Background: In our case, a first-division student was appointed as a mechanical engineer through someone’s recommendation. Within a few days, it became clear that his knowledge was limited. When I spoke to him, he admitted that throughout his education, he had never even touched a machine. He honestly told me that the mechanics there used to prepare the models for them. Today, he is a loco pilot in the Railways.

An Uncomfortable Question About Higher Education in Jharkhand

Some questions do not get answered immediately, but they also cannot be avoided. Higher education in Jharkhand is standing before one such question today.

The number of universities and colleges in the state has increased. New campuses have been built. Modern buildings have been constructed. Model colleges have been established. Infrastructure worth billions of rupees has been created. At first glance, it may appear to an observer that higher education is expanding. Looking at the variety of courses being offered by the new universities, it is difficult to believe that so much academic capacity was lying hidden. But any education system should be evaluated not by its buildings, but by its classrooms; classrooms by their teachers; and teachers by their intellectual dialogue with students. By their actual knowledge.

This is where the question begins.

The information that has become public from various universities from time to time is concerning. In many colleges, teaching positions have remained vacant for years. In some places there are departments but no regular teachers; elsewhere students are being admitted, but the teaching system has not developed to the expected level. In several institutions, the process of examinations and results continues, while the shortage of teaching resources persists.

If a situation becomes normal in a state where admissions, registration and examinations take place regularly, but quality teaching becomes an exception, then it is no longer merely an administrative deficiency; it becomes a question connected to the very soul of education.

This is not a criticism of any one university or any one government. It is a discussion of the trend that is gradually taking shape before us.

Vacant Spaces Never Remain Vacant

There is a simple principle of economics – where public systems are not adequate, the market makes its place.

After changes in policies, higher education is no exception to this. If quality education, adequate teachers, timely academic activities and an environment for research are not available in government institutions, students and parents will naturally look for alternatives. This is where the role of private universities and private higher educational institutions increases.

Private sector participation in itself is neither inappropriate nor unusual. Many prestigious universities in the world are private, and they have made outstanding contributions in the fields of knowledge, research and innovation.

The question is not about being private. The question is whether the purpose of education will remain knowledge, or only certificates?

If an institution’s identity begins to be shaped more by its marketing campaigns than by its library, laboratories, research, teachers and the intellectual environment of its students, society should pause and think.

For government jobs, all certificates are equal; they cannot be different. Therefore, for a limited number of jobs and thousands of candidates, only a fair and honest system can filter talent.

Education and Business – Both Are Necessary, But They Are Not the Same

I myself have been associated with the world of industry and business. Any entrepreneur knows how difficult it is to build an enterprise.

Capital has to be raised. Risks have to be taken. Competition has to be faced. The trust of the market has to be earned. Every day there remains an uncertainty about whether the customer will stay or not. Earning profit in business is neither a crime nor a matter of shame. Profit is what makes an enterprise sustainable. But the field of education is not merely business. It builds the future of society. Therefore, a university’s balance sheet does not contain only an account of income and expenditure; it also records the future of generations.

When the value of a degree becomes greater than the knowledge it claims to certify, the character of education begins to change. Universities then cease to remain merely educational institutions; they begin to risk becoming certificate-providing institutions. Many institutions too appear to be taking the path of compromise.

The Biggest Investment Is Not the Building, But the Teacher (Yet in Marketing Brochures, Buildings Are Seen, Not Teachers)

Here, discussions on education often begin with buildings, campuses and inaugurations and end there. The real investment lies elsewhere. A good teacher, a vibrant library, a capable laboratory, a research culture. A campus where there is freedom to ask questions. These are the real assets of a university.

If only physical infrastructure is available in place of these basic elements, it may create the appearance of education, but not education itself.

And Then the Same Student Stands in the Employment Queue

This is where the discussion does not remain limited to universities. The ultimate purpose of higher education is not merely to provide degrees, but to prepare capable human resources. Those who can use the knowledge they have accumulated in their working lives.

When lakhs of students emerge from a system where the quality of teaching has continually remained under question, its impact does not remain limited to educational degrees/certificates. Its impact is visible in competitive examinations, skills, employment and the system of governance.

In the past few years, controversies, allegations and demands for investigation regarding various recruitment examinations in Jharkhand have surfaced from time to time. The truth of each case will be determined only by investigating agencies and courts; but why is this matter not disputed when it comes to opportunities in the private sector?

But it is certainly worth considering that if society’s trust in both the education system and the recruitment system begins to falter at the same time, the greatest price is paid by the youth. There are more recruitment opportunities in the private sector, created by entrepreneurs, but there selection is generally based not on certificates, but on knowledge.

Now the Questions Are for the Government as Well as Society

Is appointing sufficiently capable teachers in government universities our priority? Are regulatory institutions as serious about the quality of higher education as they are about building construction? Are transparent and strict quality standards being effectively implemented for private universities?

Are we increasing the number of degrees, or the quality of knowledge? The answers to these questions are not for the government alone. Society, universities, industry, teachers and parents—all are participants in this discourse.

In the End …

Jharkhand is a young state. Its greatest asset is not its minerals, but its youth.

If higher education becomes a system that merely provides certificates instead of making them capable, self-reliant and thoughtful citizens, it will not be the failure of any one university; it will be the collective failure of the entire society.

We must ensure that universities remain centres of knowledge, not merely centres of degree distribution. Otherwise, the day is not far when society will begin to view education in the same way that it views an ordinary business.

And the day society develops the perception that a university offers not knowledge, but only products-that day education too will become merely a ‘general store’ (where everything is available in a small shop). In that situation, the greatest loss will not be suffered by any government, any university or any industry. The greatest loss will be suffered by the generation that will have a degree in its hands, but no knowledge standing behind it.

In India, GATE is conducted to test the skills of engineers, and its scores rate them beyond the degrees of colleges and universities. The same can be done for other courses as well.