This paper critically examines the historical development in birth and growth of professional educational institutions, identifies and analyzes the problems that hinder their organization development, and suggests suitable remedial measures. With a systems approach, the following issues are discussed I detail.
1. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND CORPORATE CONFUSION: With the government and government aided institutions enjoying QIP from decades, the private colleges were left uncared. Taking this anomaly as an advantage,
many ventured to start technological institutions offering university degree courses without looking into the availability of teachers and a way for their faculty development. What was the objective of starting these institutions?, Only to churn out engineering graduates every year?
While big technological institutions are trying to improve the quality of teachers in small technological institutions, the students are busy obtaining their degrees. Now and then, self financing technological teaching institutions are mushrooming here and there. Here teachers are too busy in giving away degrees, strictly stationary process. The scenario is recognized as a significant discovery. A tell tale example has been taken as a case study for investigation.
2. THE MICRO-MACRO CONFLICT: Agony at the top was silent. Wat are the goals of these institutions? What was the intention of starting them? At first, they went unnoticed except for few noises some people created. But later, the governments realized the cause of growth of entrepreneurship in professional education. It was also feared that some of theses institutions are operating as cash cows, the pick N –Pack cos. (Ltd.) This byte was infectious.
The new invasion was the Supreme Court verdict on admission rules to professional colleges. This litmus test was proved. As per the directions of the Apex court, the rights of admissions were curtailed and most of these education entrepreneurs threatened to close down their professional colleges. Emotions ran high and tempers flared. There were certain territorial disputes as who should control them, and it was finally the students who controlled them. An attempt has been made to analyze the situation by drawing exponential growth curves and comparing them.
3. EDUCATION FOR EVOLUTION: Education is an evolutionary process. The objective of QIP was not only to improve the quality of teaching, but also for evolution in the institutions in the form of research, so that over years, the institution will establish itself as a center for technical know how, education and research. While some are busy building nuclear power plants, and the others are already on their run to launch rockets, the industries are improving and enjoying profits. Little attention was given to university institutions which form a major source of technical manpower to these organizations. To project the future scenario, systems dynamics diagrams are drawn and a continuous system simulation exercise is suggested.
4. LEARNING COOKING IN KITCHEN: If the university affiliated institutions limit themselves only to produce engineering graduates every year, this can always be carried out by large industries by starting their own schools of engineering in house, the teaching industries? No, it is first the university and then the industry. Industries are born form universities. This calls for an effective industry-university interface. A corporate model for global interface is disused.
5. REVIVAL OF THE LESS FIT: Country’s top executives have set up a cell with computerized admission procedure on their desktops and thousands of youngsters throughout the country are thronging to get admission to professional courses. The poly tricks played by the private managements with the politicians were carefully understood and controlled. Anyway, acceptance is generally a function of time. Input/output models for quality levels are developed and discussed.
In conclusion, this paper recognizes the above issues as potential problems, expresses concern and calls for intensive research and corrective action.
