The university classroom is about to become hell for everyone

The supposed democratisation of higher education in India, as visualised under the controversial Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS), is rife with complications. Premised on the logic of credit transfers that presupposes student and faculty exchange between universities, it aims at seamless mobility. Allowing students the choice of selecting from core, elective, minor and soft skills courses, the system is poised to "bring efficiency in higher education".

The system set to be implemented in the upcoming academic year prescribes a common syllabus for all central universities and a common entrance test. The directive by the UGC says the system provides a "cafeteria type approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning".

There is no clarity on the method and logic of its implementation apart from the specification of grading. Credits are described simply as the number of hours of instruction required per week. The credits underpinning the system as evaluated under the Cumulative and Semester Grade Point Average are aimed at "vertical and horizontal mobility" in learning. The implications and intentions of this "reform measure", as dissected at a talk convened by the Concerned Teachers' Forum, are worrisome indeed.

Problem areas

To pare the purpose of higher education down to employability is harmful for its own sake. Given that bachelors and masters-level courses are premised on choice, natural inclination and interest, the classroom is much more than a theatre of academic exchange. It is underlined with diversity and debate, crucial aspects of the learning process which now seem to be at stake.

What may appear to be anxiety-mongering is indicative of a systematic narrowing of higher education as we know it. From controlling classroom ethos to syllabi, the CBCS is just another step in the trend of privatisation-it determines which "worthy" subjects are prioritised in the classroom. Reducing evolving academic disciplines to the benchmark of utility can do a grave injustice to knowledge systems and research methods. The presupposition of equality in terms of infrastructure, faculty, syllabi and merit systems across central universities ignores significant logistical factors.

Instead of targeting the core problem areas in the education system, the CBCS is set to compound long-running problems. The problematic points dictating the vision of the reform measure are employability, innovation, homogeneity of courses, credentialing and hierarchy.

Employability

Professor Farida Khan of Jamia Millia Islamia makes a pertinent point. "Pressure is being put on universities to churn out students who will be snapped up by employers. A case in point is the situation in Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia MIlia Islamia. In the last few years, the one innovation that both these universities tend to glorify is coaching classes for the civil services. It is ironic because there being no provisions to look after minorities, the figures are abysmal on every indicator, universities are forced to show their performance by training students for the civil services. What is the number of jobs the civil services provide year after year?"

Innovation

The skewed student-teacher ratio and infrastructural apathy having been glossed over, the sole focus is on introducing reforms that will magically erase problems of accessibility to quality education. "The standards by which we are to be judged are not clear," says Satish Deshpande, professor in Department of Sociology, Delhi University.

He adds that reforms are urgently required, but not in the manner envisaged under the CBCS. "Higher education in India has traditionally been a cosily homogenous sphere of privileged individuals. It's only in the last twenty years that it's become genuinely diverse. We may celebrate diversity in the classroom but it is a challenge to the teacher to take into account the varying levels of competence. We, as academics, accept that it's a challenge and we would very much like to participate in any effort that seeks to address it. The first thing that comes to mind in this case would be language resources. There is no mention of language resources for teaching in Indian languages."

If there were a clear rationale (to the system), it could be debated. I could then answer the question of whether we are for it or against it. But our problem is that an administrative order is being brought forward without any explanation as to its rationale. In fact, without even an explanation of how it is to be implemented," he adds.

Homogeneity

Another side effect of credit transferability is vastly unequal teaching and learning benchmarks of institutions. Sunalini Kumar, assistant professor (Department of Political Science) in Lady Shri Ram College points out, "We don't want it to seem like we are against centralisation. We are very much for it in a scenario where there are roughly equal facilities and infrastructure across central universities. Parallelism in terms of faculty recruitment, libraries, laboratories, funding assists centralisation when it comes from the logistical end of the sector. But, there is no uniformity of access. We are expected to make no demands on the government insofar as a centralised, uniform, basic minimum standard of education in the central universities is established."

Credentialing

With regard to vocational courses, which could potentially transform the face of higher education in India, the issue is that of credentialing and a narrow knowledge base. Specialised skills are, in theory, concurrent with employability, but without a breadth of learning methods that encompass related disciplines, it rings hollow. Effectively, it reduces employees to cogs in the machine. "If you want to be seen as employable, you need to be able to face different challenges that arise in the course of work rather than some low level skills which can be easily updated. Earlier, when we used to interact with industrialists about the sort of subjects that translate easily into skills at the workplace, they were inclined to agree with us. To strengthen the cognitive base, it is important to have a comprehensive grasp of the discipline. This creates decision makers and policy makers rather than passive technicians who just implement policies. When MNCs or global corporations hire from India, they need cheap labour, not people asking questions or demanding basic rights," says Nandita Narain, president of Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA)."

The demand for vocational training is coming from students, which makes it very valid. However, the way the CBCS is currently conceived is only going to strengthen the system of credentialing. Most students gravitate towards a programme of study or vocational course merely to secure a degree. Not necessarily for education as we understand it," says Janaki Nair, professor of Centre for Historical Studies, JNU. It legitimises an unhealthy obsession with acquiring degrees that are not reflective of natural strengths and interests.

Hierarchy

In the wake of implementing CBCS, all opposition, no matter how relevant, has been swept aside. According to Nandita Narain, if everyone doesn't fall in line, the CBCS is going to come into effect through an Act. Never before have Acts regulating universities incorporated the course structure and examination system. These come into a lower level of legislation and ordinance which the university itself can change. So, there goes autonomy. Every university shall sign there is no option in the matter an MoU with other universities for credit transfers.

She adds: "We will be forced into arrangements with private universities who are desperately looking for 'customers'. The bulk of students will end up taking the 'economically viable' courses at private universities while privileged students opt for fancy courses. The former will largely be absorbed into correspondence courses or MOOCs (massive open online courses) which are of a much lower quality. This creates a caste system within the student establishment. Even with efforts such as remedial teaching and scholarship, we have not been able to overcome the caste system inherent in higher education. Whatever semblance of democracy we have now will be pushed back in a couple of years."

Conclusion

It sounds dramatic, but it's real. Under this system, all universities will be governed by a group of vice-chancellors headed by the minister of HRD. There are bureaucrats and vice chancellors sitting in Nagarbhavi in Bangalore deciding what the performance indicators should be by which universities should be accredited, thereby institutionally taking away our autonomy. Universities run on reputation based on a certain ecosystem. Now, this ecosystem is being sought to be overthrown and overnight an accreditation rank with no consideration of stakeholders being brought in.