India has one of the largest systems of higher education in the world. Since independence it has enormously expanded in terms of quantity and diversity of fields of knowledge. However, it has remained relatively unchanged insofar as the structure, the system of management and even functional objectives are concerned. As we enter the 21 century, higher education in India is still in a state of flux. A dissatisfied and highly critical public, an uninspired academia, shortages in funding, progressively consumer driven market, entry of private enterprise, globalization and a variety of other concerns demand that the long pending reforms be addressed and a meaningful restructuring of our higher education system be taken up without delay. This volume brings together critical perspectives on and valuable insights into, several issues concerning tertiary education that have not been examined so closely and comprehensively. Prof. V.C. Kulandai Swamy addresses some of the issues ranging from the macro management of the system to micro management of institutions. He argues in his wide-ranging reflections over a period of almost two decades that our higher education system is in need of far-reaching changes.The chapters in the volume look at key issues concerning : Systemic changes; curriculum changes; Autonomy and decentralization ; Academic leadership; the Vice-Chancellor; the faculty ; Consumer demand; privatization ; Globalization; assessment and accreditation ; A vision of the future. This book would be a valuable resource for education administrators, policy makers, teachers and students of higher education.
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