Indian higher education is in deep crisis.

“Today, more than ever before in human history, the wealth–or poverty–of nations depends on the quality of higher education.  Those with a larger repertoire of skills and greater capacity for learning can look forward to lifetimes of unprecedented economic fulfillment.  But in the coming decades the poorly educated face little better than the dreary prospects of lives of quiet desperation”.   These words of wisdom from Malcolm Gills, the President of Rice University in 1999 have great relevance to all nations today.  But nowhere in the world are they more apt than in India.

dir="ltr">India's unique selling proposition propelling this growth and engendering optimism is the fact that we are home to one of the world's largest technical manpower pools. We have over 5 million scientists, engineers and technicians in India now. About 300,000 of them (6%) are engaged in research and development. We can boast of 450,000 allopathic physicians, 200,000 agricultural graduates and 40,000 veterinarians. The stock of other post graduate degree holders is about 4.5 million in liberal arts, and a million each in sciences and commerce.

Parenting young adults should rank as one of the most difficult jobs in the world.  The parents are obviously concerned about the welfare of their children. So they typically feel the need for more parenting. But, their children want even less.  To paraphrase the famous ‘Coffee Bite’ TV ad: the argument continues…

One of the great myths prevalent in today's India is that we are home to the third largest technological manpower pool in the world.  Many enthusiastic and well-meaning advocates of India as a world hub for value-added services are building their hopes on this belief that we have a vast pool of technically competent manpower.