Abstract:

There is a perceived need for reform in higher education in India. This is seen in juxtaposition to the general spirit of reform that has been synonymous with the European Higher Education Area by way of ECTS system. The reforms compatible with the ECTS system have been adopted in many other parts of the world. Ball (2003) states,

“[a]n unstable, uneven but apparently unstoppable flood of closely inter-related reform ideas is permeating and reorienting education systems in diverse social and political locations which have very different histories”.

Accordingly countries at different stages of industrial and technological developments, disparity in wealth and political economic systems are embarking with remarkable consistency in their educational reform agendas. Stemming from this perspective my paper is proposed to be in the nature of a report on my research completed as a dissertation as an Erasmus Mundus student for ‘European Masters in Lifelong Learning-Policy and Management’ at the University of Deusto, Bilbao.

The issues that the paper raises is the perceived need for reform in higher education in India and drawing a parallel from the reform agenda in Europe in the higher education systems and processes that has been set rolling by the Bologna process examines the desirability and the possibility of building compatibility of the Indian higher education system with the European Credit Accumulation and Transfer System.

Such studies have been carried out in the context of countries where significant progress has been made in terms of building systems for compatibility and comparability in the structures and processes of higher education such as the European Union (e.g. The Tuning Project) and “countries in transition” [Eastern Europe], Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. However, very little has been written with this focus in the Indian context.

The overall paradigm for conceptualizing the research was conceived with a ‘Pragmatic’ orientation using a mix of methods. Multiple stakeholder perspective was obtained using both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain a 360 degree orientation. The approach being exploratory and descriptive, the model for the qualitative research design was kept interactive, adopting in depth interviews. This used broad areas of enquiry and questioning guidelines to provide adequate and pertinent exploration of various themes as the technique of preference. Likert scaling was used for the attitude survey. The overall approach was kept interconnected and flexible with reference to the Goals, Conceptual Framework, Research Question, Methods, and Validity.

The study concludes that many of the features of ECTS currently have no equivalents in the Indian system, though wide ranging initiatives in the areas of mobility, NQF and Quality as a follow up to the Bologna declaration, can provide a response to some of the challenges facing Indian higher education. The study also revealed a palpable space and a perceived need for a policy push in these directions.

Keywords:

ECTS, Erasmus Mundus, higher education.