Governance of Technical Education in India: Key Issues, Principles, and Case Studies

Higher education, and in particular technical education, is critical to India's aspirations of becoming a major competitive player in the global knowledge economy. The technical education system is huge and complex, and reforms are imperative. Countrywide policies continue to identify Good Governance as key to the success of reforms and investments in higher education.

A Learning Forum brought together senior policymakers, leaders and experts from: five States leading in technical education (Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal); Ministry of Human Resource Development, Industry, TEQIP National Project Implementation Unit, and the World Bank.

The Forum agreed to nine key governance issues that are central to Good Governance: (i) a new model of an autonomous institution; (ii) Common legal framework for governance; (iii) Strategic planning; (iv) Common quality assurance; (v) Policies for industry/academic collaboration; (vi) Professional development for faculty, leaders and Boards of Governors; (vii) Optimum utilization of resources (xiii) Mentoring institutions gaining autonomous status, and (ix) Policy to tackle faculty shortage. Chapter 1 discusses how this Good Governance agenda depends upon coordinated actions at the faculty, institutional, state, and central level; including a clear list of how each stakeholder can take action.