Academia Speak
faculty Deficit in higher education There is an urgent need to focus on shortage of teaching faculty in higher learning, which can be done by attracting top rank holders in universities and institutions of higher education By Prof V S Ramamurthy
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e are on the threshold of a new era in the history of human civilisation. An era dominated and often driven by knowledge. Access to knowledge and an ability to use it for one’s own advantage have become more important than access to natural resources and capital. The emerging knowledge economy depends critically on the ready availability of adequate human resource with the right knowledge and intellectual skills. India with a billion plus population and a varied demography has an excellent window of opportunity in this new economy. However, our educational system needs to be substantially upgraded to impart globally competitive training if
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we have to make use of this opportunity. India has seen major investments and promises of new investments in higher education in the recent times both by the government and by the private sector. The biggest challenge for India is however, the non-availability of competent faculty to teach in these institutions. This challenge defies simple and quick-fix solutions since, it takes several years of hard training to groom a competent teacher in any branch of higher learning. It is a well known fact that a career in teaching begins late with the average age of person being close to 30. The increasing number of career options, attractive salaries in some other streams of employment that are high in