New Delhi  : Delivering a keynote address on Higher Education in India Dr Pawan Agarwal, Advisor (Education), Planning Commission said we enter the XII five year plan for Higher Education with a growth momentum and today India ranks at par based on spend on higher education (3 per cent of the GDP), gross enrolment ratio (15 per cent) and competitive faculty compensation (based on price parity).

Dr Agarwal was speaking at the Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI), the national body of over 500 higher education institutions, summit on developing transformational leaders for Indian higher education at New Delhi.

“Public confidence in the value of degree is going down. The 12th five year plan is focused on restoring the confidence in a degree by improving the quality of education, professional development of teachers to enroll 10 million learners in the 12th plan.

“The Planning Commission advocates setting up community colleges that will deliver short cycle low cost skills to 2.5 million to learners at their doorsteps,”said Mr Agarwal who has authored books in higher education in India.

At a session on technology in campus Dr B N Jain, Vice Chancellor, BITS, Pilanishared how their institution created a networked campus by deploying technology: BITSAT, for online testing of 132,000 prospective students; hiring 200 faculty from 3000 applications without moving a single paper; satisfaction surveys on the performance of faculty, administrative staff and students electronically, a strong internet backbone that enables email, student administration, performance management and certification.

Dr. M J Xavier, Director IIM, Ranchi illustrated how previously delivered faculty lectures are available digitally as students’ prior preparation exercise enabling both the teacher and the taught to focus on enquiry, discussion and debate. Students no longer need to be physically present in class as using technology they could be attending them digitally.

In a session on leadership success sutras Dr Indira Parikh, a former Professer, IIM Ahmedabad enumerated how a creative ambience, strong focus on student discipline and non-interference by the promoter-owners in the academic processes have helped institutions like FLAME, Pune to succeed.

Prof D N V Kumara Guru, Director, External Relations, Indian School of Business said the key success factors for a new business institution lie in building good infrastructure, creating right alliances & partnerships and a clear focus on learning outcomes.

In the backdrop of hundreds of business schools closing down in the last 24 months, Mr Amit Agnihotri, Chairman, MBAUniverse.com advocated a strong focus on learning outcomes, corporate engagement and credible marketing and brand building as his prescriptions for success.