P. Singh, Proctor of Delhi University.
46
From the interview with Fr. Dr. F. Mascarenhas, St Xaviers College, Mumbai

P a g e | 38
students use the notes of their seniors as complementary educational material. The quality of these
notes are often reasonable, given that students select the best, based on their own set of criteria
the senior students attendance and exam performance. Some students cannot afford to buy
reference books. There are usually one or two that document the core concepts of a given field and
are therefore extremely useful to study, but their price is usually high. The availability of these books
at the college library is not always guaranteed (e.g. one copy for more than 20 students), so many
students opt for buying pirated versions or pirated translations into regional languages. This is a
problem because they do not undergo a quality check. Naturally, these pirated editions are available
in the market at significantly lower rates.
The Internet is a good source of high quality on-line educational material. While many colleges are
equipped with computers, Internet access is not always guaranteed. This poses a problem for
students who do not have a computer or Internet access at home.
Poor recruitment policies for teaching positions
Currently, the recruitment of teachers in colleges is carried out as per the UGC norms. A crucial
criterion to be considered for a teaching position is one of the following: qualifying through either
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and University Grants Commission (CSIR-UGC) or UGC
National Eligibility Test (NET) or State Eligibility Test (SET) or possessing a doctoral degree
47
. The
abysmally low pass percentage in UGC-NET exams has always been a matter of concern
48
,
questioning the quality of education received by potential teachers attempting the exam, as well as
the format of the qualifying examination. There has also been a growing fear that qualified
candidates are pursuing careers that are not related to science. But a recent study
showed that though a significant section of the CSIR-NET fellowship awardees did not avail their
scholarships, majority continued to pursue careers in science and research (Hasan, Khilnani & Luthra,
2013). Despite this, it is imperative that in order to attract candidates with the appropriate level of
knowledge and aptitude for teaching, a thorough evaluation of the National Eligibility Test (NET) is
required.
In addition, over the last 60 years, a policy of positive discrimination aimed at the reduction of social
disparities has resulted in the reservation of 50 percent of the seats in educational institutions for
students and faculty from SC/ST and OBC groups
49
(Viswanathan, 2011). These teachers also get
automatic fast-track promotions. There are some concerns regarding this policy and how it
compromises standards of teaching and learning, but opinions are divided in this regard. Sometimes
the reserved category faculty, who are recruited on diluted merit criteria
50
, do not meet the
required standards of quality. When merit is thus diluted, students (including those from reserved
social categories) who study under such teachers are naturally at a disadvantage. Hence, this policy
actually works to the detriment of students from disadvantaged classes.

47
http://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/regulations/revised_finalugcregulationfinal10.pdf
48
http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/college-and-university/article2361922.ece
49
15 percent for Scheduled Castes (SC); 7.5 percent for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 27.5 percent for Other Backward Classes
(OBC)
50
http://ugcnetonline.in/ugc_net_objective_mode.php

P a g e | 39

In terms of faculty, The shortage of qualified applicants for teaching positions from the reserved
category, leave those vacancies unfilled. As a consequence, the teacher-student ratio increases and with
it, the teachers workload.
51

Faculty shortage and the increase in student enrolments have had a deleterious effect on teachers
workload. According to the latest data published by UGC
52
, as many as 5,707 teaching posts out of
the 15,573 sanctioned ones are lying vacant across the Central Universities that is over one-third of
the total sanctioned posts.
With the expansion of the education sector, there is pressure on the supply of faculty. Shortage of
funds and other regulations compel colleges to hire teachers on contractual or, worse, Clock Hour
appointments. Their job conditions (e.g. salary, job security) are quite precarious and often
exploitative. Recent pay revisions have failed to address the plight of a majority of these ad-hoc
teachers, whose remuneration is far less than those of permanent teachers for the same kind and
amount of work.
According to several college principals there are high- and poor-performing students in both
categories (general and reserved). Nevertheless, students from reserved categories tend initially to
have more difficulties because of language barriers. Many were taught in regional languages and
have difficulties with English (the language currently used for science teaching at undergraduate and
postgraduate levels). Some students from the reserved categories also appear to have more
difficulties with subjects that require mathematical skills. In Delhi University and Miranda House
College, additional English courses have been introduced to address this problem. Educational
materials such as books and notes have been translated into Hindi
53
.
Additionally, there is a great diversity of ability among students in Indian classrooms. Students come
from varied cultural backgrounds; have religious, linguistic and socio-economic differences, each of
which can influence their learning outcomes. This heterogeneity forces teachers to adjust the level of
their lectures to meet the needs of the poor-performing students. Standards are necessarily lowered
in the first year courses. According to several principals, if well guided, these poor-performing
students tend to pick up and meet higher standards. But this is not always the case and therefore
provisions need to be made to ensure that under-performing students have the required support to
improve, without hampering the quality of education delivered to other students.
In 2006, after the introduction of reservation for OBCs and in order to keep the number of seats of
the general category unchanged, the government proposed the expansion of admissions capacity in
all existing universities and colleges. Today, educational institutions like Delhi University (DU) and its
affiliated colleges are struggling with an increased number of under-graduate and post-graduate
students. Admissions went up without adequate planning: The increase in the number of seats was
not accompanied by a proportional rise in faculty and infrastructure 2,700 faculty had to be hired in
the space of three years. This represents an increase of 25 percent (D.U. has 8500 faculty members),

51
From the interview with a Principle from a reputed science college in Mumbai.
52
http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/0342004_vacant-position-CU-as-on-01-01-2014.pdf
53
From an Interview with Dr. Pratibha Jolly, Principal of Miranda House College

P a g e | 40
posing a serious recruitment challenge due to the shortage of qualified faculty. Often open-category
faculty seats cannot be filled unless the reserved ones are already filled. This compromises the quality of
education.
54

Nevertheless, our visits and interactions with faculty revealed that many teachers are actively
engaged with their students and do their best to overcome several barriers, and deliver quality
education. For students they are a source of inspiration. Many teachers go out of their way to ensure
that their students have access to high quality educational material. An example of this is the Botany
library at Ruia College, Mumbai, where teachers and students created a cooperative from their own
financial resources to buy books and other educational materials
55
.
All these factors can be summarised as a severe lack of recognition of the contributions of the
teaching profession. This lack of recognition has undermined the teaching profession for many
decades fostering a culture of doing the least possible. This frame of mind has been damaging
education in India. Teachers do not have the freedom to take initiatives and innovate. It is not so much a
problem of the quality of teachers, but rather their low motivational levels and lack of accountability.
56

This scenario will only change with programmes and policies that aim to revamp the teaching
profession.
Summing up, the high focus on examinations and mechanical content delivery; the poor quality of
some teacher training and refresher programmes; weak pedagogy; the systems inability to pin
accountability on the stakeholders; teachers working conditions and their low motivational level, as
well as flawed reservation policies have shaped the poor outcomes in science education in Indian
colleges.
3.3. Inadequate infrastructure and facilities
Inadequate infrastructure
Infrastructure is a crucial physical support to the educational activity for it provides the physical
environment where students and teachers work and interact. The lack of adequate infrastructure
emerged as one of the main problems in attracting students to science education. The current state
of infrastructure in colleges varies widely from college to college. Minority-run and womens colleges,
and colleges managed by private trusts appeared to be better funded and better equipped than the
rest. This could be a direct consequence of increased administrative and financial freedom combined
with good management practices.
Contrary to expectations, even NAAC accredited A grade colleges suffer from lack of infrastructure.
With expansion and the creation of new courses, classrooms have been converted to laboratories;
some of these laboratories do not follow the minimum safety standards (e.g. adequate ventilation,
showers and fire extinguishers, large and non-obstructed exits, etc).

54
From an interview with Professor H. P. Singh, Proctor of Delhi University
55
From an interview with two students who are doing their 2
nd
year B.Sc., from Ruia College.
56
From an interview with Fr. Dr. Mascarenhas from St. Xaviers College in Mumbai.

P a g e | 41

In an A grade college, we had a Biotechnology laboratory with poor ventilation, and no personal
protection equipment no gloves or glasses. We buy our own lab coats. There is only one fire
extinguisher in the ground floor.
57
If this is the case of colleges considered among the best, one
cannot but wonder the state of infrastructure in other colleges.
The principal author of this report visited several laboratories and classrooms in different colleges in
urban areas. In some of these colleges, infrastructure was old but generally well kept. Some of the
classrooms were dark, poorly ventilated and dilapidated, creating an environment hardly pleasant or
conducive to learning/teaching, while other colleges were better equipped.
Environmental psychology has extensively reported the impact of the surrounding environment on
the capacity to focus and learn (e.g. Sommer & Olsen, 1980; Horne, 2004; Hunter, 2005).
Instrumentation
As regards instrumentation, colleges are equipped to a greater or lesser extent with the instruments
required to conduct practicals. Nevertheless, when it comes to more sophisticated instrumentation
(high cost and high maintenance), faculty and postgraduate students often resort to creating
informal networks between colleges and other institutions. In such cases, postgraduate students
may request formal permission to use instruments available in other colleges or research institutions
against the payment of a certain fee.
The universities of Madras and Delhi have made available central instrumentation facilities free of
charge to all their affiliated colleges. For example, the DU has recently opened a Rs 500 crore state-
of-the-art centralised laboratory facility with 20 instruments. This platform is oversubscribed and
postgraduate students from DU often have to wait 2-3 weeks to get permission to run their samples.
DU is planning to open two more state-of-the-art instrumentation centres. Mumbai University does
not have such a platform; each department is equipped with certain instruments that can be used by
affiliated colleges on an informal basis on personal request. There is no regulation regarding the use
of these instruments. These facilities are mainly used by teachers/researchers and postgraduate
students. Researchers and students also use the paid services of private research laboratories to run
their samples.
As mentioned above, apart from central instrumentation facilities, colleges have their own
instruments to conduct practicals and research. The state of these instruments varies widely amongst
colleges. In some cases students and faculty have reported that instruments are not in good working
conditions (multimeters and spectro-photometers that give absurd readings; microscopes with
defective optical system, to name a few). This was observed in government, private as well as
minority-run institutions.
Apart from classrooms and laboratories, the state of libraries and study rooms also varies
significantly from college to college. Some students mentioned the absence of a good and quiet
environment conducive to study. In general, the private- and minority-run colleges visited in the
context of this study, appear to have better infrastructure than the government-run colleges.

57
From an interview with a student who is doing her final (third) year B.Sc. (confidentiality requested)

P a g e | 42
Recently, the UGC has been awarding substantial grants for infrastructure renewal and acquisition of
instruments to all colleges identified as Colleges with Potential for Excellence (CPE). While this
programme has had a positive impact in a few top colleges, many other colleges are still left with very
little support from UGC, central and state governments
58
.
3.4. Inadequate funding
The lack of adequate funding is a very serious obstacle to the quality of education. The debates on
funding and financial autonomy have generated much controversy both in the political and public
realms. There is an overriding fear that education will become a profiteering activity, which could
lower its quality and become inadvertently a vehicle for socio-economic discrimination.
Principals and teachers interviewed for this study have identified the following obstacles to adequate
funding:
Low fee structure in colleges;
Excessive bureaucratic control over funding and expenditure;
Time-lag between the fund/grant awards and their actual availability for expenditure;
Tight and irrational regulation that rules out alternate and innovative fund raising activities.
Low fee structure in colleges
The low fee structure which aims to provide equitable access to higher education does not even
cover 20 percent of the expenditure of universities
59
. The problem is that 75 percent of the
government subsidies for higher education are essentially used to pay faculty salaries and pensions
leaving very little for the improvement and rejuvenation of educational infrastructure and general
facilities.
Many colleges run self-financed courses where the fee structure is higher; ideally this would be a way
to increase their own funds. Nevertheless, these fees are also regulated and often are merely enough
to pay faculty on a contractual basis. The case of St. Xaviers College in Mumbai illustrates this very
clearly: St. Xaviers was until last year (2010) running a M.Sc. programme in Biotechnology for an annual
fee of Rs 23,000 per student. This course had a maximum of 20 students. Without any government
funding, this does not even pay teachers salaries, let alone the required consumables and maintenance
of infrastructure. This year the fees were raised to Rs 43000, but this is still not sufficient.
60
This is a
matter of concern as St Xaviers is one of the best science colleges in Mumbai. If they are facing these
difficulties one cannot but wonder about the difficulties faced by other colleges.

58
There are other schemes as well, like, , Star College Schemes by DBT,
http://www.dbtindia.nic.in/proposals/Areas/HRD/Star/star_colleges_in_life_sciences.htm
59
National Knowledge Commission, Note on higher education, 29th November 2006
60
From an interview with Fr. Dr. F. Mascarenhas, St Xaviers College.

P a g e | 43

At the same time, affordability is indeed an issue in rural and semi-rural colleges. In my college, 70
percent of the students (total of 1700) come from the extremely poor socio-economic background. In
2010, none of these students could afford to pay even the subsidised fee.
61

Excessive bureaucratic control over funding and expenditure
The allocation of funds and the over bureaucratisation of expenditure is another obstacle to the
management of educational institutions: The allocation of government and UGC funds does not allow
for flexibility in fund use especially in areas of pressing need.
62

Time lag between the fund awards and their actual availability for expenditure
Some faculty mentioned the time lag between the award of funds and their availability for immediate
expenditure, as an example: The UGC sends funds in batches. Departments cannot predict the arrival
of these disbursements, which creates a problem for the use of these funds, which usually come with
tight deadlines, even if the funds come sooner or later.
63

Tightly regulated sector that rules out fund raising activities
It is a widely acknowledged fact that the central funding mechanism for higher educational
institutions disproportionately favours the central universities despite the state universities bearing
far heavier burden of student enrolments (Yashpal Committee Report, 2009). Besides, funding in
state higher education is currently done on an ad-hoc basis, is poorly coordinated, plagued by
excessive bureaucracy. Instead of receiving block grants from the states that facilitate better
utilisation of funds, institutions at times receive item-wise allocations that make it cumbersome to
use all the funds.
Well-equipped classrooms, laboratories, libraries and computer rooms are crucial to create a
conducive environment to ensure high quality of education. Practicals and research laboratories
require expensive consumables and instrumentation. The maintenance costs of laboratories are
often covered by UGC grants. Computers and instrumentation are financed by other UGC grants.
Instrumentation is also financed by grants from the Department of Science and Technology (DST),
namely the Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure in Higher Educational Institutions (FIST)
64
.
The data from the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation on the nature of expenditure
by state universities shows that only 10 percent of their total expenditure is spent on capital works.
The major chunk of their expenditure goes towards salaries of academic staff.
The Yashpal Committee Report (2009) advises that:
Complementary sources of funding will have to be found even for state funded universities;

61
From an interview with a Principal (requested confidentiality) from a college in Maharashtra.
62
Adapted from the interview with Dr. Srinavas, Principal of Presidency College. Chennai
63
Adapted from the interview with Dr. R. DSouza, Vice-Principal Science at Sophias College, Mumbai
64
For more details, visit http://www.fist-dst.org/

P a g e | 44
Funding agencies must provide block grants against a plan and universities must be allowed to
spend them according to their priorities, subject to the plan;
Universities must be able to hire professional fundraisers and professional investors to attract
funding from non-government sources;
Universities must be freed from the constraints imposed by funding agencies to obtain approvals
for every single post.
At present universities are penalised for raising resources from donors by the system of matching
deductions from their grants-in-aid. The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (MHRD, 2013), a
centrally sponsored mission to provide a new impetus to higher educational institutions at the state
level, advocates normative and performance linked funding which would lead to better utilisation of
public funds, increase transparency and accountability within the system and also improve the
performance of universities. However, as stated by both the Yashpal Committee Report (2009) and
RUSA (MHRD, 2013), state funding may not be enough for institutions to expand their infrastructure
and progress towards excellence.
The list put forward in the report of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) Committee On
Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions, 2005, identified sources of funds such as fees (both
special fee and tuition fee) to be collected from the students; creation of endowments; corpus funds
to be generated; alumni be contacted for fund-raising, donations and setting up of funding agencies.
The revenue that is obtained from various sources may be utilised for purposes such as maintenance
of infrastructure; travel grants for teachers to participate in conferences, seminars, etc; extra-
curricular activities sending students for participation in competitions; social and family welfare of
teachers like meeting the medical expenses, educational expenses for their family; student welfare,
such as scholarships to be offered to economically backward and meritorious students, medals to be
instituted for toppers in academics, etc. (CABE Report, 2005)
Consideration for students financial difficulties
Students from economically weak backgrounds face serious financial difficulties during their studies.
Once the admission fees are paid, these students still have to ensure funds for transportation, daily
meals and educational aids. In some cases students contribute financially to the family income and
take up part-time employment. Often financial difficulties lead students to abandon their studies mid-
way and search for jobs. Some are also forced to pursue other degree options (where the admission
fees are lower)
65
. Teachers who were interviewed mentioned that some of these students are often
exhausted due to their non-academic burdens and have little time to study. Their academic
performance is therefore seriously affected. Few manage to reconcile both studies and part-time
jobs. Scholarship programmes are mainly targeting exceptional talent. Average performing students
do not have access to scholarships.

65
E.g : A student (from Ruia College, Mumbai) interviewed said that with a Diploma in pharmacy, he was not able to get a
job because he was not a graduate. Additionally, he was not able to pursue B. Pharm. due to his familys poor financial
status. He is now enrolled in a B.Sc. programme.

P a g e | 45

Students will follow basic science only if they feel it is
relevant and needed for society. This feedback is given by the
market (through employment opportunities) and by the way
society values science education. Society does not have a
perception of the need of a skilled workforce in the field of
basic sciences capable of pushing Indias socio-economic
development forward.
Dr. Chitra Natarajan,
Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai
The function of an educational institution is to offer need-based support to a student in his / her
personal and academic development, ensuring that by the end of the study, the student has acquired
a solid foundation and the required skills to become a good professional. In view of this, the
education system needs to become more inclusive and students of average performance should also
be given an opportunity to develop their talents.
The actual structure of student loans needs to be revised. In many cases the submission and approval
processes take far too long and banks request collaterals to support the loan in case of default.
According to some students, many families cannot offer collaterals. In some cases friends or
acquaintances eligible for loans will ask for a percentage of the loan in return for their favour. In their
present form student loans are not a real option for many students. So far there is no interaction
between colleges and banks to establish a platform for student loans.
The UGC has an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks Association
(IBA) to provide educational loans. There are loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh for studies in India. Loans below
Rs 4 lakh do not require collaterals. These loans are to be paid in a period of 5-7 years, with grace
period of 1 year after completion of studies.
66
The UGC has a Post-graduate Merit Scholarship
program, for 1
st
rankers of B.Sc. degrees, of Rs 24,000 per year for two years, for pursuing M.Sc.
degree (UGC website). The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has two scholarship
programmes for undergraduate studies (Rs 12,000 per year for 3 years) and postgraduate studies (Rs
24,000 per year for 2 years). This is a programme with 50 percent reservation for women. To be
eligible for this scholarship, students must be at or above the cut-off of 80 percent in the Class XII
Board exams.
3.5. Low employability and limited career options for students
Employability is a theme that
encompasses diverse dimensions. The
youth unemployment rate in India is
five times the rate of adults (10.3
percent versus 2.1 percent), indicating
that the transition from school to
working life is often difficult
67
. Add to
this the perception that B.Sc. degrees
are frequently perceived by society as
the poor cousins of engineering and
medical sciences
68
. The reason behind
this is that basic science degrees
hardly give access to high paying jobs. Pursuing basic sciences often requires substantial time and

66
http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/Educational-Loan.aspx
67
OECD India Brochure 2012- http://www.oecd.org/about/publishing/IndiaBrochure2012.pdf
68
This was a point that was brought up even in the ORF Roundtable.

P a g e | 46
financial investment in M.Sc. and PhD programmes to actually get a job either as a teacher or as a
researcher. The competition to apply for M.Sc. and PhD programmes at the few top research
institutions is already very high. Therefore for most students, parents and society in general, there
are very few remunerative options when pursuing science as a career. Owing to the greater
affordability and access to job securing professional courses in urban centres like Mumbai, several
colleges in our study reported a dip in the number of student enrolments in basic sciences. For
example, some science departments at the Institute of Science, Mumbai, identified as a college with
Potential for Excellence, have registered a decrease of nearly 50 percent in enrolment numbers when
compared to a decade ago.
The poor conceptualisation, delivery and outcome of the 3-year undergraduate programmes in India
are partially to blame for the poor employment prospects of science graduates. Hence, for many
students, basic sciences are 2
nd
and 3
rd
choices, following a refused admission in engineering or
medical sciences. These students are often less motivated or interested in acquiring knowledge in the
basic sciences. The B.Sc. degree is often the minimum eligibility criterion -- a mere passport to jobs
and that too, in an unrelated field. Nevertheless, there are a few students who are passionate for
basic sciences and research, and that in spite of difficulties wish to pursue a career in these fields. These
constitute, nearly 10 percent of the students batch in every course. They are very motivated and actively
participate in classroom discussions
69
.
The problem of the lack of interest towards basic sciences is a socio-cultural problem above all.
Students will follow basic science only if they feel it is relevant and needed for society. This feedback is
given by the market (through employment opportunities) and by the way society values science
education. Society does not have a perception of the need of a skilled workforce in the field of basic
sciences capable of pushing Indias socio-
economic development forward.
70

Low employability of fresh pass-outs is a
dramatic reality in not just in Science but all of
the three- year undergraduate Arts, Science
and Commerce streams. TeamLease is a
staffing firm that claims that it only hires 5
percent of its job applicants. In 40 percent of
the cases, the rejected applicants need more
than a year of repair or up-lift to make
them ready for a job in the areas of language
abilities, practical and communication skills,
confidence and work ethics
71
.
Many colleges have placement cells; these units
establish a bridge between future employers

69
From an interview with Dr. R. DSouza, Vice-Principal Science at Sophias College.
70
From an interview with Dr. C. Natarajan from Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
71
Private conversation with staffing agency
Picture Courtesy: Gary Varvel
(http://iamstem.ucdavis.edu/2013/07/29/college-majors-and-
unemployment-georgetown/)

P a g e | 47

(industry/ research institutions) and their students. The placement cell organises on-campus
interviews for students. B.Sc IT, Computer Science, Statistics are the most sought after...followed by
Mathematics and Physics...Companies look for students with good communication skills, personality and
good performance in group discussion and personal interview.... even the offers they get have poor
pay, says Devi Prasad, placement officer with Jhunjhunwala College, Mumbai. According to some of
the students interviewed, not all B.Sc. degrees are equally targeted for placement: Applied sciences
like biotechnology or biochemistry are preferred; subjects such as botany or zoology are not even
targeted. Very few students usually get jobs through the placement cell
72
.
Many employers hire fresh graduates or postgraduates based entirely on their soft skills. Subject
matter expertise appears to be of secondary importance. This is a reflection of the point discussed
above on the dissociation of curricula and syllabi from the job and market needs. There is a serious
disconnect between academia, industry and research institutions (public and private). The low
employability of fresh graduates has led to the introduction of the 4-year degree course in Delhi
University to achieve a better balance between theory and practice, for better scope in research-
based studies intended to enhance the employment potential of students
73
. Students have the
opportunity of studying informatics, languages, management, among others. High emphasis is given
to the development of communication skills. Students have to present research papers, deliver a
seminar lecture and organise workshops/conferences.
According to some of the students interviewed, their perception of future career opportunities
before choosing their undergraduate programmes was very limited. Apart from personal interest
that leads a few to do some job-market research, students are frequently uninformed about career
options and tend to make their choices based on mob mentality.
Many do not have any long term plans. Even during graduation some complain that very little
proactive action is taken on the part of the college to increase the awareness levels of students and
parents regarding their future career options. Nevertheless, some students have also mentioned the
great support given by teachers to help them with long term career planning. There are a few
colleges that have implemented a mentoring system where either a teacher is assigned to guide a
few students (3-5) or where students choose their mentors. Teachers and students have been
unanimous in affirming the benefits of a mentoring system.

72
From an interview with students doing their 2
nd
year B.Sc. in Botany from a College in Mumbai (confidentiality requested)
73
http://www.du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/Events/APamphlet.pdf

P a g e | 48
Every great advance in
science has issued from
a new audacity of
imagination.

John Dewey
4. REVAMPING SCIENCE EDUCATION:
ADDRESSING THE CRITICAL BARRIERS

P a g e | 49

here is a broad consensus that the education system in India needs to be reformed. Over the
last 60 years many of the same old problems have been identified and many of the same old
recommendations have been put forward. The lack of effective implementation of many of
these recommendations has led to small incremental changes, and overall, to a few effective
changes. Many agree that we need a disruptive and constructive change capable of revamping the
whole system and of making it more effective and relevant to meet the present needs of society.
While some of our recommendations echo those made by the National Knowledge Commission
Report and Yashpal Committee reports, others carry the fresh voice of the main stakeholders:
students, teachers, educators and employers. Here is a quick glance at the recommendations made
by the National Knowledge Commission (NKC Report, 2008):
Issues Recommendations
Poor quality and shortage of adequate
infrastructure
Invest in upgrading and expanding existing
infrastructure, promote sharing of resources
Poor working conditions and lack of recognition
Revitalize the teaching profession to attract and retain
quality teachers
Poor pedagogy fostering unimaginative rote
learning
Revamp teacher training
Courses are highly compartmentalised
Promote career flexibility: modular four year B.Sc. for
integrated M. Sc and Ph.D
Curricula are overloaded with content, poor
demonstration of applications and poor hands-on
learning.
Reform curriculum content increase research
component
Examination system promotes memorisation
instead of creative thinking and problem solving
Reform the examination system, promote continuous
assessment
Science educational materials are mainly in English,
and quality varies widely
Disseminate high quality science educational materials
in regional languages
Limited career options: Teaching and Research;
Financial unattractiveness and lack of social
recognition
Re-brand and promote careers in basic sciences
Wide declining interest in sciences
Launch massive outreach science programs targeting
students and parents
Poor industry participation in Science Education Encourage industry participation in science education

Table 6: Recommendations made by National Knowledge Commission
Source: NKC Report, 2008

T

P a g e | 50
A quick glance at the recommendations of the report of The Committee to Advise on Renovation
and Rejuvenation of Higher Education (Yashpal Committee 2009):

Issues Recommendations
Compartmentalisation of disciplines and subjects
fragmentation of knowledge
Promote interdisciplinary environments Each
university should cover sciences, humanities and arts
Design curricula to allow interdisciplinary crossing
between subjects
Divide between teaching and research
Promote interaction and exchange programmes
between teachers and researchers
Poor pedagogic quality
Improve the quality of academic staff refresher courses:
focus more on communication and assessment skills
Shortage of good teachers
Improve working conditions to attract and retain good
teachers
Lack of adequate funding
Create more scholarships programmes and special loans
for students
Change regulations to promote philanthropy and allow
block grants.
Poor governance under-management
Introduce programmes in education management and
separate academic administration from general
administration
Lack of academic and administrative freedom
Grant academic and administrative autonomy to
educational institutions
Multiplicity of regulatory systems
Create a single National Commission for Higher
Education and Research (NCHER)

Table 7: The Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education Report
Source: Yashpal Committee 2009

P a g e | 51

4.1. Strengthening the university system
The governance system in higher education has not kept pace with the massive expansion of colleges
from 700 in 1950 to over 30,000 colleges in 2012
74
. As a consequence of disproportionate affiliation
(too many colleges under one university) the administrative burden of universities has grown and the
quality of education has suffered. Table 8 presents some examples of Indian universities that have
too many affiliated colleges.

University Number of Colleges
Osmania University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 901
Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra 811
Bangalore University, Karnataka 687
Mumbai University, Mumbai, Maharashtra 711
Andhra University, Andhra Pradesh 614

Table 8: Universities with the largest number of affiliated colleges
Source: University Grants Commission, 2012
Education in Indian colleges is in a curious state of deadlock; universities are incapable of uplifting
their affiliated colleges and colleges do not have the power to lift themselves up. The result is that
standards remain low and the appetite for excellence is being completely destroyed. If this tendency
is to be reversed, two possible solutions emerge from this scenario: 1) the breakup of universities to a
more manageable size and/or 2) increasing independence of colleges from their affiliating
universities.
The first solution would imply that University of Mumbai, for example, would be divided into four
independent universities, each with its affiliated colleges. Given that this solution would require
significant restructuring, a more detailed discussion of this subject is out of the scope of this report.
The second solution concerns autonomy of colleges, an idea that has been under discussion for the
last 40 years, and has generated much debate ever since. To better understand the debate on
autonomy, a brief historical perspective is presented below (Rao, 2008):
In 1968 the Kothari Commission underlined the structural weaknesses of the affiliating
system, its impact on education with the growing expansion of educational institutions, and
the need to bring in autonomy to colleges in a phased manner.
In 1978, 12 colleges in Tamil Nadu were awarded academic autonomy.
In 1984, there were 21 autonomous colleges across 5 states.

74
http://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/pub/report/12.pdf

P a g e | 52
There is a deep intellectual reason for academic
autonomy and that is to teach the right things so that
students learn how to learn.
Prof. Shobo Bhattacharya,
TIFR, Mumbai
In 1986 the Programme of Action for the National Policy on Education recommended that 500
colleges should be made autonomous during the Seventh Five Year Plan period (1985-1990).
In 1990, the Ramamurthy Committee revised the NPE-1986 and re-endorsed the need to
increase the number of autonomous colleges.
In 2003 the UGC issued a circular to all universities on Autonomous Colleges: Criteria,
Guidelines and Patterns of Assistance, highlighting the need to bring some flexibility in
higher education by introducing academic autonomy, and blaming the rigidity of the system
for the previous failures in attempting to implement autonomy.
In 2005, the Central Advisory Board of Education committee has issued a set of
recommendations to both universities and colleges regarding autonomy, and the preparatory
steps for its successful implementation (for details see CABE report, 2005).
As of January 2014, only 455 out of a total of 30,000 plus colleges were autonomous
75
. In spite of 40
years of recommending autonomy, only a very small percentage (approximately 1.2 percent) of
colleges are autonomous. This scenario may be explained by the scepticism and fear that autonomy
has been evoking. For many teachers and non-academic staff, autonomy is often a synonym of
financial difficulties, more exacting work conditions, nepotism, loss of credibility (caused by no longer
being affiliated to a reputed university) and resulting lower educational standards. These fears, in our
view have built a powerful lobby against autonomy.
Thirty years of experience of academic autonomy in Tamil Nadu has shown that autonomous colleges
reached higher quality standards of education (Rao, 2008). Colleges with academic and
administrative freedom are doing far
better and have more credibility among
the education community and the
society in general. Some success
indicators are: participative decision-
making; implementation of quality
assurance programmes to ensure the
quality of education and the
accountability of both faculty and
administrators to the process; fully
operational working partnerships with other institutions, industries and private companies (Rao,
2008). The results show therefore that fears of low educational standards and lack of accountability
are unjustified in the context of autonomy.
Ramnarain Ruia College of Mumbai was recently conferred the College of Excellence status by the
UGC (February, 2014). It has become the first and only college in the country to have been accorded
this status. In this regard, Principal Dr Suhas Pednekar commented that Research at the
undergraduate level will benefit greatly from this recognition. While academic autonomy is our next aim,

75
http://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/colleges/autonomous_colleges-list.pdf

P a g e | 53

UGC should take the initiative of conferring autonomy themselves on colleges they feel have the
potential to sustain the autonomy.
76
Dr Pednekar was thus indicating the inclinations of some of
Mumbais best colleges towards autonomy.
The revamping of the College of Engineering in Pune after being granted autonomy provides a very
interesting case study advocating for the benefits of autonomy
77
. Here is an extract from the study
titled How a historical engineering college is getting transformed through autonomy: The saga of
change began since the grant of autonomy in 2004 and through the active involvement and support of
eminent Board of Governors of the institute, several measures were undertaken at the academic,
administrative and managerial levels, making a complete turn-around and the college is now close to
achieving excellence like IITs.
78

Some of the principals and teachers participating in our study were from autonomous colleges. All
were unanimous in declaring that there was an increase in the workload, but that the decision
towards autonomy was absolutely necessary to improve and maintain quality. Participation in
decision making and freedom were compensatory factors, especially given the final results: higher
motivation and engagement of both students and staff, and the academic and social recognition of
the quality of their work.
Many of the reforms associated with autonomy in the financial and administrative domains have
generated much debate and have been difficult to implement
79
. Some of the academic reforms are
also not free from controversy. Nevertheless, freedom to reform curricula and the assessment
system are two critical aspects that can significantly improve the quality of education. These are two
aspects that can be accepted without much controversy. It is an experiment worth trying.
Academic autonomy means colleges would have the freedom and flexibility to -- design and
restructure syllabi; create, implement and adopt innovative teaching strategies; decide on
introduction of subjects; decide and alter assessment methods, among others. Academic autonomy
will involve the creation of independent boards of studies in each college to design curricula and
syllabi.
The shortage of faculty in some departments
80
raises concerns on the capacity of these to setup
operational boards of studies. In some colleges, many teachers question their own capacity to design
curricula and evaluation system that will meet the highest standards of quality. These concerns can
be effectively addressed by the creation of a support platform for the preparation of colleges for
autonomy.

76
http://www.hindustantimes.com/hteducation/educationnews/ruia-college-granted-status-of-excellence-first-in-
india/article1-1188347.aspx
77
Leena Chandran-Wadia & Aparna Sivakumar, researchers at ORF Mumbai, are currently in the process of releasing a
report titled Excellence through Autonomy: Sharing the experience of College of Engineering Pune: 2004-2014 that
discusses the success story of CoEP in detail.
78
Extracted from document How a historical engineering college is getting transformed through autonomy Retrieved
from http://iucee.org (Indo-US Collaboration for Engineering Education website).

79
Admission policy and fee structure, among others.
80
Some operate with one or two teachers

P a g e | 54
Creation of small college clusters
One possibility that may lead to good results is the creation of small college clusters: a system of
mentorship between one autonomous college institution and two or three colleges in the vicinity. In
this model, autonomous colleges and renowned institutions (parent institutions) will mentor the
colleges preparing for autonomy. The idea behind it would be to provide faculty training programmes
on best practices in education, as well as administrative staff training programmes on best practices
in administration. Special grants and other performance incentives should be awarded to the parent
institutions and the faculty involved for this purpose, and adequate follow up and assessment
mechanisms should be put in place to ensure the up-lifting of these colleges. The parent institutions
having successfully contributed to the improvement of two-tier colleges should receive additional
performance incentives.

According to some of the principals interviewed, not all colleges are prepared, or would be prepared
in the near future, to engage in this process of autonomy. Some colleges located in rural areas owe
their prestige to their affiliation to a well-established and recognised university e.g. Pune University.
In such cases, faculty and non-academic staff fear that autonomy would hurt the prestige of the
college
81
. There seems to be a general consensus that rural colleges are not yet prepared to engage in
the process of autonomy, mainly because of financial and faculty shortage constraints. Nevertheless,
some believe that this could change in the long run
82
. These and all other concerns need to be taken
seriously and discussed in a constructive and sensible way.

81
From an interview with a principal from a college in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra
82
From an interview with Dr S.K. Pawar, Principal of SRMM College, Sindhudurga district, Maharashtra.
Model of college clusters
1. Selection of a parent institution and three colleges in the vicinity with NAAC accredited C
grade or higher ranking.
2. Creation of common boards of studies.
3. Creation of a committee to plan and oversee the transition for autonomy.
4. In the following academic year, autonomy is awarded to the three colleges.
5. For the next two years, the colleges will continue to be part of the cluster, functioning with
common boards of studies. At the end of each semester there will be an internal evaluation
for course correction.
6. After two years the cluster is ready to be dismantled. Each college will then take up three
more colleges, in an identical system as previously described.

P a g e | 55

Easing the bottleneck at the postgraduate level
Apart from conferring colleges and universities with academic, administrative and financial
autonomy, efforts also need to be urgently directed towards easing the bottleneck that is
encountered by students seeking admissions at the postgraduate level. Trends show that
even some of the premier universities like Mumbai and Delhi provide limited seats of the
respective specialisation at the post-graduate level. This is neither compatible with the
ambitious goals of the SAC-PM to exponentially increase the number of researchers, nor with
the goal of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to raise the GER in higher
education from the present 19 percent to 30 percent by 2020. Seen from a holistic
perspective, it is this talent pool of core S&T human resources that will provide India with its
future science educators, science communicators and researchers. Therefore, it is imperative
that the academically-oriented students are encouraged to pursue higher studies and
research, and that adequate opportunities be provided for the same. Universities should be
empowered to be responsive and cater to the fluctuating needs of candidates who wish to
pursue a postgraduate degree course in their respective field of study and specialisation.

Recommendations
Colleges with NAAC accreditation A or higher should take on the mentorship of a cluster
of colleges in the vicinity.
Award academic autonomy to 20 percent of the best science colleges (rated by NAAC as
A or higher), each year, to design their own curricula, syllabi, and assessment system.
Implement stringent transparency and accountability standards. Curricula and evaluation
policy should be made available in the public domain (e.g. college website).
Create a support structure for autonomy, by providing consultancy, assistance and
sharing of best practices to all institutions in preparation for autonomy. These can be
built with faculty from autonomous colleges with proven record of high quality, as well as
faculty from other institutions like IITs, IIMs, IISc, among others.
Organise awareness workshops (for teaching, non-teaching staff, students, parents) on
the benefits of autonomy and how to prepare for it (this part should be aimed mainly at
teaching and non-teaching staff).

P a g e | 56
4.2. Improving leadership
The issue of leadership in academia has been widely debated (Brundrett, Burton & Smith, 2003).
Leadership is the key factor in the functioning of any organisation: Leadership style of college
principals affects the ethos of the organisation, which in turn could affect its performance (Drodge,
2002 in Muijs et al, 2006).
While in the private sector, leadership has been formally recognised as a key factor to ensure the
sustainability of an organisation, very little importance has been given to it in the Indian public sector,
where leaders often are chosen strictly on the basis of service seniority. The same problem applies to
education at all levels. Revamping of science education requires strong and visionary leadership, not
only from principals, but also from teachers (who are leaders in their classrooms). Students expect
their teachers to be leaders in their classroom; they resent it when it is not the case.
83
Joseph and
Robinson (2014) believe that ensuring planned rotation of roles and responsibilities, coupled with
limiting the tenure of the heads of scientific institutions, and putting young dynamic individuals as
heads would go a long way.
Hallinger (2003) analyses the differences between instructional and transformational leadership.
Instructional leadership, which is a more traditional and top-down approach, is centred on the role of
the principal (often senior faculty with recognised expertise and charisma), and on the goals of the
institution. The quality of education depends mainly on first order variables like curriculum design and
instructional practices. Transformational leadership, a more recent and bottom-up approach, is less
centred on the role of the principal, and more on the individual roles of each member of the staff. In
this style of leadership the quality of education is controlled by the second order variables like staff
capacity building, and their implication on the decision making process (Hallinger, 2003). These
second-order variables are directly linked to the first-order ones. For example, teacher training
programs will impact their instructional practices.
Hallingers studies support the use of an integrated leadership style that makes use of both
instructional and transformational styles according to the context of each school/college (Hallinger,
2003; Muijs et.al, 2006). Though Hallingers study of leadership styles is set in the western context,
we see no reason to believe that the findings may not apply to the Indian context. It certainly
provides for some interesting pointers.
Leadership is a quality that is innate in a very few; however, it can be adequately developed through
appropriate training. In a word, leadership is not intuitive, and seniority is not a guarantee of good
leadership. Informally, what has been happening in educational institutions is that leadership has
been learnt based on role models. If the previous leader was a good leader, and the succeeding
one was close to him / her, there are good chances that the next leader will perform his / her duties
well. On the other hand, leadership can become a disaster without adequate role models for those
who do not possess the innate qualities.

83
Adapted from an interview with Dr. C. Natarajan from HBCSE

P a g e | 57

Every university and every college should have a
department of HR management and faculty
training.
Shri Ashok Kalbag,
Vigyan Ashram

The deficiency of academic leadership is largely owing to the fact that most leadership appointments
in India have been politically motivated and there are not enough number of academicians who have
been groomed to take positions of responsibility in institutions.
4.3. Improving the quality of teaching
Revamping teacher recruitment and training programmes
Professional development of teachers is a key area of research in science education (see articles on
teacher education in science in Abell & Lederman, 2007).
Teacher training programmes need to be improved, to focus not only on domain specific content --
that is, scientific knowledge associated
with each subject -- but also on
pedagogy, educational methodologies
and technology. Some colleges provide
in-house faculty training programmes
for their faculty. For example in each
semester, Loyola College (Chennai)
organises a faculty training program
focused on pedagogy and recent advances on educational methodologies. These are compulsory for
all faculty members (two full days for senior faculty and one week for junior faculty). These
programmes are conducted by external faculty. Other colleges have similar programmes conducted
by their own faculty.
The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) conducts teacher training programmes in
science and mathematics for elementary and high school teachers. In fact, HBCSE also has a website
Recommendations
The higher education sector is greatly in need of a separate cadre of professionals to
manage the administrative affairs of universities and institutions. We therefore recommend
a separate Indian Education Service (IES) on the lines of Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
Incorporate periodic leadership training in faculty training programmes. These should be
conducted by external experts with proven track record in the field of human resources
training.
Visionary leadership can be fostered by organising faculty workshops on best practices in
science education around the world. These should be open to all faculty.
Strong leadership depends on good relational skills; these can also be improved by
adequate training in effective communication.

P a g e | 58
dedicated to just teacher education
84
. The website serves as a platform of discussion, particularly for
those teachers who have attended teacher training programmes at HBCSE, to help them keep
abreast with the latest resources, and to discuss and deliberate on issues pertaining to teacher
education. The website also serves as a repository for teaching resources, useful links and latest news
regarding workshops.
Similarly, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has reached out to more than 10,000 teachers,
particularly those in remote locations, using approximately 300 remote centres where 35-40 teachers
gather for receiving live lectures. In the remote centres, the classes are planned with live courses that
are transmitted through the internet via a platform called A-VIEW in the morning, augmented with
laboratory sessions that are held in the afternoon.
85
These remote centres also function as a
gathering point for teachers from different areas to interact and discuss their work and other shared
interests. This teacher training model that is currently operating for engineering faculty has immense
potential and should be scaled across other fields.

84 http://teacher-ed.hbcse.tifr.res.in/
85 Adapted from the Roundtable Highlights and http://www.nmeict.iitb.ac.in/nmeict/empteachers/newrc.php
Recommendations
Create a national working group of experts with well recognised academic track record to
design state-of-the-art faculty training programmes in the different disciplines of basic and
natural sciences. This programme should be highly focussed on the fundamental core
concepts of each field, and revised every two years to incorporate advances in each field.
Create a national work group of educators to design faculty training programmes in
pedagogy, student psychology, educational methodologies and technology.
Create a science faculty training mission at national level: setting objective and realistic
goals and robust implementation and follow-up mechanisms.
Use the existing platform of refresher courses provided by affiliating colleges but
incorporate the curriculum designed by the national platforms described above.
Create incentives to involve researchers from all centers of excellence in S&T to actively
participate in faculty training programmes as facilitators.
Top science colleges with recognised high quality teaching standards should be
encouraged (through financial and other incentives) to extend their own faculty training
programmes to other colleges, through formalised partnerships.
The recruitment process for teachers should not be restricted to just the qualifying exam
and personal interview. It should comprise of a three to four stage process which can
include group discussions and teaching demos in actual classroom situations.
Young faculty should be mentored by senior faculty.

P a g e | 59

Improving motivational levels of teachers
Teachers motivational levels affect their personal well-being, professional performance, and their
interaction with the students. Motivation appears to be affected by extrinsic and intrinsic factors
(Ryan & Deci, 2000). In the case of teachers motivation, the extrinsic factors are salaries, incentives,
benefits, and job security and the intrinsic factors are sense of self-respect, sense of accomplishment,
and sense of personal/professional growth. Many studies on teachers motivational factors have
been conducted in western countries (e.g. Pastor, 1982; Mustafa, 1996; Neves de Jesus and Lens;
2005). Results suggest that teachers tend to be more motivated by intrinsic factors (Pastor, 1982;
Mustafa, 1996). According to Pastor, teachers appear to measure their job satisfaction by factors
such as participation in decision-making, use of valued skills, freedom and independence, challenge,
expression of creativity, and opportunity for learning. Teachers high internal motivation, work
satisfaction, and high-quality performance depend on three "critical psychological states":
experienced meaningfulness, responsibility for outcomes, and knowledge of results (Pastor, 1982).
Given that motivation may be affected by socio-cultural and socio-economic contexts, these
conclusions provide a mere pointer to the Indian context.
According to a UNESCO report (2006), teachers motivational levels can be enhanced by:
Enhancing teachers status in the community;
Adequate salaries;
Adequate working conditions (e.g. teaching hours, availability of teaching and learning
materials, adequate infrastructure, support of principals and parents);
Certification of in-service capacity building (e.g. training and mentoring);
Prospects of promotion and career advancement.
One strategy to raise teachers motivational levels may be instilling the culture of incentivising or
recognising good performance. Today the prospects of career growth in Indian colleges are largely
associated with seniority and have little to do with meritocracy. This tendency needs to be reversed.
Many other aspects may have a positive effect in motivating teachers: Academic autonomy, faculty
training programmes, adequate funding and infrastructure. These are discussed in the corresponding
sections.

P a g e | 60
4.4. Use of ICT in science education
The development of new technologies of information and communication is transforming teaching
practices and learning environments (Voogt & Knezek Eds., 2008). The Internet has been providing a
global platform for the large scale creation and dissemination of information, free of charge and
available to all. This has led to a metamorphosis in the dynamics of interaction between teachers and
students. We have moved from a unilateral transmission of information (with the teacher as the main
holder of information) to a bilateral exchange (where both teacher and students are holders of
information).
In this new educational environment teachers and students are naturally forced to change their
traditional roles. Teachers have now the opportunity to be the facilitators of knowledge through
mentoring, guiding their students on how-to learn rather than what-to learn. Students, on the other
hand, have today the unique opportunity to create their own blend of knowledge more easily and be
far more actively engaged with their education.
ICT can transform the teaching and learning environment of science education by providing a
multimedia platform for: simulations, animations and other virtual experiences; management
information systems; data capture, processing and interpretation; and publishing and presentation
tools (Osborne & Hennessy, 2003).
Research has shown that ICT use in the classroom can reduce the apathy and distraction levels of
students, as well as increase the students active participation in the classroom and their learning
outcomes. ICT can provide support for the development of scientific reasoning and critical analysis
and thinking skills (Osborne & Hennessy, 2003).
Recommendations
Introduce performance based incentives: grants for research, attendance of conference
or workshops, sabbatical leave, participation in exchange programmes, to name a few.
Teachers outstanding achievements, positively acknowledged by peers, students and
management, should be publicised by colleges, in mainstream sources of
communication (websites and newspapers); this would have a positive impact in
changing societys opinion on teachers and bring recognition.
Teacher appraisal process should be well-rounded which incorporates feedback from
superiors, subordinates, students and peers, often called the 360
appraisal system.
For better accountability and to prevent exploitation of teachers recruited on contract
or clock-hour basis (if and when hired), all faculty duties need to be explicitly defined.
The compensation of contractual or clock-hour basis teachers also needs to be
comparable to the salaries of the permanent faculty of the same grade.

P a g e | 61

So if students have a cryptic language, why not use that?
Dr. Vijay Joshi
Principal, K.J. Somaiya College of Science and Commerce, Mumbai
The development of ICT is a fairly recent phenomenon and many teachers are still unfamiliar with the
use of ICT and its advantages in improving learning outcomes. Using ICT in education is not intuitive;
it requires adequate hands-on training on the use of hardware and software, as well as on the
pedagogic and educational methodologies that involve the use of technology (Osborne & Hennessy,
2003).
ICT can be a leveller. For example, Mexicos use of mobile training units (so called unidades mviles)
provides an interesting model for reaching youth at risk of dropping out or those living in rural areas
with limited opportunities for learning (OECD, 2012). In fact, the principal of KJ Somaiya College of
Science and Commerce, Mumbai, Dr. Vijay Joshi, has been promoting the use of ICT in his college
through conventional (smart
boards, display systems) and
unconventional means (social
networking media, cell
phone). In this regard, he says,
Essentially people feel that the
use of ICT means initial huge
capital expenditure. I dont feel that. There are innovative ways of using ICT for example, we are using
cell phone as a means to do some learning. We developed a database so as to keep throwing questions
on students mobiles. The point is we need to learn their (students) language, instead of making them
come to our levels. So if they have a cryptic language, why not use that?
Over the last two years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have attracted a great deal of
attention worldwide. Many leading universities have partnered with MOOC providers, like Coursera
and EdX, to deliver high-quality online courses, free of charge to millions of students around the
globe. Indian students form a large chunk of these learners. A geospatial analysis of these users,
based on their IP addresses, indicates the vast majority of these users are concentrated in Indias urban
areas, with 61 percent of users located in one of the five largest cities in India and an additional 16
percent of users in the next five largest cities. Mumbai and Bangalore have the largest concentrations of
users, each accounting for 18 percent of Coursera students in India (Christensen & Alcorn, 2013).
Nationally, the Indira Gandhi National Open University has been in the forefront of open and distance
learning. Today, it serves the educational aspirations of about 1.85 million students in India and about
32 other countries. IGNOU imparts the study programmes through 21 Schools of Study, with a
network of 62 regional centres, more than 2050 study centres/ tele-learning centres and around 51
overseas centres. Some of its recent programmes like the IGNOU Sustainable Action and Virtual
Education (SAVE) platform offer a wide range of socially and environmentally relevant courses using
user friendly technology, at reasonable rates, and has the potential to address a wide range of
learners.
86

86 http://www.ignouonline.ac.in/save/howtoregister.aspx

P a g e | 62

4.5. Improving the accountability of teachers and educational
institutions
As mentioned above the lack of accountability of teachers and educational institutions has been
impairing the quality of education.
Note: It has been reported that students who participate in teacher evaluation surveys tend to do it
mechanically, where a few students do it for the whole class
87
. There is also the problem of misuse of
the survey results for vindictive purposes. One way of addressing this problem is to collect surveys
from different batches in order to evaluate by average teachers performance, and establish
mechanisms to protect teachers from misuse of the information.

87
Private conversation with two students of the Madras University in Tamil Nadu
Recommendations
Implement a compulsory and systematic mechanism for collecting and analysing students
feedback. Students feedback must be taken constructively aiming at the improvement of
faculty teaching skills.
Make college and final examination papers available to students for consultation. Provide a
detailed correct answer sheet or correction in the classroom.
Build a pressure group to accelerate the passage of the Bill on National Accreditation
Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (pending since 2010).
Create a national work group with recognised experts in the fields of human resources
management and education to design an accountability system to be implemented in all
colleges. This should ensure the accountability of academic and non-academic staff.
Recommendations
Teachers must be provided laptops and unlimited access to free Internet connection along
with training in effective use of ICT in teaching and research.
Classrooms must be equipped with ICT facilities (PC; projector; screen, smart boards, and
internet access).
Creation of digital course content in various subjects, rendered in creative ways, must be
accorded high priority.

P a g e | 63
Science is not taught as a process but as a set of
derivations that need to be regurgitated. Because of this,
there is total loss of interest for science. Also, in colleges,
there is an obsession with covering the syllabus. In
engineering, however, there is more connection with the
real world.
Prof. Sahana Murthy,
CDEEP, IIT Bombay
4.6 Improving curricula
Curriculum reforms in science education have been extensively debated in the literature (Van den
Akker, 1998; Atkin & Black, 2006). There is an overall consensus that curricula needs to be made far
more relevant to the needs and challenges of society (at national and international levels). The
improvement of curricula should focus on two aspects: content and strategy.
Content
Science curricula at undergraduate level tends to be highly theoretical and very dense in content
(each subject covers nearly all the core concepts of its area). This poses two problems: 1) Theory is
prioritised over application and 2) time constrains do not allow teachers to explore all concepts, in
depth. As a consequence, students are frequently exposed to many concepts but fail to understand
them in depth and explore their application. This structure results in teach more and learn less,
when ideally it should be the other way around: teach less and learn more.
Many core concepts in the fields of basic sciences require time and different approaches to be fully
understood. When the fundamentals are understood, students can study the rest on their own. Many
concepts that are taught in the
classroom will never be used by many
in their professional lives. It seems
therefore that curricula should include
only the core concepts and that these
should be explored in detail and
understood in greater depth. This will
allow students to develop a solid
grounding in different scientific
concepts and provide a background
to further develop their knowledge in
some of those areas at their own
pace, and according to their own needs throughout their professional lives. It is important to keep in
mind that concepts evolve, and in interdisciplinary areas new concepts emerge more often, as
scientific fields develop in different directions. Therefore, curricula should be designed with a
stringent choice of a few but key concepts that will provide the basis for further creation and
integration of knowledge.
In India, curricula are designed by Boards of Studies (BOS). These need to include heads of
departments, teachers, employers (industry and private sector), alumni, researchers and educators
both with expertise on the field in question. This heterogeneous representation is crucial to make
curricula more relevant and in-phase with all the pressing needs and challenges faced by individuals
and societies in the 21
st
Century.

P a g e | 64
Strategy
In spite of a vast body of research in science education leading to the development of new
educational methodologies and pedagogy, especially using ICT, our study indicated that very little is
applied today in most classrooms.
In science education, there is an old but prevailing dogma that students need to acquire all
fundamental knowledge before exploring complex concepts and addressing some of the most
prominent scientific problems that puzzle scientists today (this dogma is called the Pyramid of
Knowledge). In reality very few students get actually exposed to real scientific problems. As a
consequence, many lose their interest in pursuing a scientific career and feel frustrated with the
amount of theory that needs to be absorbed before getting a glimpse of what the real challenges
are. This dogma was recently challenged by Princeton University aiming to revamp their basic science
programmes at undergraduate level.
The Princeton strategy includes the following points (Tilghman, 2010):
Understand what motivates students to become scientists: Addressing the Big Questions
Breaking down the artificial barriers that separate scientific disciplines: The Integrated
Science Curriculum
Fostering early research experience: Laboratorial research projects for undergraduates.
The next section takes a close look at these issues.

P a g e | 65

It is the tension
between creativity and
skepticism that has
produced the stunning
and unexpected
findings of science.

Carl Sagan

5. THE BIG QUESTIONS

P a g e | 66
The most exciting problems that scientists and
engineers face today often do not neatly fit into one of
the foundational sciences but, rather, lie at the
interstices of multiple fields. For example, successful
environmental remediation will require hydrologists,
civil engineers, geoscientists and chemists to work
alongside ecologists.
Shirley Tilghman,
Former President of Princeton University
tudents are attracted to the sciences by their curiosity to understand the world inside, around
and beyond them. Often this curiosity is severely hampered by what Tilghman (November
2010) refers to as the pyramid, the operating metaphor for science education. At the bottom is
a group of foundational factsoften discovered hundreds of years agothat must be learned by
heart. Only after one has successfully assimilated those facts is one allowed to move up the pyramid
to the next set of slightly more complex facts. Tilghman says, these facts are often taught as a
laundry list and from an historical perspective, without much effort to explain their relevance to modern
problems. It will take much perseverance and patience to wait for the revelation on why this is
important (Tilghman, November 2010).
At Princeton the pyramid is being inverted: Starting with the big ideas, encouraging students to think
creatively about these problems and without the support of any educational material or elaborate
hypothesis. Only then will students explore what is written in the books and get acquainted to the
technical language required to follow these discussions: Students are (now) able to understand the
concepts and, most importantly, the ways in which scientists go about designing experiments to test big
ideas (Tilghman, January 2010).
5.1. The integrated science curriculum
The compartmentalisation of scientific disciplines is totally irrelevant for the way 21
st
Century science
is conducted. The most exciting problems that scientists and engineers face today often do not neatly
fit into one of the foundational sciences but, rather, lie at the interstices of multiple fields. For example,
successful environmental remediation will
require hydrologists, civil engineers,
geoscientists and chemists to work alongside
ecologists
88
(Tilghman, January 2010).
In view of this, Professor D. Botstein has
developed an integrated science curriculum
for undergraduate students at Princeton
89
.
He joined a group of senior faculty in
chemistry, physics, and biology and
computer science to bring all the important
ideas and key scientific principles behind
them together. Together they set up a 2-year
course. Their students have now entered the best graduate programmes in the US, and the response
from the scientific community has been tremendously positive. These students are being trained to
work in the interfaces of disciplines.

88
http://www.princeton.edu/president/tilghman/speeches/20100105/
89
http://www.ibiology.org/ibiomagazine/issue-4/david-botstein-an-integrated-science-curriculum-at-princeton.html and
https://www.princeton.edu/integratedscience/
S

P a g e | 67

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune currently has a Centre for Integrative
Studies (CIS)
90
that pursues integration of knowledge, with special emphasis on scientific and
mathematical inquiries. This centre aims at formulating and addressing overarching questions that
liquefy the disciplinary boundaries and facilitate dialogue between and across disciplines.
Laboratory research projects for undergraduates
According to several research studies there is a positive correlation between early research
experience and the likelihood of pursuing a scientific career. Students in their senior year of the
undergraduate programme in Princeton conduct research projects and are expected to write a thesis
based on their results. The early exposure to the research environment will help students to make
decisions about their future either as a career scientist or otherwise. This is a very important issue as
many students have a glamourised vision of research.
The Princeton strategy provides excellent food for thought and a concept that could be implemented
in our colleges. Basic science courses have to include far more interdisciplinary crossing and hands-on
learning, through experimentation and scientific research.
In India, CUBE, an acronym for Collaborative Undergraduate Biology Education, is a community
initiative by HBCSE, TIFR, with the objective of establishing functional linkages across the educational
span, through collaborative research-based program
91
. This may include seminars, workshops,
collaborative research, poster campaigns, etc. Students will gain an insight into the research
practices, and at the same time be exposed to authentic, interdisciplinary and student-centered
learning. Jigyaasa, the undergraduate Science Honours Programme, is one of the most sought after
and innovative in-house academic programmes of KC College, Mumbai
92
. This course comprises
knowledge enhancement, skill enhancement, field visits as well as a research component. Students
are encouraged to pursue a research project, publish their findings, and present their work to their
peer groups and external referees from various industries and academic institutions at an event
called Jigyaasa (which means curiosity for knowledge).

90
http://www.iiserpune.ac.in/research/cis
91
http://cube.metastudio.org
92
Under the leadership of Principal Dr. Manju Nichani, the SHP was launched during the Golden Jubilee year of KC College
(2004-05), to inculcate research culture and personality development amongst undergraduate students.
Recommendations
Design curriculum with less content but with a stringent selection of key, core concepts
from different sciences and knowledge streams.
Foster interaction of experts on science education with faculty through workshops and
partnerships so that colleges can increase their exposure to the advances in education
technology, methodology and pedagogy.
Increase laboratory based hands-on learning experiences and open-ended research
projects at undergraduate level. Research institutes can replicate CUBE for encouraging
undergraduate research and bridge the gap between scientific community and students.

P a g e | 68
The role of liberal arts in science education
Our discussion on curricula would not be complete without mentioning the need to create an
educational environment conducive to the development of analytical and critical thinking skills, as
well as relational, creative and communication skills aimed at making students sensitive to their social
environment. In view of this we would like to make a case for the importance of liberal arts for
training future scientists and non-scientists as Humanists.
Chemistry Nobel Laureate, Dr. Thomas R. Cech, has written an essay on how liberal arts education
produces better scientists (Cech, 1999). His analysis is focused on USA liberal arts colleges when
compared to USA research universities. According to him, liberal arts colleges generate a special
environment conducive to creating good scientists, by fostering the development of critical skills like:
mastering of specific knowledge domains, oral and written communication skills, analytical and
critical thinking skills and the ability to tackle ambiguity and build a well-reasoned opinion. Many of
these are due to the cross-training in science, humanities and arts.
Liberal arts colleges provide an environment where students actively interact with teachers (usually
the faculty to student ratio in colleges is far lower than in universities). Due to the low faculty to
student ratio, students get more individualised attention and classes are more interactive. Students
have the opportunity to pursue open-ended research projects in parallel with their laboratorial
classes. Open-ended research provides an opportunity to explore real research. The problem is
framed and the research procedure evolves through trial and error where the outcome is far less
predictable. Laboratorial classes are often based on very well defined problems and research
methodologies, aiming to provide a similar experience to many students through a more straight
forward approach leading to more predictable outcomes. The open-ended research projects are
conducted under direct faculty guidance.
Even if colleges cannot provide research projects in cutting edge areas and access to highly
sophisticated instrumentation (due to financial constraints), the close guidance from and interaction
with faculty constitutes a most valuable educational experience. Students gain skills in identifying
and solving problems, reasoning, organising scientific data, presenting their results and interpretations,
and along with these gain state-of-the-art technical skills. ...Liberal arts graduates speak of the high level
of responsibility and independence engendered by their graduate research experience (Cech, 1999).
The development of these skills is considered by many very influential in the development of their
scientific careers.
Innate talent and the quality of education both contribute to the success of science students
graduating from liberal arts colleges. Intelligence, creativity and hard work can take a student far, but
they constitute an even more powerful combination when channeled, guided, and motivated by
excellent teachers in an environment supportive for learning. (Cech, 1999).
This can be equally applied to those that will not pursue a scientific career, for the skills that are
developed in this kind of environment will be equally useful in other professional contexts. It is said
that just as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) brought transformative change in the

P a g e | 69

20
th
Century, it is expected that Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Math (STEAM) are
set to transform 21
st
Century!
93

93
http://stemtosteam.org/
Recommendations
Implement choice based credit system across colleges affiliated to a given university so
that students can make their choice from a wide range of subject offerings from Science,
Arts, Commerce and Fine Arts fields in order benefit from the inter-disciplinary learning.
Create awareness workshops at the beginning of each academic year on the importance of
liberal arts education and on the multiple perspectives that it opens from personal and
professional angles.

Figure 8: STEAM Education
Picture Courtesy: http://www.steamedu.com/

P a g e | 70
5.2. Improving the quality of infrastructure
General infrastructure
Research studies in the field of environmental psychology reveal that human behaviour is highly
affected by the surrounding environment. Teaching and learning outcomes are therefore affected by
the design of infrastructure like classrooms, laboratories, libraries and other common spaces, as well
as by their lighting and acoustic conditions.
Most of our classrooms in schools and colleges today were designed based on a 200 year old model:
blackboard at one end of the classroom, with teachers desk in front of it, facing several parallel rows
of desks. This model is known to encourage much more of verbal communication coming from the
teacher, than from the students (Bower, 1986). In this configuration student-teacher and student-
student verbal exchange is discouraged. Experiments have shown that semi-circular and circular
configurations are much more effective to promote debate and improve student-teacher and
student-student interaction, encouraging students to actively participate in class (Sommer & Olsen,
1980). Debate inside the classroom has been shown to improve learning outcomes among students,
fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Springer et al., 1999). Classroom layout is known
to affect the social interaction of both students and teachers (Horne, 2004).
Poor classroom acoustics create a negative learning environment, students attention levels are
affected by noises, both external and internal to the classroom, which could lead to difficulty in
hearing the teachers voice. This is particularly critical for students learning in a language that is
different from their mother tongue (it is common in Indian colleges where classes are conducted in
English, while students mother tongue is another regional language). Excessive noise levels have a
detrimental effect on students cognitive processing and academic performance (e.g. noise issuing
from street activity, roads, trains, planes). Exposures to high levels of noise reduce attention and
motivational levels, as well as long term memory and comprehension. Experiments in the UK have
shown that the acoustic treatment of classrooms to reduce external noise, improves academic
performance (Dockrell & Shield, 2006).
The effect of light on human socio and emotional behaviour is very well documented. Adequate
lighting of classrooms has been shown to improve academic performance. The use of natural light, or
artificial light simulating natural lighting conditions, as well as the use of colour was shown to have a
positive impact on students and teachers, by improving their moods, reducing stress levels and
generating a visually stimulating environment (Hunter, 2005).
The aesthetics and proper maintenance of educational spaces generate a sense of well-being and
belonging, and have a positive impact on the personal and academic development of both students
and teachers.
These considerations may be perceived as of secondary importance when compared with some of
the pressing infrastructural problems faced by many colleges. Nevertheless, the aspects mentioned
above should be taken seriously into consideration by the education community at the time of future
planning, construction, re-adaptation or rehabilitation of spaces for educational purposes.

P a g e | 71

Laboratories
Laboratories offer a space for hands-on learning through experimentation. The inadequacy of some
laboratories and the absence of minimal security standards pose, in some cases, a serious threat to
the safety and well-being of both students and teachers.
Laboratories require different security and configuration according to the type of experiments that
are being conducted. Nevertheless there are some minimal security standards that should apply to
all: good ventilation; large alleys between the experimental benches; non-obstructed alleys and exits;
fire-extinguisher; and emergency medical kit. Hazardous consumables should be manipulated in
special places with adequate ventilation, and be stocked in a different room, away from light and in a
well-ventilated space. Teachers conducting practical classes should be familiar with first-aid
assistance.
Research Laboratories
To encourage undergraduate research in colleges, teachers and students should be given access to
well-equipped research laboratories either in their own college or through a shared platform with
other educational institutions.
Research laboratories should not be confused with teaching laboratories. Research laboratory
requirements vary according to the type of research being conducted; these often require more
sophisticated instrumentation and set-ups, materials and consumables (e.g. laboratories handling
biological material require special precautions against contamination; or laboratories where kinetic
experiments are conducted require temperature controlled rooms).
Recommendations
Create/rehabilitate research laboratories in colleges.
Establish formal partnerships with other educational institutions and private research
laboratories to improve teachers research opportunities and access to state-of-the-art
instrumentation.
Since establishment and maintenance of laboratories and regular replacement of old
instruments, is expensive, Indian colleges should develop a system of sharing laboratory
resources.

Recommendations
Certification of laboratories following minimum security standards.
Establish penalties for the violation of security standards.
Provide personal protection material for both students and teachers (gloves, protection
glasses) either free of charge or under payment of fee.
Provide training on first-aid assistance for all users of lab facilities.

P a g e | 72
5.3. Widening the sources of funding
The quality of education is deeply related to the funding of educational institutions. As mentioned
above, funds are required to upgrade and maintain infrastructure and facilities; attract and retain
qualified and competent faculty, as well as non-academic staff; sponsor research activities and
participation in workshops and conferences; purchase hard copies or on-line high quality educational
material, etc.
Science colleges need to search for new funding sources and diversify their resources. Increasing fee
structures is a suggestion that has generated much controversy and opposition on grounds that fees
need to be low to ensure equity in access. Nevertheless, the existence of a coaching industry
operating millions of coaching centres around India has shown that families are willing to pay high
sums, and even get into serious financial stress to ensure that their children excel in the fiercely
competitive entrance examinations to professional courses: the passport for a financially secured
future (Devi & Singh, 2011). The coaching industry is valued at $5.1 billion for Class XII and
undergraduate education. The revenues of this parallel educational system would be a substantial
contribution with which to revamp education in the formal sector. This clearly shows that the fee
structure and policies needs to be revised. The Indian government is far from having the capacity to
fully subsidise education and therefore other solutions need to be considered, in addition to
increasing the fees substantially for those students who can afford to pay.
A special programme for equity needs to be designed so that those who are really not in a position to
finance their education also have a real opportunity to study in high quality educational
environments. Today in the name of equity, these students have primarily access to low quality
educational environments. Apart from fee structure, educational institutions should be encouraged
(and spared of excessive bureaucracy) to set up new un-aided courses with fees that would generate
a surplus to be re-invested in other courses. Educational institutions should have the autonomy,
under stringent financial accountability, to undertake consultancy assignments and sponsored
research, and generate resources internally through organising workshops and conferences, and
cultural activities (performing arts festivals, exhibitions, among others).
Recommendations
Revise the fee regulatory policy. Empower individual colleges to raise the fees for those
students who can afford to pay. For others, government should introduce a large enough
needs-based financial assistance system.
Reduce the bureaucratic control on colleges wishing to offer new courses.
Encourage colleges to carry out fund raising activities in the form of organising
workshops, conferences and other cultural activities.
Make a colleges performance in undergraduate research a major criterion for awarding
block grants. The colleges performance needs to be subject to periodic review.
Encourage contributions from alumni.

P a g e | 73

5.4. Improving Institute-Industry and Institute-Agriculture linkages
The participation of the private sector in sponsoring science education exists but is still very low.
Apart from some donations usually in the context of alumni participation, objective strategies need
be put in place so that the sponsoring of education becomes a part of corporate responsibility and
with tax benefits.
One of the reasons behind the scarce investment made by the private sector in educational
institutions could be the absence of effective communication. This gap needs to be bridged and both
sides need to be sensitised on their interdependence, and on the importance of cooperation. On one
hand the private sector needs a skilled workforce to support business plans forward. On the other
hand, educational institutions train the workforce. Unless there is an element of complementarity,
students will tend to opt for careers that are divergent from their courses of study. The stakes are
therefore very clear, for both employers and educators, and this should push them into a much more
vibrant interaction.
Many employers spend significant amounts of time and financial resources to train their employees
and bring them to operational levels. It is clear that the role of educational institutions is not simply
to mould future employees; its role is far wider than that. Nevertheless, educational institutions
should also be made accountable to future employers for they have the responsibility to impart a
certain number of critical skills that will ensure the employability of their students. The present gap
between educational institutions and future employers is highly detrimental for both. Both sides
need to fully acknowledge their interrelated roles and engage in a fruitful dialogue leading to
cooperative action. This could be accomplished through the creation of independent non-profit
platforms that would bring the private sector companies together with science colleges.
Indias vision of Inclusive Development cannot come true without rapid rejuvenation of the rural
economy. It is sobering to remind ourselves that nearly two-third of Indias population is still rural.
The rural economy cannot be revived without agriculture and allied activities becoming highly
remunerative and capable of providing large-scale livelihood opportunities in and around villages.
This in turn requires massive infusion of scientific knowledge, both modern and traditional, efficient
management practices, and a local work force properly trained in both.
Hence, any vision of improving science education in India must take into account the urgent need to
strengthen Institute-Agriculture linkages. This should happen by integrating both school and college
Recommendations
Create platforms such as job fairs / career melas, to bring the private sector closer to
educational institutions.
Increase the participation of the private sector on the Board of Studies of educational
institutions.

P a g e | 74
education in rural areas with the challenges and opportunities in the socio-economic environment
around them.

Recommendations
Introduce agriculture, agro-businesses and allied activities (including arts and crafts, animal
husbandry, dairy, veterinary sciences, etc) as subjects in the curricula of schools and colleges
in rural and semi-rural areas.
Syllabi and related teaching materials in these subjects should be developed in local
languages, with a strong focus on practical activities.
There should be special training, with attractive incentives, for teachers to teach these
subjects. Successful farmers, master craftspersons, entrepreneurs, and bankers and
government officials dealing with these subjects should be included as visiting faculty.
There should be a strong emphasis on creating local employment and entrepreneurship
opportunities for college graduates. An equally important point of emphasis should be
raising the productivity of agriculture and allied activities in the area in which the college is
located.
Especially for these courses, colleges should open their doors to practising farmers, artisans
and rural service providers who are interested in acquiring new scientific knowledge.
College managements should be both empowered and incentivised for offering short-term
and long-term certificate courses, running summer schools, workshops, etc to meet the
needs of the rural community.
Both regular students as well as community members who undergo training in these
courses should be publicly honoured. Such public recognition enhances the social prestige
of those choosing to study agriculture and other allied activities in the rural economy.
Krishi Vigyan Kendras (there is one KVK in almost every district in the country), agricultural
colleges, veterinary colleges and similar specialised institutes should be incentivised to link
up with colleges offering above-mentioned courses.

P a g e | 75

5.5. Improving employability
Employability is dependent on market flows and societal needs, and on skills and profiles of future
employees. While the former are beyond the control of educational institutions, the latter are not.
Educational institutions have the responsibility and the capacity to impart the required skills and
knowledge that will guarantee the employability of their students. Employability will surely improve
when: educational institutions and employers (private and public sector) work together with some
common goals; curricula are revised to meet the pressing needs of markets and society in general;
and when students will have the opportunity to develop soft skills such as communication skills,
cultural sensitivity, time management and team work, etc.
Therefore, employability is actually related to all the other points mentioned in the above sections. If
those are addressed, the employability of B.Sc. and M.Sc. students is likely to improve substantially. If
such be the case, then a rise in the enrolment of students pursuing basic sciences, with a view to
embracing it as a career option can be expected.
The private sector is facing significant talent gaps, especially in mobile talent. Mobile talent refers to
the capacity of an employee to be operational in different working environments, cultures and
functionalities. This requires the development of many skills like communication skills, fluency in
English, adaptability and capacity to learn, capacity to think in a critical and logical way, capacity to
take risks and to provide solutions when faced with problems. All of these skills can be imparted by a
well-designed framework that includes and gives importance to language skills, informatics,
performing arts, cultural sensitivity and value education. Although presented in the context of the
private sector, these skills are equally relevant for those that will be employed by the public sector
either in academic or non-academic jobs. Scientists for instance frequently work in multicultural and
multifunctional environments where the above mentioned skills are a requirement to establish
successful collaborations, apply for research funds and disseminate their results, among others.
The transition from the academic environment to the professional environment requires a natural
period of adaptation, the private sector functions with rules that are different from the ones in the
public sector. In view of improving students employability and smoothing this transition, employers
and educational institutions provide compulsory internships (on-the-job-training) in future working
environments. These internships are often regarded as a burden for the employers. Internships
should be designed in a mutually beneficial way for all stakeholders (students, employers and
educational institutions). This can only emerge from an open dialogue between employers and
educational institutions. China has undertaken promising initiatives to combine rigorous academic
course work with workplace training
94
.
Finally, employability is directly related to career opportunities. Students are often not well
counselled on future career opportunities. Some educational institutions, although having placement
cells, tend to focus only on a few hot courses like I.T. and Chemistry, leaving others like Botany or
Zoology completely behind. Many colleges do not provide comprehensive workshops or awareness

94
OECD brochure 2012 (p.29): http://www.oecd.org/about/publishing/IndiaBrochure2012.pdf

P a g e | 76
lectures on job opportunities for students and parents. This trend is changing and there are a few
colleges who are extremely active in promoting career guidance programmes with lectures by
potential employers, among other workshops aiming to prepare students for job interviews. These
best practices, common in well reputed colleges, can be replicated in other colleges through
adequate partnerships (e.g. the cluster model described in the section on academic autonomy).
Recommendations
Incorporate in curricular activities the development of soft skills.
Establish compulsory internship programmes to prepare students for the transition from
an educational to a work environment.
Improve placement cell activities: 1) organise series of career guidance lectures focussed
on specific employment sectors and specific disciplines, 2) organise workshops on the
development of soft skills (e.g. communication, presentation strategies, interpersonal
skills).
Activities and achievements of the placement cell should be displayed prominently in the
college premises and website, for better accountability to the student population.
To cater to the diverse student population, there needs to be a greater diversity of
offerings of degree (undergraduate) courses. The diverse needs mentioned here refer to
the choices students make after their education, for example pursuing a job, or higher
studies, internship or pursuing research etc. Each of these would require different sets of
skills and training. Hence the need for flexibility of offerings by universities, such as a
regular degree with credits and vocational courses, dual-degree, integrated Bachelors and
Masters degree, as suggested by UGC Report of the Working Group for Higher Education in
the 12
th
five-year plan (UGC, 2011).

P a g e | 77

REFERENCES
Abell, S., & Lederman, N. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of Research in Science Education. New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.
Atkin, J. M., & Black, P. (2006). History of science curriculum reform in the United States and the
United Kingdom. In S. K. Abell, Handbook of research in science education (pp. 781-806). New Jersey:
LEA.
Basant, R., & Mani, S. (2012). Foreign R&D Centres in India: An Analysis of their size, structure and
implications. Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management.
Bound, K., & Thornton, I. (2012). Our Frugal Future: Lessons From Indias Innovation System. London:
Nesta.
Bowers, J. W. (1986). Classroom communication apprehension: A survey. Communication Education
(35), 372- 378.
Brundrett, M., Burton, N., & Smith, R. (2003). Leadership in Education. London: Sage.
CABE. (2005). Autonomy of Higher Education Institutions. New Delhi: Ministry of Human Resource
Development.
Campbell, J. (2012, September). Building an IT Economy: South Korean Science. Issues in Technology
Innovation (19), pp. 1-9.
Cech, T. R. (1999). Science at liberal arts colleges: A better education? Daedalus, 128 , pp. 195-216.
Chandran-Wadia, L., Correia, C., Joseph, M. T., & Vishwanathan, R. (2011). Are we serious about
enhancing creativity and innovation through Education? Innovation Educators Conference.
Hyderabad.: Indian School of Business.
Christensen, G., & Alcorn, B. (2013, December 30). India in Transition: Can MOOCs Help Expand Access
to Higher Education in India? Retrieved February 2, 2014, from The Center for the Advanced Study of
India (CASI), University of Pennsylvania: http://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/christensenalcorn
Department of Science & Technology. (2011). Annual Report (2010-2011). New Delhi: DST.
Devi, R., & Singh, H. (2011). A Study of Perception of Parents, Students and Teachers towards Private
Tuitions - A Case Study of Kathua Town. International Journal of Educational Administration. (3), 1-8.
Dockrell, J. E., & Shield, B. M. (2006). Acoustical Barriers in Classrooms: The Impact of Noise on
Performance in the Classroom. British Educational Research Journal (32), 509-525.
Drodge, S. (2002). Managing under pressure: the management of vocational education under the
British, Dutch and French systems. Research in Post-Compulsory Education (7(1)), 2743.
Elsevier, B. V. (2012). International Comparative Performance of India's Scientific Research. India:
Department of Science and Technology, India.
Ghosh, A. (2012, February 26). Innovation needs an ecosystem. Business Standard , 5 (51).

P a g e | 78
Guo, C.-J. (2007). Issues in science learning: An international perspective. In S. Abell, & N. L. (Eds.),
Handbook of research on science education (pp. 227-256). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hallinger, P. (2003). Leading educational change: Reflections on the practice of instructional and
transformational leadership. Cambridge Journal of Education (33), 329351.
Hasan, S. A., Khilnani, S., & Luthra, R. (2013, February 25). Are CSIRUGC NET-qualified Junior
Research Fellows going away from science? Current Science , 104 (4), pp. 430-434.
Holbrook, J. (2010). Education through Science as a Motivational Innovation for Science Education for
All. Science Education International (21), 80-91.
Horne, S. (2004). Environment-Behaviour Studies in the Classroom. Journal of Design and Technology
Education (9), 77-89.
Hunter, K. (2005, March). Environmental psychology in classroom design. University of Cincinnati,
USA.
Hurd, P. (1998). Scientific literacy: New minds for a changing world. Science Education (82), 407416.
Joseph, M., & Robinson, A. (2014, April 3). Free Indian Science. Nature , 508, pp. 36-38.
Kelly, A. (1985). The construction of masculine science. British Journal of Sociology of Education (Vol 6
(2)), 133-154.
Kennedy, J. (2012). The Sources and Uses of U.S. Science Funding. The New Atlantis , 3-22.
Klaus Schwab, X. S.-i.-M. (2013). The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013. Geneva: World Economic
Forum.
Krishna, V. V. (2013, April 20). Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013: High on Goals, Low on
Commitment. Economic & Political Weekly, 48(16) , pp. 15-19.
Malik, J., & Jalote, P. (2011, November 16). Ideate And Innovate: R&D ecosystem in India must be
fixed. New Delhi, Delhi, India: The Economic Times. Retrieved 01 02, 2014, from
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-16/news/30405714_1_r-d-universities-ecosystem
Mani, R. (2006). Challenges to Educational Leadership: A Report from India. International Forum of
Teaching and Studies (2), 58-64.
Mani, S. (2013, March 09). The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2013 - An Evaluation.
Economic & Political Weekly vol xlvill no16 , p. 10.
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD); Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). (2013).
Annual Status of Higher Education of States and UTs of India. India: Deloitte.
Ministry of Human Resource Development with TISS. (2013). Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan:
National Higher Education Mission. New Delhi: MHRD.
Muijs, D., Harris, A., Lumby, J., Morrison, M., & Sood, K. (2006). Leadership and leadership
development in highly effective further education providers. Is there a relationship? Journal of Further
and Higher Education (30), 87106.

P a g e | 79

Mustafa, O. (1996). Improving Teacher Performance: Toward a Theory of Teacher Motivation. Annual
Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York.
National Knowledge Commission. (2008). Attracting talented students to Maths and Science. New
Delhi: NKC, Government of India.
Neves de Jesus, S., & Lens, W. (2005). An Integrated Model for the Study of Teacher Motivation.
Applied Psychology (54), 119134.
OECD. (2012). India: Sustaining High and Inclusive Growth. OECD Better Policies Series.
Osborne, J., & Hennessy, S. (2003). Report 6: Literature Review in Science Education and the Role of
ICT: Promise, Problems and Future Directions. Futurelab series , pp. 1-51.
Pastor, M. C. (1982). A Study of Higher Order Need Strength and Job Satisfaction in Secondary Public
School Teachers. Journal of Educational Administration (20), 172-183.
Planning Commission Sub-Committee. (2009). Improvement in Accreditation and Certification Systems.
New Delhi: Planning Commission India.
Rajput, J., & Srivastava, V. (2000). India: Current trends and main concerns as regardsscience
curriculum development and implementation in India. In M. Poisson, Science education for
contemporary society: Problems, issues and dilemmas (pp. 21-25).
Rao, V. (2008). Higher Education. In In Encyclopedia of Educational Development: Vol. IV. (pp. 180-81).
New Delh: APH Publishing Corporation.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New
Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology (25), 54-67.
SAC-PM. (2010, August 26). India as a Global Leader in Science. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 01 01, 2014,
from http://sactopm.gov.in/Vision_Document.pdf
SAC-PM. (2013). Science in India (2004-2013) Decade of Achievements and Rising Aspirations. New Delhi:
Department of Science & Technology.
Sanyal, K. (2010, October 29). Legislative Brief -The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for
Higher Educational Institutions Bill. Retrieved 01 13, 2014, from PRS Legislative Research:
http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/National%20Accreditation%20Regulatory%20Authority/Legisla
tive%20Brief%20-%20National%20Accreditation%20Authority%20Bill,%202010.pdf
Sommer, R., & Olsen, H. (1980). The soft classroom. Environment and Behavior , 12, 3-16.
Springer, L., Donovan, S. S., & Stanne, M. E. (1999). Effects of small-group learning on
undergraduates in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology: A meta-analysis. Review of
Educational Research, (69), 21-51.
Tilghman, S. M. (2010, November 15). It's All about the Talent. Molecular Biology of the Cell , 21 (22), p.
3823.
Tilghman, S. M. (2010, January 5). The Future of Science Education in the Liberal Arts College. New
Jersey: Presented at the Presidents Institute, Council of Independent Colleges.

P a g e | 80
UNESCO. (2006). Teacher Motivation, Compensation and Working Conditions. Paris: International
Institute for Education Planning.
UNESCO. (2010). UNESCO Science Report: The current status of science around the world.
University Grants Commission . (2008). Higher education in India - Issues related to Expansion,
Inclusiveness, Quality and Finance. New Delhi: Secretary, University Grants Commission.
University Grants Commission (UGC). (2011). Inclusive and Qualitative Expansion of Higher Education.
New Delhi: UGC.
University Grants Commission. (2013). Higher Education in India at a glance. New Delhi: UGC.
University of Mumbai. (2013). Master's degree Programme in Physics- Information Brochure 2012-13.
Department of Physics, University of Mumbai.
Van den Akker, J. (1998). The science curriculum: Between ideals and outcomes. (B. a. Frazer, Ed.)
International handbook of science education , 1, 421447.
Van Driel, J. H., Beijaard, D., & Verloop, N. (2001). Professional development and reform in science
education: The role of teachers' practical knowledge. Journal of Research in Science Teaching (38),
137158.
Varma, R. (2001). Peoples Science Movements & Science Wars? Economic and Political Weekly , 4796-
4802.
Viswanathan, R. (2011). Higher Education: Numbers alone dont Matter, Quality Does Too. Mumbai:
Observer Research Foundation.
Voogt, J., & Knezek, G. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of information technology in primary and
secondary education. New York: Springer.
Walker, M. (2011). PISA 2009 PLUS RESULTS. Victoria, Australia: Australian Council for Educational
Research.
Weber, L. E., & Duderstadt, J. J. (2010). University Reserach for Innovation. London: Economica Ltd.
Yashpal Committee Report. (2009). Report of The Committee to Advise on Renovation and
Rejuvenation of Higher Education. New Delhi: MHRD.
Picture courtesy
http://sbvsanga.com/campus-tour.html
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/slideshow-bhabha-s-journey-frozen-in-time-1304530
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2011/12/05/lab-sabotage-some-scientists-will-do-
anything-to-get-ahead/
http://www.thehindu.com/features/education/research/what-ails-science-education/article32809.ece
http://manashsubhaditya.blogspot.in/2012/04/great-indian-scientists-who-change.html
http://www.indiabook.com/images/indian_map1.gif

P a g e | 81

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACER Australian Council for Educational Research
BOS Boards of Study
BARC Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
CABE Central Advisory Board of Education
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate
CBCS Choice Based Credit System
CCE Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation
CII Confederation of Indian Industries
CIS Centre for Integrative Studies
CPE Colleges with Potential for Excellence
CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
CUBE Collaborative Undergraduate Biology Education
CURIE Consolidation of University Research, Innovation and Excellence
DAE Department of Atomic Energy
DBT Department of Biotechnology
DOS Department of Space
DRDO Defence Research & Development Organisation
DST Department of Science and Technology
DU Delhi University
FIST Fund for Improvement of S&T
FRC Friends Rural Centre
FTE Full Time Equivalent
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GER Gross Enrolment Ratio
GERD Gross Expenditures on R&D
GSDP Gross State Domestic Product
GSLV Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
HBCSE Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
HSTP Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme
IAPT Indian Association of Physics Teachers
IBA Indian Banks Association
ICT Information and Communications Technology
IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University
IISER Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research
IIM Indian Institute of Management
IISc Indian Institute of Science
IIT Indian Institutes of Technology
IQAC Internal Quality Assessment Cell
ISC Indian Science Congress
ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation
IT Information Technology
KB Kishore Bharati
KSSP Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad

P a g e | 82
LED Light Emitting Diode
MANS Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti
MHRD Ministry of Human Resources Development
MIND Movement in India for Nuclear Disarmament
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MNCs Multinational companies
MOOC Massive Open Online Course
NAAC National Assessment and Accreditation Council
NBA National Board of Accreditation
NBHM National Board of Higher Mathematics
NCR National Capital Region
NET National Eligibility Test
NIF National Innovation Foundation
NIPER National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
NISER National Institute of Science Education and Research
NKC National Knowledge Commission
NPE National Policy on Education
NSF National Science Foundation
OBC Other Backward Caste
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
PISA Programme for International Student Assessment
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PPST Patriotic People for Science and Technology
PRIs Public Research Institutes
PSM Peoples Science Movement
PURSE Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence
RBI Reserve Bank of India
RUSA Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan
SAC-PM Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister
SAVE Sustainable Action and Virtual Education
SC Scheduled Caste
SERB Science and Engineering Research Board
SET State Eligibility Test
SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises
ST Scheduled Tribe
STEAM Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Math
STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
STIP Science, Technology and Innovation Policy
TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
UGC University Grants Commission
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
P a g e | 83

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Comparative Science Expenditure . 4
Table 2: World's High-tech Imports and Exports (2007) 9
Table 3: Subject wise seats allotted by the University.............. 11
Table 4: Schemes to attract talent in science 22
Table 5: Results of Indian students scientific literacy in six proficiency levels 28
Table 6: Recommendations made by National Knowledge Commission . 49
Table 7: The Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education Report 50
Table 8: Universities with the largest number of affiliated colleges .... 51

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: R&D Resource Allocation . 5
Figure 2: Patents per R&D spend; Patents per million population .. 6
Figure 3: Publications per R&D spend .. 6
Figure 4: Faculty-wise Student Enrolment in Higher Education 2011-'12 . 7
Figure 5: Researchers/Population . 8
Figure 6: Faculty-wise Doctoral Degrees (PhD) awarded during 2010-'11 .. 8
Figure 7: Study sites of ORF Mumbai's project 30
Figure 8: STEAM Education .. 69

P a g e | 84
ANNEXURE 1: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES
Name of College, Location, State NAAC
Accreditation
Person
interviewed
Designation
K.J.Somaiya College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A Dr.J.K.Verma Vice Principal
R.Jhunjhunwala College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A Dr.S.T.Ingale Vice Principal
G.N.Khalsa College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A Dr.R.K. Patheja Principal
Birla College, Kalyan, Thane, Maharashtra A Dr. N. Chandra Principal
Anandibai Pradhan Science College, Nagothane,
Raigad, Maharashtra
Accredited by
NAAC*
Dr.Anil Patil Principal
DBJ College, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra A Dr.Shyam Joshi Principal
Sant Rawool Maharaja Mahavidhalaya, Kudal,
Sindhudurg, Maharashtra
B (2008) Dr.S.K.Pawar Principal
S.H.Kelkar College, Deogad, Sindhudurg,
Maharashtra
Accredited by
NAAC, 5-star
Dr.B.N Bhosale Principal
Athalye-Sapre-Pitre College, Devrukh, Ratnagiri,
Maharashtra
B+ (2004) Dr.N.P.Tendolkar Principal
Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A (2007) Dr. S. Pednekar Principal
Sophia College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A (2009) Dr. R. DSouza
Vice-Principal
Science
St.Xaviers College, Mumbai, Maharashtra A
Fr. Dr. F.
Mascarenhas
Principal
Institute of Science, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra - Dr. B. G. Kulkarni Principal
Presidency College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Accredited by
NAAC*
Dr. V. Srinivas

Principal
Miranda House College, Delhi - Dr. Prathiba Jolly Principal
University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu A Prof. Riyazuddin
School of
Chemical Sciences
University of Delhi, Delhi - Dr. H.P. Singh Proctor, DU
Jawaharlal Nehru University (J.N.U), New Mehrauli
Road, New Delhi
A

Prof. Rajaraman
School of Physical
Sciences

P a g e | 85

Name of College,
Location (With District)
Minority Status-
Yes/No
NAAC
Accreditation
Person
interviewed
Designation
D.G.Ruparel College,
Matunga, Mumbai Non-minority
college
Grade A Dr.Golatkar
Faculty, Department of
Botany (& placement in-
charge)
K.J.Somaiya College,
Vidyavihar, Mumbai
Gujarati Linguistic
Minority
Grade A Dr. Ghelsasi
Chemistry
G.N.Khalsa College,
Matunga, Mumbai
Sikh community
Minority
Grade A
Dr.Surekha
Gupta
Zoology
Birla College, Kalyan,
Thane
Non-minority
college
Grade A
Dr.Geeta
Unnikrishnan
Environmental Science
B.N.Bandodkar College,
Thane west, Thane
Non-minority
college
Grade A
Dr. Vinda
Manjramkar
Zoology
Anandibai Pradhan
Science College,
Nagothane, Raigad
Non-minority
college
Accredited by
NAAC*
- Faculty
R.Jhunjhunwala College,
Ghatkoper, Mumbai
Hindi-Speaking
linguistic minority
status.
Grade A
Mr.Deviprasad
Shetty
Placement Officer
Sri Venkateswara
College, New Delhi
Non-minority
college
-
Dr. Anant
Pandey
Head, Department of
Physics
Elphinstone College, Fort,
Mumbai
Non-minority
college
Grade A Prof. Rant Faculty
Queen Marys College,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
-
B+ - Faculty

Several teachers, and students (doing under-graduation, post-graduation and research degrees) from
the following institutes/ universities were also informally interviewed: Ruia College, University of
Mumbai, Anandibai Pradhan Science College, SIES College (Sion), St. Xaviers, DBJ Science College,
Sant Rawool Maharaja Mahavidyalaya, S.H.Kelkar College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Loyola
College. Dr. F.C. Kohli (Indian industrialist and technocrat) was also interviewed. Note that names of
several interviewees are withheld in the report, to respect their request of maintaining
confidentiality. All interviews were conducted in 2011-2012.

P a g e | 86
ANNEXURE 2: LIST OF ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS: WHITHER SCIENCE
EDUCATION IN INDIAN COLLEGES TODAY? 10 JULY 2011
Prof. Shobo Bhattacharya, TIFR
Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh, Professor, Department of Life Sciences, University of Mumbai
Ms. Mukesh Dodain, Admin Officer, ICTS TIFR
Dr. Roshan DSouza, Vice-Principal (Sci) Sophia College for Women
Mr. Vincent DSouza, Student
Ms. Roushell Fernandes, Admin Assistant, ICTS TIFR
Dr. Radiya Pacha Gupta, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Ms. Himali, Times of India
Dr. Usha Iyer, Associate Professor, K J Somaiya College of Science & Commerce
Mr. Ashok Kalbag, Vigyan Ashram
Ms. Chetana Kamlaskar, Assistant Professor, YCMOU
Ms. Kalpana Kannan, IIT Bombay
Dr. Vidyagauri Lele, Acharya & Marathe College
Dr. Sunanada More, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University
Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, IIT Bombay
Prof. Sahana Murthy, CDEEP, IIT Bombay
Dr. Sameer Murthy, TIFR
Dr. Renuka Narang, Education Consultant
Dr. Sujatha Parameswaran, Assistant Professor, VJTI
Dr. Bina Punjabi, Principal, Guru Nanak College
Prof. B.J. Rao, TIFR
Ms. Snehal Rebel, Hindustan Times
Prof. Pradeep Sarin, Physics Department, IIT Bombay
Mr. Satwik Srikrishnan, Student, Ecole Mondiale World School
Mrs. Farhanaaz M.Syeed, College of Home Science NN
Dr. N.P. Tendolkar, Principal, Athalye College, Devrukh
Dr. Priya Vaidya, Asst. Prof. Guru Nanak College, GTB Ngr, Mumbai

P a g e | 87

Dr. Catarina Correia presenting her study to the panel

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala addressing the
roundtable participants
Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, Dr. Shobo Bhattacharya, Dr. Sameer
Murthy and Mr. Ashok Kalbag.
L to R: Dr. Leena Wadia, Shri Sudheendra Kulkarni and
Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala during release of the book 2010-
2020 Indias Decade of innovation When will we get serious
about innovation education? authored by Dr. Wadia
College teachers participate in discussions during the
roundtable
L to R: Prof. Kannan Moudgalya, Dr. Sameer Murthy and Mr.
Ashok Kalbag look on as Prof. Shobo Bhattacharya
addresses the roundtable
Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh addressing the roundtable participants

P a g e | 88
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to acknowledge with thanks:
Prof. Sanjay Deshmukh (former Head of Department of Life Sciences), University of Mumbai was
involved with ORF Mumbai since the inception of the "Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges"
study. His valuable insights owing to his experience in the University and as being the Coordinator of
the Ratnagiri Sub-Centre of University of Mumbai at Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, were crucial
contributions to this study.
Prof. K. V. V. Murthy, IIT Gandhi Nagar, for his valuable insights;
All the principals, teachers and students who took time out for interviews;
Aparna Sivakumar who devoted much time and energy to lend the document its aesthetic appeal.

P a g e | 89

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Dr. Catarina F. Correia
Catarina F. Correia is a science education researcher. With a PhD degree in
Physical Chemistry by the University of Lisbon and ten years of fundamental
research in chemistry, Catarina moved to science education research. At ORF
Mumbai she worked on science education policy at tertiary level. As a researcher
at the Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education at Utrecht
University she worked on pedagogical content knowledge for upper secondary
chemistry courses. She is currently in London collaborating on science education
projects with the STEG group at Kings College London. She can be reached at:
catarina.filipe.correia@gmail.com

Dr. Leena Chandran-Wadia
Leena received her Ph.D in physics from IISc Bangalore. She has been a researcher
at several places in India and abroad including NCST Mumbai (now CDAC), EPFL
and CERN in Switzerland. At ORF, her focus is on research and advocacy in the
areas of Higher Education, Public Health and Inclusive and Sustainable
Development. She can be reached at leena.wadia@orfonline.org

Radha Viswanathan
Radha is Senior Fellow and Editor at ORF Mumbai. She is a human resource
professional. Her research and advocacy at ORF extends to issues in Education,
Public Health, Inclusive and Sustainable Development and Art & Culture. She can
be reached at radha.v@orfonline.org

Adithi Muralidhar
Adithi is an Associate Fellow at ORF Mumbai. Trained as a zoologist, her research
and advocacy at ORF extends to issues in Science Education and Conservation
Education, Environment, Inclusive and Sustainable Development. She can be
reached at adithi@orfonline.org

P a g e | 90
ABOUT ORF MUMBAI
Observer Research Foundation is a multidisciplinary public policy think tank
started in Delhi in 1990 by the late Shri R K Mishra, a widely respected public
figure, who envisaged it to be a broad-based intellectual platform pulsating with
ideas for nation-building. In its journey of over twenty years, ORF has brought
together leading Indian policymakers, academics, public figures, social activists
and business leaders to discuss many issues of national importance. ORF scholars
have made significant contributions towards improving government policies, and have produced a
large body of critically acclaimed publications.
Beginning 2010, ORF Mumbai has been re-activated to pursue the foundations vision in Indias
financial and business capital. It has started research and advocacy in six broad areas: Education,
Public Health, Urban Renewal, Inclusive and Sustainable Development, Youth Development and
Promotion of Indias Priceless Artistic and Cultural Heritage. It is headed by Shri Sudheendra Kulkarni,
a social activist and public intellectual who worked as an aide to former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee in the PMO. ORF Mumbais mission statement is: Ideas and Action for a Better India.
ORF Mumbais ongoing initiatives:
ORF Mumbai has launched a bulletin called SanitatioNow as part of its commitment to the
goal of Sanitation for All. The Mahatma Gandhi Centre for SanitatioNow is soon to be
launched, dedicated to research, advocacy and leadership training in sanitation in particular,
and in general, to eco-friendly and holistic development of slum communities in urban India.
ORF Mumbai has facilitated the creation of the Mumbai Transport Forum, a broad-based
platform of transport experts, academics and advocacy groups working towards improving
the public transport systems of Mumbai.
ORF Mumbai has collaborated with Ratan J. Batliboi Consultants Private Limited (RJBCPL),
one of Indias top architects and town planners, to initiate projects for the revitalisation of
Mumbais freedom movement heritage. The project is based on the tenets of Placemaking
a term for creative redevelopment of multi-use public places.
In the area of public health, ORF Mumbai is working for a sustained
campaign for TB control in Mumbai through public-private-people
partnership that will rigorously debate, advocate and act on the
core solutions which can realistically and significantly reduce TB
burden in Mumbai over the next decade.
A key endeavour of ORF Mumbai is in the sphere of womens safety,
for which, it has forged healthy partnerships with the MCGMs Savitribai Phule Gender
Resource Centre and the Mumbai Police.

P a g e | 91

ORF MUMBAIS INITIATIVES IN EDUCATION
CHANGE AGENTS FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (CASER)
ORF Mumbai has launched a neutral, broad-based platform called Change Agents for School
Education and Research (CASER) for working towards connecting excellence, research and advocacy
to strengthen the school education system, making it more holistic and positively affect millions of
school children, irrespective of their background or constraints.
CASER is a platform that brings together several passionate educationists, educators and teachers,
education researchers, representatives from the Government, civil society organisations, service
providers, technologists, students, parents and volunteers to connect excellence and research,
provide inputs on policy, implementation, conduct roundtables, expert talks, seminars and
workshops to contribute towards strengthening the school education system and making it more
child-centric and holistic for the millions of children in the state of Maharashtra.
https://www.facebook.com/ORF.CASER
CHANGE AGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (CAHER)
Change Agents for Higher Education and Research is ORF Mumbais new and novel initiative in the
space of higher education in India. As the Government prepares to work towards improvement in the
quality of higher education delivery, as part of the new National Higher Education Mission (RUSA),
we suggest how this can be achieved in a structured and scalable way through engaging Change
Agents for Higher Education and Research (CAHER).
There are two levels at which ORF Mumbai will try to bring about transformation - institutional and
individual. We will document and showcase widely the work of individual change agents who are
hitherto unsung, such as faculty, principals, and other educators and also the achievements of
autonomous institutions such as College of Engineering Pune (CoEP).
CAHER will be a platform, anchored at ORF Mumbai, which will enable change agents to come
together to create a multiplicative effect in the impact of their work. The focus of CAHER will be on
quality academics, on capacity building among all stakeholders, and on creating an inclusive and
participative movement. CAHER will engage deeply with State governments and with managements
and faculty from universities and colleges to stimulate discussion and debate on innovations in higher
education delivery. It will also provide innovative ICT infrastructure support for collaboration, to
individuals as well as institutions, and advocate for reforms in the governance of higher education.
https://www.facebook.com/ORF.CAHER

P a g e | 92
ORF MUMBAIS PUBLICATIONS ON EDUCATION

Ideas and Action for a Better India
NKM International House, 5
th
Floor, 178, Backbay Reclamation,
Babubhai Chinai Marg,(Behind LIC Yogakshema), Mumbai 400020, India.
Tel: +91-22-61313800
Website: www.orfonline.org

Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Whither Science Education in Indian Colleges

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Observer Research Foundation Mumbai

Ideas and Action for a Better India

You might also like