QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION; HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: STATUS AND PROSPECTIVE

Quality in higher education is always burning topic for discussion in many ways concerns to Academicians, Educationists and Students from many years. Quality practices and quality thinking are essential for all. In India, it seems to be a case of one step forward and two steps back. While the government has introduced various bills in the Parliament, each of these seems to be stuck at various levels. Bills, such as National Commission for Higher Education and Research, National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions, and Foreign Educational Institutions, if passed can bring much needed structural changes. There is an urgent need to debate these bills and ensure that they are passed. Most importantly, a change in mind-set is required. Perhaps, time has come to remove the stigma associated with profits in the education sector so that legitimate private enterprises can have access to capital and set up world-class institutions that the country needs so badly. A lot of debate has taken place on 'affiliation', 'accountability', 'autonomy', and so on. Everyone seems to agree that a radical overhaul of the higher education system is much needed. Time has now come to walk the talk. Or else India's youth will be left behind in the global race. A sound higher education sector plays an important role in economic growth and development of a nation. All levels of education, from primary to higher education, are overseen by the Department of Higher Education and the Department of School Education and Literacy. The Indian government has also heavily subsidized the education, although there is an initiative to make the higher education partially self-financing. The Higher Education in India aims at providing education to specialize in a field and includes many technical schools, colleges, and universities. In the context of current demographic structure of India where most of the population is below the age of 25 years, the role of higher education is critical. In this paper author try to gather information about quality in higher education; higher education in India: status and prospective. ___________________________________________________________________________ Keywords: Quality, Higher Education, Making India, Status and Prospective