Crisis In Education

In an ongoing case relating to student suicides, the Supreme Court of India has used Article 142 and issued nine directions to the Central and State governments.

Supreme Court Observations

• Systematic Data Tracking: Seven of the nine directions mandate separate record-keeping, reporting, and tracking of suicides in higher education institutions to treat the issue as a systemic problem.
• Four Pillars of Student Distress: The Court identified financial burden, social/caste discrimination, social injustice for marginalised groups, and academic pressure as the primary causes of suicide
• The “Massification” of Education: The Court recognises the massification of higher education, driven by privatisation, without a corresponding improvement in quality.
• Faculty Shortages: Public universities across India face a 50% vacancy rate for faculty and leadership positions (Vice Chancellors and Registrars).
• • This leaves students without essential mentorship and increases their sense of isolation.
• Governance and Recruitment Bottlenecks
  • Vice-Chancellor appointments stalled due to Governor-related deadlock and pending issues from the Presidential reference on powers.
  • Faculty recruitment follows the UGC process, which takes at least six months and requires budgetary support, possibly from the Union government.
  • The availability of qualified faculty is limited; corruption and political-ideological appointments undermine quality.
  • Structural and political hurdles complicate timely compliance and quality assurance.

Case Study – University of Madras

• Decline in Research Quality: No new faculty in the last decade; teaching staff at half of sanctioned strength.
  • Research is barely functional; centres of advanced studies in philosophy, botany and mathematics have declined.
  • This shows erosion of both teaching and research capacity in premier public universities.

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Conclusion

Although the Court’s four-month timeline appears daunting, the order is a call to action to restore the basic institutional foundations of public higher education. 

• Without addressing governance, staffing, and research capacity, national goals such as Viksit Bharat cannot be meaningfully pursued, and student well-being will remain compromised.

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