There is a consensus that the government should focus more on tackling the rise of fly by night institutions, which have sprung up across the country in thousands rather than interfere in the functioning of established and recognized institutions.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) had issued its notification in December 2010 to B-schools listing a new set of rules for the B-schools of the country to follow. The circular instructs not only the doing away with important MBA entrance exams, such as the XAT, ATMA or MICAT, but ascertains that only CAT, MAT or any state government-conducted exams (such as the Maharashtra CET) can serve as entry points to B-schools. 

Another point in the circular instructs B-schools to admit students only through a state government operated process. The statutory body has also made it clear that such colleges and institutes cannot set their own fee structures. They can only charge fees approved by a competent state government body.

All this has once again brought into focus the question ‘Should government control higher education institutions?’ or the question can be rewritten as ‘Does the government need to regulate the established higher education institutions?’

There is a consensus that the government should focus more on tackling the rise of fly by night institutions, which have sprung up across the country in thousands rather than interfere in the functioning of established and well recognized institutions. 

It is argued that Indian education regulations are stifling in nature and a lot of quality conscious institutions, which are outside the regulatory regime, are performing well. An example is ISB.

In this article we present to you statements FOR and AGAINST government control of higher education, which will help you speak up on your particular stand during the GD round.

FOR

-- TACKLES FLY BY NIGHT OPERATORS: We need to have a regulatory mechanism in place because anybody just can't open up an institute in a 10-room building and say that 'I am imparting education to students' – without faculty and yet charge abnormally high fees. As per our national policy on education, education cannot be for profit. 

-- NEEDED FOR MAKING EDUCATION AFFORDABLE AND ALL INCLUSIVE: Supreme Court judgments have pronounced that education is not a profit-making business; rather it should be accessible to everybody, even to the most disadvantaged child in our society. To translate all these thoughts, it is necessary that we have a regulatory mechanism in place. That is why, following the Supreme Court judgement, every state is supposed to have a fee committee in place, an admission regulatory committee in place and see that fees is not abnormally high. Regulations as a stifling factor is completely different, we need to look at it outside this context.

-- NEEDED FOR BARRING LOW GRADE FOREIGN EDUCATION PROVIDERS: Foreign education providers are making a back door entry in our country. Most are unrecognized institutions. They are giving programmes which are not worth anything in their own home country and are taking our children for a ride. So, the Foreign University Bill will certainly regulate the kind of institutions that are going to come. We don't want to have somebody walking into our country and setting up an institution here, having a tie-up programme and teaching our students which is not good for our country. Besides, the fee these providers are charging is to the tune of lakhs and more. We don't even know the employability opportunities such education is going to provide.

AGAINST

-- FEAR OF FRUITS OF LIBERALISATION GOING WASTE: Two decades of economic liberalization have transformed India into one of the fastest growing emerging economies of the world. This liberalization has also led to the emergence of a large variety of institutions shaping critical human capital, especially management education needs of the emerging and globalizing economy. A host of management institutes have surfaced and a good number of them are acquiring global recognition and competence through competition and innovation. While the need is to encourage innovation and competition in higher education, the regulations by government bodies counter these trends and with disastrous consequences both for education and the emerging economy. 

-- IMPACT ON INNOVATION: The freedom to design and execute course content as also to find innovative ways of identifying and selecting the potential candidates must remain with the respective educational institutes if they are to attain excellence. Since excellence requires innovation and large investments, the freedom to determine the fee structure must also remain with the institutes. A student would not mind paying higher fees if his degree guarantees placement with a decent salary and bright future prospects.

-- STIFLES FREEDOM: Some of the biggest concerns with respect to government regulation are the infringement of the autonomy in planning and scheduling of admissions and designing of the curriculum. 

-- QUALITY GETS DEGRADED: There is enough evidence that whatsoever is the growth of Education in India is due to Autonomous Institutions running different courses in the country. They signify the quality of the education as required by the principle customer i.e. Industry. Government regulations degrade the quality of educational programmes. 

-- LET THE STUDENTS DECIDE: It is the students and their parents who have to decide whether it is worth paying the fees or not. Government should not come in between. Let the state governments run their own colleges and the universities as per their norms and leave the private ones alone.

-- CORRUPT BODIES: There is no need for regulatory bodies like AICTE, which are mired in corruption. A central ranking/grading authority will be a better option.