# National Education Policy (2020)/Chapter 9

9.1. Higher education plays an extremely important role in promoting human as well as societal well-being and in developing India as envisioned in its Constitution—a democratic, just, socially-conscious, cultured, and humane nation upholding liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice for all. Higher education significantly contributes towards sustainable livelihoods and economic development of the nation. As India moves towards becoming a knowledge economy and society, more and more young Indians are likely to aspire for higher education.
9.1.1. Given the 21st century requirements, quality higher education must aim to develop good, thoughtful, well-rounded, and creative individuals. It must enable an individual to study one or more specialized areas of interest at a deep level, and also develop character, ethical and Constitutional values, intellectual curiosity, scientific temper, creativity, spirit of service, and 21st century capabilities across a range of disciplines including sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, languages, as well as professional, technical, and vocational subjects. A quality higher education must enable personal accomplishment and enlightenment, constructive public engagement, and productive contribution to the society. It must prepare students for more meaningful and satisfying lives and work roles and enable economic independence.
9.1.2. For the purpose of developing holistic individuals, it is essential that an identified set of skills and values will be incorporated at each stage of learning, from pre-school to higher education.
9.1.3. At the societal level, higher education must enable the development of an enlightened, socially conscious, knowledgeable, and skilled nation that can find and implement robust solutions to its own problems. Higher education must form the basis for knowledge creation and innovation thereby contributing to a growing national economy. The purpose of quality higher education is, therefore, more than the creation of greater opportunities for individual employment. It represents the key to more vibrant, socially engaged, cooperative communities and a happier, cohesive, cultured, productive, innovative, progressive, and prosperous nation.
9.2. Some of the major problems currently faced by the higher education system in India include:
* a severely fragmented higher educational ecosystem;
* less emphasis on the development of cognitive skills and learning outcomes;
* a rigid separation of disciplines, with early specialisation and streaming of students into narrow areas of study;
* limited access particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, with few HEIs that teach in local languages;
* limited teacher and institutional autonomy;
* inadequate mechanisms for merit-based career management and progression of faculty and institutional leaders;
* lesser emphasis on research at most universities and colleges, and lack of competitive peer-reviewed research funding across disciplines;
* suboptimal governance and leadership of HEIs;
* an ineffective regulatory system; and
* large affiliating universities resulting in low standards of undergraduate education.
​9.3. This policy envisions a complete overhaul and re-energising of the higher education system to overcome these challenges and thereby deliver high-quality higher education, with equity and inclusion. The policy’s vision includes the following key changes to the current system:
* moving towards a higher educational system consisting of large, multidisciplinary universities and colleges, with at least one in or near every district, and with more HEIs across India that offer medium of instruction or programmes in local/Indian languages;
* moving towards a more multidisciplinary undergraduate education;
* moving towards faculty and institutional autonomy;
* revamping curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and student support for enhanced student experiences;
* reaffirming the integrity of faculty and institutional leadership positions through meritappointments and career progression based on teaching, research, and service;
* establishment of a National Research Foundation to fund outstanding peer-reviewed research
* to actively seed research in universities and colleges;
* governance of HEIs by high qualified independent boards having academic and administrative autonomy;
* “light but tight” regulation by a single regulator for higher education;
* increased access, equity, and inclusion through a range of measures, including greater opportunities for outstanding public education; scholarships by private/philanthropic universities for disadvantaged and underprivileged students; online education, and Open Distance Learning (ODL); and all infrastructure and learning materials accessible and available to learners with disabilities.