Dynamics of Higher Tech. Education

 Based on several detailed studies, researches and actual experiences obtained through TIFAC (Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment  Council, see www.tifac.org.in), the author is convinced of the need to change the existing “establishment mindsets” in many areas of our country: science & technology (S&T) institutions, academic sector, industries and  governance systems, various issues and solutions have been extensively dealt with, in the books and articles by the author (where he is author and/or co-author).

The traditional academic planners at the level of governmental or apex agencies in India tend to chase the elusive models of projections for growth and matching other activities with their projections of growth.  These are the vestiges of the thinking of centralized systems of the past which have failed substantially, measured either in terms of spurring economic growth or in terms of providing social equity or in terms of creating high quality large scale production of skilled labour force or knowledge workers.  Even to support the IT boom of the eighties the government funded institutions were not able to meet the demands of the need of rapidly growing IT industry.  It was the “mushrooming” (the derogatory term used by the establishment academics) private sector colleges predominantly in the south and many “non-recognized” private sector industries entering into non-formal sector of education which met the quantitative demand of growing industry. 

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Vice Chanceller

Punjab Technical University (PTU) ; also Scientific Advisor to the Punjab Chief Minister

To be presented at the Second TIET Foresight Symposium on Higher Technical Education-Issues of Access and Delivery on 23rd November, 2003. Views expressed are personal.

If India could make its presence globally felt with about 2 million professionals in USA alone and many others doing “off shore jobs” in India, it is because of these totally non-conventional (to the Indian establishment view point) modes of skill and knowledge delivery.  After about one-and-half decades, these are being accepted grudgingly by the establishment though not working out creative and innovative methods of expanding on them.

While mentioning about the IT human resources “revolution” in India, one should not forget the Gulf phenomena of the seventies when our skilled labour force – carpenters, technicians, plumbers, fitters, machinists, stenographers,  etc -  excelled in Gulf Countries and brought considerable foreign exchange to India.  Same was the case with nurses, teachers, accountants etc.

Somehow the governments,  (State and Central)  educational planners or the economists have not  taken note of these unique achievements of Indians.  Somehow considerations of economic growth in concrete terms and employment opportunities for ordinary Indians on a large scale have seldom interested the academia or the elite thinkers or perhaps even the government planners, though clichéd phrases are often used in Government documents.

The author believes, for “cold” intellectual as well as emotional reasons, that empowering each Indian with right skills and knowledge (to enable him/her to add value addition) is crucial for national development.  If people are poor, it is because they have not been empowered with right skills which can provide value addition in the competitive world of market economics (which really exists and existed despite the government controlled licence – permit – quota-raj).

How to approach this “knowledge and skill” management to reach all Indians, is explained in detail in a recent article by the author in the International Journal of Information Technology and Management (Vol.2, No.3, 2003) ISSN 1461-4111 (www.inderscience.com) in a  paper entitled “Towards a knowledge society in India:  Issues for management” The readers (and listeners of my talk on 23 Nov., 2003) are requested to read it carefully.  The article has many references.  They will provide a rich resource material for creative thinking.

In addition to the above the readers (and listeners of the talk) are requested to read the Chapter XI “Technology Dynamism  and Employment – An Indian Perspective” – a chapter in his book “Empowering Indians, with economic, business, and technology strengths for the twenty first century” revised reprint 2002 (insist on this revised print please!) by Har Anand Publications Private Limited.  In that chapter the author has come to a conclusion based on sound arguments that:

“A developed country is one which is able to utilize its core      strength to the best possible extent.  If a country is not able to use      its core strengths or is underutilizing its core strengths it remains     underdeveloped”

 Utilization of core strengths is finally the       utilization of strengths of its people.

In the same book “Empowering Indians” the author has discussed “Integrative Policies for Economy, Security and Technology” in three chapters.  Chapter IV Trade, Technology, Foreign Policy and National Security: Growing Nexus”.  This chapter describes the impact of globalization, the fact that  globalization is a result of rapid growth of S&T and knowledge.  The “globalization” is an inevitable process with “glocalization” as a natural corollary.  This is where the local (i.e Indian) knowledge/skill generating and sharing systems  have a major role to play.  Chapter-V of the same book “Policies for Science and Technology in the Era of Liberalization” describes in detail the “mindset changes” required in our S&T and academic system.

What is required to perform and excel in a globalizing world where competitive market forces and therefore economic efficiency considerations dominate, is knowledge sharing.  Technology as a linear process from idea to commercialization is not so today as it was 100 years ago.  It is made of multiple random walks now.  Confluencing of technologies and multiple technologies in any single product has made it necessary for big or small firm (enterprise) to share technology and knowledge in a way to derive best benefit for various stake holders in the total value creating chain.  Each one has to learn to place himself or herself in the right position in the global chain and enjoy the benefit of the expanded market.  These new compulsions are addressed in great detail in a book by Prof N.S.Siddharthan and the author “Global Business, Technology and Knowledge Sharing Lessons for developing country enterprises” (Macmillan publication 2002).  The role of academia can be best understood from the chapter on Technology Intermediation, which addresses technology forecasting, technology assessment, and how to enable innovative products and processes of a firm to emerge in a market place.  There is a need for considerable amount of knowledge sharing between multiple technologists, and those involved in businesses/enterprises.  In fact all the higher professional   institutions have to instill this knowledge and concepts in students, faculty and others who use continual education systems.  Academics can in addition populate their research reports with actual Indian case studies so that many more can have knowledge sharing possibilities in firms, business houses, governments and academia.  Even foreign enterprises will benefit and also partner with Indian firms as they get better clarity of detailed dynamics, which today is unavailable.  It is therefore a mutual win-win-win….situation.

Lastly the author believes that it is not enough address educational systems only from the view point of the academic or that of enterprises and other users.  India is blessed every year with about 17 million new children.  At any age bracket there is such a number.  They all have a right to be empowered with right productive skills – not just a catch all literacy and numeracy which can only leave them in the lurch in the modern economy.  These issues have been addressed in some detail by the author in the latest book “Choosing Career Paths” by Har Anand Publications (2003)  The thesis in the book is to divide the youth as three layers – upper, middle and lower, in terms of the earnings they can get in the present day competitive world.  It is rather sad that only about 1% of eligible children are able to get into upper layers.  For becoming a developed country it should be about 20%, that is, the opportunities for higher technical and professional education has to be expanded about 20 fold or else in the near future we will be condemning about 99% of population being unfit for modern competitive world.  Even in the middle layer we have only  about  10% now.  We need to increase that too.  This is a social issue and cannot be ducked with a question “Where are jobs?”.  Let us ponder over a question.    â€œCan we make our children to be Markandeyas to stay put at the age of 16 till our economy grows to make a demand on them?”  For the higher education in India, let us not push this issue under the carpet.  We cannot afford to ignore the rights of our children to live prosperously in a world which is going to pay only those who have the right skills.  Education & skill imparting is not a slot machine – it requires gestation periods for a person who enters it to come out with reasonable skills and knowledge base.

So we need to bold in our approach to expand skill and knowledge delivery systems to our people on a massive scale to enable them to be productive in a competitive globalised world.   That will in turn would also spread entrepreneurship thus creating a virtuous cycle of economic acceleration and knowledge-skill base growth.

A few illustrations will be provided during the actual talk.

Delivered at Thapar Institute of Technology, Patiala on 17.11.03. Those who are keen to get illustrations may put the request at the website