This is Part 3 of a four-part series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
Motihari/New Delhi: When a 21-year-old, first-generation student from Bihar’s East Champaran district secured admission in a central university, her joy was unmatched. After completing her graduation from a local college, her parents—initially hesitant—agreed to let her go for a postgraduate degree only because the university was relatively closer to home.
But the excitement quickly faded.
She enrolled in the Master of Education programme at the Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU) in Motihari, only to find the campus and facilities far below her expectations.
The institution operates out of five campuses, one of which is a makeshift structure that was once a godown, its blue tin walls and roof enclosing a maze of rooms, many of which are poorly maintained.
“There’s no feeling of being in a central university here. The government talks about taking our education system to international levels, but just look at our own institutions—they’ve been running out of temporary campuses for years with university enrolment and no proper facilities. What about strengthening our indigenous institutions?” she remarked.
While India celebrates the arrival of international universities and the expansion of top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) abroad in accordance with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s goals of internationalisation of the country’s education system, students and officials at several government-run universities and colleges say the reality on the ground tells a different story, as they struggle to live up to the ambitious goals set under the policy.
Many of these institutions are struggling to implement the most basic recommendations of the policy, which calls for equipping all higher education institutions with “basic infrastructure and facilities”, including sufficient classrooms, laboratories and faculty.
According to teachers at MGCU’s main centre in Motihari, the university lacks a sufficient number of classrooms, forcing them to regularly conduct classes for research scholars in faculty chambers and staff rooms. They question how the goals of NEP—such as increasing the gross enrolment ratio in higher education to 50 percent by 2030, nearly double the current figure—can be achieved without addressing key issues.
“How will that be possible without basic infrastructure?” remarked a senior faculty member from the Hindi department, requesting anonymity.
When ThePrint visited MGCU on 14 July, it was found that the institution—established in 2016—is still functioning out of five separate spaces, including four temporary and rented facilities, one of which houses the administrative block. In fact, several research and study centres at the university inaugurated between 2020 and 2021 are still not operational.
“We have been allotted land for a permanent campus, and one of the campuses is operating from there. However, the site lacks the infrastructure to accommodate all departments. The proposal for permanent campus infrastructure has been submitted to the Ministry of Education. Once it is approved, it will take another four-five years to build a permanent campus here,” said the teacher quoted above.
NEP 2020 pushes for focus on research, innovation and the establishment of centres in frontier areas, with a stronger focus on hands-on practical learning over theoretical instruction.
However, research scholars at the university told ThePrint that they face major challenges in conducting laboratory work due to a lack of proper facilities. A student pursuing research in Nanobiotechnology, whose centre shares a campus with a district school, said that he now has to travel to Lucknow for two-three months to carry out his lab work.
“For my research, I need a cell-line lab that provides a controlled environment to study cell behaviour. We don’t have that here. Right now, we can only run computer-based simulations—no practical work is possible. That’s why I have no choice but to leave in the middle of my PhD,” the scholar told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
In its response to ThePrint, MGCU said that due to the non-availability of a permanent campus, the institution is currently operating from multiple rented academic buildings and one administrative complex. One of the campuses currently in use (the makeshift campus mentioned above) was hired by the university.
“This facility, which is strategically located adjacent to the permanent campus site, was chosen due to its adequate built-up area and in view of the severe shortage of outsourced staff (security, sanitation, MTS, etc), which necessitated optimising nearby infrastructure,” the university said in its statement. “Out of the total proposed land area of 301.97 acres to be provided by the Government of Bihar for the establishment of the university’s permanent campus, approximately 261 acres have already been acquired.”
“By any consideration, acquiring land for building a university is a humongous task. However, the university has successfully achieved most of it. The university is continuously pursuing the matter with the state government for the transfer of the remaining land, and hopefully, will be done very soon,” the statement added.
The MGCU statement further said that despite operating from temporary and rented premises, it has been consistently allocated adequate budgetary provisions for the development and maintenance of laboratory infrastructure.
“Essential laboratory equipment, chemicals, and consumables have been made available to ensure smooth conduct of practical sessions. Efforts are ongoing to upgrade and expand the laboratory facilities further, particularly in science disciplines, and the same has also been comprehensively addressed in the DPR for the permanent campus,” it said.
But MGCU’s case isn’t an isolated one. Many universities and colleges across India are facing similar teething issues with poor lab infrastructure and facilities as they try to implement NEP and its vision.
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DU’s tryst with four-year programme
Among the major changes under NEP 2020 is the introduction of a four-year undergraduate degree with multiple exit and entry options, with the final year focusing on the research component.
Delhi University was among the first central universities to implement this programme, starting with the 2022–2023 academic year. On 1 August, this batch will enter its fourth year. The university has over 90 affiliated colleges across the national capital.
According to a statement at the university executive council meeting in July, DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, at least 60 percent of students are expected to continue into the fourth year. However, faculty members across various affiliated colleges say that they lack the basic infrastructure and manpower to support the additional fourth-year batch.
At Kirori Mal College, for instance, some large classrooms have been divided to manage the existing student strength.
“It becomes impossible to conduct classes at times due to the loud noise coming from the other side of the partition, as two classes run simultaneously. How the college will accommodate the additional fourth-year batch, we have no idea,” a senior faculty member at the college told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
A.K. Bhagi, president of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), said, “At least one additional grant provision should have been made available to colleges for the upliftment of infrastructure and to meet the additional need of research components under the fourth year.”
He added, “Colleges offering multiple disciplines and having more than 3,000–4,000 students—how will they share resources to accommodate this additional year? For instance, in my subject Chemistry, we need extra lab space and specialised instruments for hands-on training, which is a core idea behind NEP 2020. There is no clarity on how this will be implemented.”
Tanvir Aeijaz, associate professor of Political Science at DU’s Ramjas College, said that in his course over 50 percent students have registered for the fourth year. However, college has various limitations in terms of infrastructure and human resources.
Although the university has allowed colleges to hire guest faculty to tackle the additional burden, they cannot take more than 50 lecturers per semester. “Most of the departments are running short of four-five faculty members at this moment to accommodate this additional batch. It will be an added burden for the existing faculty now. Most of the senior faculty will be handling fourth-year students,” Aeijaz told ThePrint.
Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, said that the college has built two new classrooms and a research centre for fourth-year students. However, at least seven–eight more classrooms are still needed to accommodate them.
According to the college’s estimates, 30-60 percent of students may opt for the fourth year, depending on the course. More students are likely to continue in the social sciences, compared to the sciences.
“We will manage for now using shared and common spaces. Infrastructure development is a continuous process, and therefore, it will take some time to come up with the required infrastructure. The university is doing a lot of handholding to help us,” Nanda told ThePrint.
Colleges with hostel facilities are also facing staffing and capacity challenges. For instance, Miranda House’s hostel has 360 beds, and to accommodate the fourth-year students, it will need an additional block.
“We will try to accommodate our fourth-year students, but it is not possible to give hostel space to all. We are dividing the rooms proportionally among first- to fourth-year students. However, a new hostel building will be needed, which may take two–three years,” she said.
Teachers have also raised concerns over laboratory infrastructure. Naveen Gaur, associate professor of Physics at Dyal Singh College, said that the fourth year in his subject includes masters-level papers. “It’s not possible to conduct labs for those subjects with our current set-up. We don’t have the required equipment. Labs are going to be a major issue.”
DU Registrar Vikas Gupta said that the administration had conducted extensive meetings with college principals to assess preparedness for the fourth year.
“Almost all colleges are ready. DU has an abundance of resources at its disposal. Over the last three years, we have strengthened our laboratories and equipment. If some colleges face a shortage of lab space, we have advised them to conduct classes and labs from 8 am to 8 pm, and have teachers come in a staggered manner,” he told ThePrint. “Additionally, the resources available in the departments are fully accessible to them. If any college feels they do not have enough teachers, the university has instructed them to hire guest faculty.”
Teething issues at other institutions
Officials at Motihari’s MGCU, and Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), said that while there is still time for their NEP 2020 undergraduate batches to enter the fourth year, these institutions are also facing resource constraints.
Majid Jamil, former president of Jamia’s teachers’ association, said that although the university has not introduced the four-year structure in all courses yet, it is likely to face a shortage of teachers and staff once these batches reach the final year.
“The university hasn’t hired permanent lab staff for the last four–five years. In the absence of regular technical staff, the existing research facilities are not even fully usable right now. How will that work when additional batches come in?” he said.
Moushumi Basu, an associate professor at JNU’s Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, said that the university does not yet have a one-year masters programme on its statute even as it has adopted the four-year programme.
“At a research-centric university like ours, we don’t know how the quality will change once undergraduate students who’ve completed the four-year programme start entering PhD courses directly, as prescribed under NEP 2020. There will be a huge learning gap, which may impact the research quality at JNU.”
Under NEP 2020, students are now eligible for directly enrolling in PhD programmes after completing a four-year undergraduate degree with the prescribed CGPA.
Meanwhile, students at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh say that they lack even basic facilities for practical and lab-based work. A PhD scholar in Mass Communication and New Media said that the university doesn’t have a proper studio for hands-on training.
“We don’t have the set-up for video production, editing, or practical sessions—no teleprompter, no noise cancellation. There’s just one room with three or four desktop computers. We recently got two cameras, and that too only after repeated requests. Even many teachers aren’t well-versed in new media tools. We’re just working for the sake of it,” said the scholar, requesting anonymity.
The university, established in 2009, is still awaiting its permanent campus in Dharamshala. It currently operates from various campuses, including a permanent site in Dehra, and two other rented accommodations.
“NEP 2020 talks about hands-on experience. How will you get hands-on experience in the absence of basic facilities? Such policies remain on paper without work on supporting infrastructure,” the scholar further said.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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