New Institutes in India- Is this the solution?
Dinesh Kumar Singh
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 21:13 UTC
Govt. of India is in an overdrive to open hundreds of new institutes under the old umbrella (IITs, IIMs etc) or brand new ones with some international (and/or word-fad) tags like Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Stem Cell Institutes (SCI),Center for Vaccine and Infectious Disease Research (CVIDR), Center for Child Biology (CCB), Center for Chronic Biology (CChB), Regional Center for Biotechnology (RCB) under the aegis of UNESCO etc.
The idea is to give these institutes more money and freedom to do science free from any scientocratic web to develop “world-class” centers of excellence in new areas of biology.
Having read brilliant discussions about the current problems faced by Indian science in the current Nature India forum, I would like to start a discussion to know if opening new institutes is “THE SOLUTION” to the current problems faced by Indian science.
Do you think the new institutes will be any different from the current ones?
If so, how?
If no, what might be the cause of such failure?
What do you think should be done instead to rectify the current problems?
Updated 07 August 2009 02:25 UTC
-
Replies
Jump to resultsResults
-
I do not think only opening of new institutes is the solution. Funds and infrastructure are certainly important inputs. I have published a fairly balanced analysis of the current scenario with possible solutions:
Sharma OP (2008) Mediocrity in Indian Science – Algorithm for a turnaround, Current Sci Vol 95 (4) Pg 448-449
Sharma OP (2009) Criteria and mechanisms for faculty hiring in science, Current Sci Vol 96 (12) Pg 1560
Sharma OP (2007) Nobel Mission, Current Sci VOL. 92 (3) 269, Feb. 2007
Sharma OP (1998) Current science Vol.74 no.2 Pg.97-98, Creativity in Science
In addition a very germane quote is:
“Science is not just about laboratories and fancy new institutes; it is about the people inside them too: Ian Gibson, British Member of Parliament
A “must read” for any body planning to start a new world class institution:
THE PROFESSOR, THE INSTITUTE AND DNA, BY RENÉ J. DUBOS; THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY PRESS
Om P Sharma, PhD
Omsharma53@yahoo.com -
Anonymous
I would like to thank and congratulate Dr. Sharma for the articles, which I fully agree. Opening new Institutes is GREAT initiative, but running them efficiently is a different ball-game altogether. Govt. would hire/invite the same OLD LOT scientists from the present academia as directors and super bosses. So, where is the change??
I believe no change can be done, until a NEW MODEL altogether is started (Any takers ???, I doubt in a secular and democratic country like ours!). Though all the present models of science adminstration have their own pros and cons, but why not try a few of them. We already have a ‘chair for life’ Govt. Job. Lets try ‘publish-or-perish’ on contract basis, highly competitive and highly paid.
But anyways, I would be watching from the fence, coz I have little faith on Govt. of India intiative as everything, from the great IITs to CSIR milestone institutes to DBT centre of excellences to UGC sponsored University research programs, all end up in the same sea of bureaucracy and ‘how-well-connected-you-are’. -
Sharmaji just read the articles you listed.
Reading paragraph five (Current Sci Vol 95 (4) Pg 448-449)and overall intention that human resource is the key….and probably everything in changing the present paradigm, I feel still there is not much been done to really attract the good candidates. I recently posted my concern and fair comparison with other countries, backed by personally generated data, that there is no incentive for a decent track scientist to take up a position and to continually do good science in India Socialist-Policy hangover in Indian Science and Academia"
Commenting on Dinesh’s concern, my take is that we do need more institutes. However in these new institutes we must keep faculty selection criteria very high. We should hire only the best in the world but then we should be willing to pay them as the best in the world gets.
If we are willing to pay world-class money then for hiring faculties I propose that initially we should outsource this job to a decent US/European university. Hire faculties there with a open country-boundary free advertisement for a one single institute, train them there even more for Indian scenario and then bring them home with world-class money (as salary and research infrastructure). Develop a couple of institutes like this to set a good research culture in India. Once start working in India it’s possible that initially people from these institutes may wipe all the grant money in the country (because they are facilitated) but this will initiate a competition between new and established institutes in India to get the grant money. With competition we can expect a better science coming out from different places.
Let me be clear, issue is not that we cannot select faculties here in India but if we are starting NEW institutes then let’s don’t involve present Indian science/cultural politics in them, which will be inevitable if we start faculty hiring in India (as Om Sharma wrote ‘’The moment any faculty position is advertised a sort of rat race and lobbying starts.”) because everything is so much part of the present problem.
-
Theoritically, limited new institutes with world class facilities, with world class salary (at least, at per with postdoc salary in US) are steps towards right direction. Scientific contamination of young minds in India starts much before prolonged proximity with existing faculties and witnessing administrative policies during PhD programs. Branding of “groups”, in other words building of “pedigree”, start during PhD programs. Later it becomes very hard for a new faculty to oppose his old mentor(s), if situation demands. It will be my suggestion to avoid recruiting young people who have completed PhD in India for such new institutes. Everything should start fresh. It will also be needed to house those people in a secured campus with basic day-to-day facilities (general grocery etc) available within it. It is very important that people in higher positions must not be recruited from existing manpower pool within India. If one old monkey is there, no new monkey will learn to develop on its own, as per a old but very popular story.
I see no hope in wholesale distribution of new institutes all over the country. It’s more problematic to witness mushrooming new centers under the aegis of old, existing ones like IITs. It seems to be very prudent to think that it’s the old, established faculties who are taking the decisions in concert with politicians in this whole process. Generally such people do not waste time in doing anything under the sky if there is no personal benefit. To me it’s all due to huge backlog of benevolent candidates belonging to some gang or other waiting to get secured jobs in India, under the protection of their Godfathers, waiting for proper time to become a Godfather themselves.
Recruitment and evaluation parameters of newly recruited candidates and higher management in some of these new institutes make me less optimistic. Let our policy makers (both scientific and political) show the determination and ability to rectify age old problems associated with our old institutes before starting new ones. Many of such old institutes used to be real world class research centers (e.g IISc or Bose Institute).Such new canters are also mopping up scare resource away from basic education. Personally I’ll be more interested to see how the “right of education” bill is implemented. I do feel India must give priority to basic primary and high school education than wrongly focusing on higher education and research, as I mentioned in my post Primary and secondary education reform should be India’s top priority. I feel more optimistic about that. If properly implemented, it has the potential to give world-class scientists and many other great professionals who can lead India to the next level. Currenly we we discard real talents at the very bigining. There is not much sense to keep on searching which is not there or so rare. I never think setting up few more Doon schools, some more IITs/IIMs, few more scholarships/fellowship to study abroad will do any good to India as a country or Indian science as a whole.
-
Anonymous
Once I witnessed the other (foreign) side of a foreign-India scientific collaboration. It was a Indo-X(not naming the country) collaboration. I talked to the scientist who was in-charge of the project in that country (I was in the same lab). It seemed that foreign collaborators have almost no control on how the project is awarded, how the money is spent in India. Sometimes they expressed apprehension and dismay to Indian authority, but could not change the course of the project in India. Some faculties from very selected groups, from selected institutes used to visit that country on a regular basis. Almost all of them had no interest to learn or do any work there. They were mainly interested to travel different places, meet relatives within that country, to shop for their families and enquire how their children can get an admission and scholarship to study there. When you see CVs of such people they proudly advertise their sabbatical in a foreign country. These are the people who become big bosses in India. They plan and execute how Indian science will run.
Whether it’s new institute or old, I will watch from the fence till I see concrete signs of new, resurgent India in research area. Currently I think Indian science is going down hill and continue with that path in foreseeable future. I am not happy with my PDF abroad but the options for me in India, both to search a position and mainly predicted life after that gives me immense satisfaction to continue with my PDF here. -
I have have done my masters and PhD from a north American university and I been to many universities in Canada and the U.S. Believe me, all the dirty stuff we have in India, e.g., bureaucracy, politics, stealing others ideas, etc., etc. is the same everywhere. I have seen all kinds of lobbying for taking jobs. It is known here that you have to have CONNECTIONS to get a job unless you are genius (e.g., papers in nature, science, etc., again, people apply tricks to publish in Nature and Science). I myself have seen at least 4 cases where totally undeserving candidates have been hired for a faculty job. Instead of copying west and relying on them, India should first evolve a system unique to its own working conditions, culture, etc., and then set the institutes. India and Indians have a tendency to first bring the technology and then think about the system.
I have grew up at a University campus in India. That university had wonderful publications, many world records, foreign students, etc. until 1973 when the state govt instituted some bureaucrats in the board. Now more than 95% of the funding to the University is spent on salaries, car expenses, construction, etc. Hence, this nasty political element should be COMPLETELY removed from the research institutions. But the most important thing is the culture and one’s attitude. We Indians are losing our culture and values which is reflected in the functioning of the institutes. I don’t agree with the individualistic work culture at North American Institutes where you hire an intellectual and incur huge expenses to set up the research facility and still chances are that he/she moves to other greener pastures. India cannot afford such huge loses. My suggestions include following: 1) Develop a system unique to India for research institutions, 2) create a huge barrier for politicians to get into the research institutes, 3) develop research themes based on the prevailing and grave issues, 4) establish a hiring process to focus the theme, 5)put efforts to hire first few cultured, morally sound individuals, who will then help in the formation of a team unique to that particular research institute. A strong team culture will retain people and thats how the success can be achieved. Sorry guys, I have written the above in a hurry as the alarm in the building will turn on in few minutes. I must leave now. Jai Hind! -
Anonymous
New institutes : Excellent initiative
A visit to the websites of new institutes (IISERs per se) can tell a big story. New faculty hired will write their publications and even PhD and PDF experience but people deputed from other institutes including IITs to establish these institutes are much below the required level (exceptions are there).
Every new institute should have
1. Independent established system free of government interference. If State govts are eager to put their representative for better coordination they should select a person on the basis of research/teaching productivity rather than political connectivity.
2. Director should be hired directly from outside (not from existing Indian system). Indian govt should match salary of these directors as per international standard. An old experienced IIT or other Univ professor is good for establishing similar institute but not a better institute due to his/her own limitations and system. A fresh mind from the best universities of West and much superior university can establish a much better institute. For example, director from IIT will try to replicate facilities of IIT like ordering system, cold rooms, and even cafeteria and banks whereas fresh mind with good exposure will combine cafeteria of Johns Hopkins, ordering system of Stanford, gym of UCLA, hiring (faculty) system of Harvard, course work combination from MIT types, flexibility of Cambridge and so on.
3. Funding should be transparent. It should be mandatory for funding bodies to publish the name of successful applicants and atleast abstract of the project. This will convey the clear message to everyone and prevention of duplication of funding for the same project to the same lab from different sources.
4. Name and Institute of last degree/qualification should be advertised for all those who were given scholarships like Ford, Common wealth, INLAKS, GOI and so on.
5. Each new faculty hired should be prompted to have a personal page with their professional details including publications. All the qualifications mentioned on the CV should be cross checked (to avoid claims of three MSc degrees from GB Pant university as seen in the case of NBRI director). Call the referee to see if there is anything fishy or mentioned in between the lines.
6. All appointments should be for 5 years and after 5 years there should be a review. There should be a flexibility with institute to either remove a Prof or limit him/her to teaching (by giving additional courses) if the research activities carried out are not upto the expected level.
7. Course work should be Indian and please avoid copying syllabus of western universities. One institute had word to word copy of Harvard syllabus for a particular course. Our students are not trained in schools to handle this syllabus. Few of the courses are too easy for them and others are extremely difficult. Design your own course work rather than copying from west or IITs etc.
-
Anonymous
In life it is also depend,how we see the things. Their is no second thought that number of eng./med. colleges/inst have increase significantly i last few years. Due to this standards are coming down heavily, persons who are unable to qualify 12th is getting admission in Eng/Med. if parents have money. Most of colleges even do not have adequate facilities and staff. Country can not afford good teachers/researchers as pofessions are not resptecd in socitey due to poor salary comparison to international/industry standard.
The question is whether we should open more colleges, if you ask from quality point of view I will say no. This is one point of view, if we go few year back only limited reputed inst/colleges (IIT/IIM etc.). It means only limited persons can get admission due to limit seats does it mean remaining persons are waste because they can not compete. These less talented people have no right to grow in life; they can be used to serve the nation, they have no right to live their life. This is the problem of most of successful peoples they feel only talented people have right rest should suffer; they never see from humanity point of view every one need to have right to live; every one have dreams to grow in life; whatever talent he/she has is not in his hand. Come to point advantage of being more and more college/inst are following
i) most of persons are getting chance to do degree of their choice
ii) if they have degree their is quite good chance they are geting some or other jobs may be BPO (person who has no option in life may get some cahnce)
iii) Chances are increasing to get job abroad, in past lot of sub standard IT persons get job abroad
iv) at least they may get job in newly opened inst/colleges
v) This way money is in circulation rather than money in bank, people/parents are paying in name of education, bussinessman are doing their safe bussiness in name of education.
vi) lot of people are getting job due to opening of new colleges/instIn my view this is excellent idea to provide job to unemployed persons. In any case money is in country in circulation. In-fact economic point of view science is not profit making business.
-
Anonymous
Before we start posting comments on this issue it will be better to have a clear idea of what is expected, for what our policy makers want more institutes. Is that to solve un-employment problem among youths or to improve quality of higher education and research to make our country more just-society and develop a knowledge based economy (as mentioned by our PM, MM Singh)? If the aim is to solve un-employment problem in a unsustainable manner then I have no problem with setting up of as many institutes, universities we can, by whatever means we have (private or public). But if we aim to achieve the second goal, then we must stop it immediately without further wastage of money and try to improve what we already have, try to understand what went wrong (if at all, as per our policy makers and big bosses) so that we can correct our mistakes (if they accept) in future. Then, only then it makes sense to set up so many new ”institutes of excellence”.
-
Anonymous
Having read the reply in response to the question I posed, it seems that most of us have more or less the same opinion.We all tend to agree that opening new institutes will only solve the problem if there is a complete reboot of the system without any contamination. But, we all (sort of) know that this is far from reality.
Interestingly, most of us know the current problems and have solutions for them. Yet, we know that the remedy is out of reach and we cannot do anything. Those who can make a difference are indifferent to the problem themselves. Very funny, isn’t it?
I wish someone like Yashpal, CNR Rao etc ( advisors to the PM or President) read the Nature India forum blog to feel the pulse of the current Indian science and do something about it.
To me it seems that we CANNOT do anything progressive if we don’t shun off our old ATTITUDE and learn to take RESPONSIBILITY and held ACCOUNTABLE for what we do. “Ahama Brahmasmi” attitude has to go before we can do anything constructive.
Results
-
