OUT OF THE BLUE

Now that most of my friends’ children are getting ready to enter college, there’s one question I am constantly asked since I write often on the subject: besides Ashoka, what are the other private options these kids have? What do I think of Jindal, Shiv Nadar University (SNU), Munjal University and even Aziz Premji? Even though it’s barely off the ground, parents even ask about “what happened to Bennett University — weren’t they setting up something and won’t it be of high quality”. Options on the university front in India are so limited that almost everyone is grasping at straws.

Every time I am asked this, I draw a blank — much to their disappointment — some looking at me accusingly as if I am to blame. I only reply by saying that none of the universities they are mentioning have really made any serious mark and a couple of them are in fact in trouble. I wouldn’t send my own children to these so I can hardly advise it to others.

Then starts this inevitable discussion on why those who have managed to make quite a mark in the private sector — be it Shiv Nadar or the Munjal group — should fail to do so in the education space. If they can run large successful corporations, why not large successful universities?

In turn I discussed this with a few experts in the sector and based on their experiences and my own, here’s what I think.

One, most of the newcomers appear so desperate for students that there is no filter on student intake. Anyone who is willing to fork out the fees is welcome to join. I was surprised to learn from a friend whose daughter got into the liberal arts programme at a private university which offered to send a car to pick her and her daughter — the prospective student — from their house in Vasant Vihar to be ferried to the institute’s campus in Sonepat to help them take a final call to admit her daughter there. Needless to say, the offer put her off enough to refuse.

Second, the focus of a lot of these private universities is not on the quality of academicians and research but on — bizarrely — the infrastructure they are offering — the massive campus, the hideous glass and chrome buildings, the endless state-of-the-art labs and technology and so on. Look at any private university advertisement and it goes on and on about what is on offer. Are the students going to imbibe and ingest this infrastructure? So consumed are they with the goal of providing the “best”, “state-of-the-art”, “global” and “worldclass”, they forget that good universities need good professors above all. No amount of physical infrastructure can make up for lack of human capital.

This links with the point I make above. Bizarre amounts are spent on providing this grand infrastructure so even before you’ve barely got off the ground, the pressure to fill up seats begins to mount.

And last but this is certainly the biggest factor: governance. Be it Shiv Nadar University or the Munjal set-up, the typical Indian way of running the institution as they have their companies lingers. Placing full trust and faith in professionals doesn’t come to them easily. They seem unable to hire the right guy and leave him free to do his thing.

Family members are brought in to head key positions — or to breathe down the neck of those holding key positions — whether or not they have the required credentials, expertise or knowledge. Even in cases where they hire a professional, some company loyalist or family member will be placed to keep an eye on the outsider. This in turn leads to excessive interference — a kind of daily headache for the person holding charge.

In the case of SNU to cite one instance, this led to the exodus of its vice chancellor and two of its best known academicians last year, leaving it with barely any known names — usually a big draw for prospective students and parents. Similarly, at the new and forever “upcoming” Munjal university, a key position is held by a family member, who may or — as many argue — may not be the best person for the job.

This single factor doesn’t go down very well with academicians and professors — often a fairly idiosyncratic and strong-headed lot — who want to be left free to do their own thing.