The Hindu : New Delhi News : Globalisation back in focus

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 25, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Globalisation back in focus

The issue may have seemed to take a backseat for some time, but globalisation of education will be back in focus this coming December, with the major players of the Indian higher education sector coming together for a two-day brainstorming session on "The Higher Education Summit -- Roadmap for the Future'' beginning December 1.

To be inaugurated by the Union Minister for Human Resources and Development, Arjun Singh, globalisation and the opening of the education sector in the post-General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) -- that comes into effect from January 2005 -- will form the prime topics of the summit. Education is one of the 12 services included in the list of activities binding member-countries to allow market access and remove restrictions.

With the entry and participation of more and more private players, the competition in the higher education segment has clearly seen a rise. And while there has been much opposition to the increasing dominance of privatisation in the sector from various sections, most agree that the real need of the hour in higher education today is good quality assessment.

"The opposition to private players is difficult to understand really. Nobody is asking the Government to step aside, but then considering the demand in the higher education segment, it is important to understand that the Government alone will not be able to provide the entire supply. What we need to do is define quality parameters and ensure that they are implemented,'' feels Sushma Berua, Chairperson of the FICCI Education Committee and vice-president of the Apeejay Education Society.

While the prime concern continues to be that of quality, universities and colleges here are also worried that once foreign players come in, the degrees offered by them may have more value in the eyes of the consumers and that the private institutes will do little for students coming from the disadvantaged sections of society.

"There is clearly going to be more competition, but with that the studies will also have to become cost-effective as in other demand-supply situations. In any case, how are we making it any better by stopping privatisation? Education should be flexible so that it can help a large section of society,'' argues Ms. Berua.

The two-day summit will take up the topics of higher education in a knowledge-based society, financing and management of higher education in the emerging scenario, maintenance of standards and benchmarking for quality, collaboration and alliances in higher education, innovations and new practices in delivery and chart our a roadmap for the future. Expected for the event are the Stanford University President, John Henessy, the Singapore Minister for Education, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and other dignitaries from around the world.

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The Xavier's Labour Research Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, has added yet another feather to its cap. After a successful placement sting for the 2004 batch, it is the turn of the 2006 batch with 189 students - 126 in Business Management and 63 in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations to enjoy their summer placements.

Taking the lead was IBM, which picked up 13 candidates followed by HLL and ICICI Bank, which have taken 11 students each, while BPCL was close behind with nine students. The FMCG Sector - comprising Arvind Brands, Asian Paints, Cadbury, Castrol, Coke, Colgate Palmolive, Gillette, Godrej, HLL, ICI, ITC, Pepsi, Reckitt Benckiser, Seagrams and Titan - was the top recruiter picking up 54 students (30 per cent of the batch).

While the number of offers accepted from consulting firms like Accenture, Ernst & Young, Hay Group and Hewitt among others saw an increase of 67 per cent over last year, the IT/ITES Sector accounted for 22 per cent of the batch. The core sector picked the next highest numbers with 36 offers made in all by Aditya Birla Group, BPCL, Murugappa Group, Shree Cements, TAS and Tata Motors.

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With festival time finally here on the campus, colleges are busy ensuring academics and celebrations go hand in hand. The Economics Department of Sri Venkateswara College organised "Bliss'', which debated the various issues of current economic policy.

The debate relating to the Left intervention in the planning process was attended by over 15 teams, with St. Stephen's walking away with the best debating team award. The host team, however, won the first prize in the prestigious paper presentation competition.

Lakshmi B. Ghosh

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