Higher Education in Tripura : A Vision for 2020

Dr. Amitabha Sinha Reader Department of A & A Economics Tripura University

Introduction The presence of a large number of educated unemployeds as revealed in employment exchange data in the orth Eastern Region ! ER" of #ndia has dra$n the attention of policy ma%ers at the national and regional level. &assive educated unemployeds are not only $astage of a very precious human resource but also can be at the root of a sense of alienation among the youths of the orth Eastern Region of #ndia. The Conceptual Frame of Analysis The problem of educated unemployed can be best analysed using the standard demand'supply model. Educated unemployment is an indicator of a mismatch bet$een demand and supply. (n the demand side) primary sector including agriculture) forestry) mining and *uarrying) pisci'culture and so on is li%ely to generate demand for educated and s%illed labour as better technology and management are employed to modeni+e this sector. ,o$ever) if there is stagnation in this sector then insufficient demand creates the possibility of unemployment in the s%illed and educated labour force. Similar arguments apply for the manufacturing sector and the service sector. #n other $ords) $ithout a rapid gro$th of production in these sectors $hich can absorb the gro$ing labour force) it $ill be difficult to reduce the problem of unemployment of educated youth of ER. (n the supply side) the higher education system plays a vital role in determining the -employability. of the young people coming out of the system. ,o$ever) this is not to say that the only /ob of the colleges and universities is placement of the students for different /obs and occupations. Doing research in fundamental sciences may not directly lead to employment or may not bear fruit. 0et man%ind.s hunger for %no$ledge cannot be ignored by the institutions of higher education. ,o$ever) greater emphasis must be placed on the employment generation aspect of higher education. #n other $ords) it is the instrumental value of higher education rather than its intrinsic value $hich has to be given the highest priority in the resource constrained economy of ER of #ndia. S !T Analysis of Higher Education System in Tripura 1efore designing a perspective plan for education in Tripura on the basis of the principles of inclusive education on the one hand and employment generation or value addition of the labour force) on the other hand) it is necessary to carry out an analysis of the present situation of higher education in terms of its Strengths) 2ea%nesses) (pportunities and Threats. This may be presented as follo$s. Strengths 3. The number of degree colleges has increased exponentially in last five to ten years in Tripura. This is a *uantitative improvement $hich forms the basis of improvement in *uality on the criteria of inclusive education on the one hand and employment generation on the other hand. 4. The participation of private initiative in degree colleges has increased in recent years indicating greater demand for college education of the people of Tripura.

5. There has been stagnation in the courses offered to the students in the past. ,o$ever) in recent years ne$ sub/ects and courses are being introduced $ith specific mar%et orientation. 6. 1efore 3789) there $as no university in the state of Tripura. Tripura University came into being due to the vision of political leadership. Tripura University has no$ turned into a :entral University because it $as hoped that this $ill help the university to gro$ both in terms of *uality and *uantity. &oreover) the state government encouraged private universities to /oin in the struggle for higher education in Tripura. As a result) there are t$o Universities in the state at present. ;. There has been an expansion in terms of professional and technical colleges also. T$o medical colleges have been established. There is Tripura #nstitute of technology in addition to the ational #nstitute of Technology. There is a nursing college and a polytechnic college for female students. Therefore) the higher education scenario has diversified itself to a considerable extent in Tripura. <. A greater emphasis is being placed on communication s%ills of the students $hich is essential for their employability. Spo%en English courses are being introduced in the degree colleges. 9. :ourses of Diploma and 1achelor in :omputer Applications had been introduced in some of the degree colleges. 8. There is a concerted effort to improve the infrastructure of the degree colleges in terms of more specious and modern class room and lecture halls) library buildings) computer facilities $ith internet connections) sports facilities) sanitation and drin%ing $ater. ea"nesses 3. The availability of teachers $ith regular employment is insufficient in the case of most of the Degree :olleges in Tripura. Scarcity of teachers of English in the colleges is most acute. 4. The libraries are not $ell'e*uipped to meet the emerging re*uirements of teachers and students. #T enabled services for the college libraries remain the greatest need of the hour. There is insufficient supply of /ournals in the libraries $hich provide the students and teachers $ith the most current developments in their study units. #nter'lending facilities bet$een the college libraries do not exist. =hoto copy facilities are not sufficient in the libraries. &odern management systems are not in place in the libraries. 5. The laboratories are not $ell'e*uipped in the case of science stream. 6. =ublic address systems for large class rooms are not available in the :olleges. ;. #nade*uate number of class rooms is also a ma/or problem for most of the :olleges. <. &any :olleges do not have proper boundaries and proper security system to discourage threat and misuse of class rooms. 9. Safe drin%ing $ater facilities are not available in most of the :olleges. 8. ,ygienic and cheap food catering services for students and teachers are not available in most of the :olleges. 7. :olleges do not have proper and clean premises and lavatories in some cases. 3>. There is no medical chec%'up system and medical insurance system for the :ollege students.

33. The :olleges do not have dedicated electricity lines and as a result) teaching and laboratory $or% suffer $hen there are po$er fluctuations. 34. ?ery fe$ colleges have replaced the traditional chal%'duster system by over head pro/ectors and other advanced methods of class room presentation and interaction. 35. 2ell'e*uipped gymnasiums and playgrounds are conspicuous by their absence in most of the :olleges. 36. Aforestation and botanical gardens and other environmental concerns have not received their due attention in some of the :olleges of Tripura. 3;. Sufficient furniture) li%e tables) almirahs etc. in a personali+e space are not available for the teachers $hich hamper their academic and research activities. 3<. @uarter in the college premises for teachers and other staffs are not available in most of the :olleges. 39. Airls. hotels are not often properly provided or suitably utili+ed. 38. Study leave for research is not en/oyed by any of the :ollege teachers though it is an important component of faculty development and improvement in the *uality of teachers. !pportunities 3. There is a strong opportunity of providing inclusive education in Tripura leading to an increase in the enrollment ratio of young people belonging to Scheduled :astes) Scheduled Tribes) &inorities and (ther 1ac%$ard :ommunities not only in Arts stream but also in professional) scientific and technical courses. 4. Since the initiative to create ne$ infrastructure facilities is happening in a clean slate) therefore) one can plan creatively and bring modern facilities to the colleges of Tripura. 5. Similarly) there is a possibility of recruiting fresh minds $ith exposure to modern thin%ing and technology in the teaching profession. 6. Syllabus can be given a more modern stance and employment orientation since the ne$ courses can be more easily accommodated by late comers in the education system $hich tradition bound systems find difficult to accept. Threat 3. Binancial sustainability of higher education in Tripura $ill not only re*uire sustained budgetary support but also some cost sharing bet$een the local community) =anchayati Ra/ #nstitutions) State Aovernments and the :entral Aovernment $here an acceptable frame$or% must give e*ual importance to e*uity and efficiency. ,o$ever) $ithout a rapid increase in production and productivity in the primary and secondary sectors of the economy) this effort at financial cost sharing $ill turn out to be difficult indeed. #n fact) due to the fragmented nature the economy of Tripura) a long'run term commitment of the :entral Aovernment remains a vital factor. =olitical instability in the :entral Aovernment and uncomfortable s$ings in perceptions about orth Eastern Region ! ER" of #ndia in general and Tripura in particular remains an area of concern for the people living in this region. 4. :ivil society in this region loo%s at the relation bet$een the :entral Aovernment and the State Aovernment articulations in terms of political party based affiliations rather than common concerns for development of the State and the

region. :oordinated action by the eight states of ER is also vitiated by political rather than a broader visionary movement representing the expectations and aspirations of the common people of this part of #ndia. This narro$ perspective hampers proper placement of demand on the :entral Aovernment and carrying out of responsibilities by the State Aovernments. Suggestions The suggestions for formulation of vision statement of higher education in Tripura for 4>4> have to be placed in the context of the S2(T analysis presented above. T$o essential matters must be borne in mind in the formulation of the vision statement. First) it must recognise that different states of #ndia are at different stages of transition in higher education. These stages can be identified on the basis of four categories of parameters. These parameters are C 3. :reating access to the community in higher education. #ndicators of access have to be properly formulated in any vision document. (ne indicator can be number of educational institutions per 3>)>>> population. Another indicator can be distance of the academic institutions from ma/or habitations. The construction of proper indicators is an essential component of identifying the stage of transition. 4. Enrollment of students in higher education is another important indicator of transition. Aross enrollment ratio and net enrollment ratio on the basis of gender) caste and communities can help to identify the level of inclusiveness of higher education in a particular state or region. 5. (utcome indicators li%e transition rates and drop out rates provide the third aspect of the education process. 6. At the final stage) one can thin% about *uality both in terms of employment of students and in terms of research outputs and contribution to national and international discourses in different spheres of %no$ledge. The states of #ndia in general and ER of #ndia in particular can be mapped on the basis of these four parameters of higher education. (ne cannot deny that the ER states are at first stage of transition $here and enrollment are the ma/or issues. Therefore, the vision statements must place the greatest emphasis on these two aspects. Second) the vision can be broadly articulated as further strengthening of the strengths identified in the S2(T analysis and removing the $ea%nesses in a time profile of five years) ten years and fifteen years. As a final destination) the /ourney of higher education is an endless /ourney $here the milestones %eep on changing as $e move from one stage to another.