Six Aces for Higher Education’s Swadeshi Six-pack

Prime Minister Modi’s patriotic appeal for Swadeshi Bharat for Viksit Bharat is a wake-up call for those dreaming elsewhere and living in Bharat.

- BY INVITATION S Vaidhyasubramaniam

Modi’s “Garv Se Kaho Yeh Swadeshi Hai” is a proud roar of a tiger economy that is experiencing the second coming of its first leadership position in the global comity of nations. The re-imagination of India towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047 is a multidimensional policy prescription that cuts across all socioeconomic growth sectors like public infrastructure, defence, manufacturing, healthcare, education, Agriculture, etc. With active public and private participation in various economic spheres spurring growth, the push for alternate models of engagement with social sectors like education and healthcare cannot come at a time more appropriate than now. The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) is a steaming appetiser already served for a healthy main course that is yet to be served in full. The various reforms by way of regulations and guidelines initiated by statutory bodies like the UGC, AICTE, NCTE, etc. need to fire on all cylinders. As the institutional launchpads are getting ready, there is a sense of urgency in the countdown for action. As the systemic (re) assembly of various educational parts begin through the proposed Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, there is also a need to ensure that the growth engine is six-stroke making a departure from the conventional two or four: Here is why this six-stroke engine is important for a successful long-term journey for India’s higher education reforms.