Editorial 1: An obsession with ranking is harming India’s universities

Context

The metrics-focused system has created a situation which implies that education is a market rather than a citizen’s right and the state’s duty.

Introduction

In this digital age, we reduce everything to numbers. This trend has consumed the education ecosystem, as seen in the rise of global ranking agencies, which assign ranks to universities across the world every year. India has its own National Institutional Ranking Framework to rank universities in the country.

Purpose of the University

• The purpose of a university: is to teach and mentor future citizens; and
  • to acquire and create knowledge through research.
• Research and teaching: are two sides of the education coin: knowledge creation and dissemination.
  • Demands from a university: A university needs to excel in both in order to fulfil its obligations to students and society.
• Socio-economic importance: Through its activities, a university also has social and economic impacts.
• Need for a multidimensional metric: It is impossible to capture a university’s multidimensional nature with a single metric, represented by a global or national rank. Yet, this is what ranking systems claim to do.

Overemphasis on research

• The global university ranking system: is one-dimensional. It places huge emphasis on research activity.
• Quantification of output:  university’s research output is quantified using criteria such as
  •  the number of papers published,
  • the impact factor of the journals in which they are published,
  • the amount of research funding acquired, and the number of PhD students who were admitted and graduated.
• Lack of adequacy: These numbers by themselves cannot capture the quality, content, relevance, and impact of research.
• Flaws: Sadly, despite being aware of this flaw in the ranking process, Indian universities are all in the ranking race.
• Visibility by world rankings: A world rank makes the university ‘visible’ and helps attract international students, world-class faculty, and academic partners, philanthropists, and donors.
• Fabricated rankings: Universities and the government even tweak or alter policies to improve ranks.
  • A university that is not ranked may as well not exist — such is the power we have accorded to global rankings.

India’s foreign education system

• Free market education: India has bought into the American education system, which is shaped by a strong belief in free market capitalism and unfettered private competition.
• Governmental initiatives: To help improve the global ranking of India’s top universities and premier institutes, the government set up the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) a few years ago.
•  HEFA: mobilises market resources to fund the country’s global rank-aspiring institutions in the form of repayable loans at competitive interest rates.
• Autonomy:  the government also granted full autonomy to several public higher education institutions.
  • This encompasses financial autonomy as well, which means that the government will cease to support them.
  • In other words, public higher education institutions will need to generate their own funds by enhancing student fees.
  • This is touted as a ‘win-win’ strategy for both the university and the government: the university has a shot at improving its rank and the government no longer has the onerous responsibility of funding it.
•  Missing out on essentials: But if the race for a global rank sacrifices the essential function of educating students (which is not factored into the ranking process), this is not a meaningful ‘win’ for either. Importantly, it is also not a ‘win’ for the economically weaker sections of society.

The importance of teaching and mentoring

• The metrics-driven, global rank-aspiring higher educational system has had an adverse impact on the teaching community.
• The undue emphasis onresearch: to the exclusion of other vital functions, especially teaching, has created a sorry situation in which university job aspirants are often
  • judged by the number of research papers they have produced,
  •  the impact factor of the journals they were published in, and
  • the numbers of their citations; and
  • not by their ability to be an effective communicator, teacher, and mentor.
• Demands for career growth: Once selected as a faculty member of the university, the candidate’s subsequent career advancement depends on additional metrics such as the
  • amount of research grant funds secured and
  • the number of PhD degrees awarded.
• Importance of teaching: This obsession with metrics ignores the faculty member’s actual teaching and mentoring capacity as a determinant of career advancement in the higher education ecosystem.
• Qualitative aspects of teaching: Unlike in the case of research, teaching is not amenable to quantification using metrics.
  •  It is the unmeasurable something that metrics cannot deal with. So, the role for teaching has declined in the education system.
  •  In fact, in the perspective of a typical university professor, writing a paper or working on a grant application takes precedence over teaching today.
• Ignoring teaching: Ironically, teaching is a distraction from ‘all important’ research. University professors have become contractors churning out research papers to improve the university’s ranking.

The higher education ecosystem: Key questions to ask?

• The higher education ecosystem is pervaded by a culture of ‘publish or perish’ without a meaningful and transparent mechanism for accountability in place.
•  Is this kind of research, at the expense of educating students, really meaningful?
• Are instances of plagiarism, data manipulation, and other research misconduct emanating from our premier institutes and universities the undesirable and unintended consequences of our pre-occupation with metrics?
• In these cases, are not the teachers failing in their role as mentors and role models?
• Students who emerge from this system either quit in disillusionment or end up propagating this situation, propelling us into a downward spiral.

Creating two tracks

• Focussed approach on teaching: There is no doubt that research is the engine that drives growth and innovation, but it cannot be an excuse to neglect teaching, which prepares students for the real world.
• Dual focus: Universities should consider separate tracks for research-focused and teaching-focused faculty members.
• Interests of faculty members: in these two tracks may extend beyond their primary focus, but they must not be expected to excel in both at all times.
• Reducing resentments: Otherwise, there will be scope for resentment and lack of commitment, undermining the very faculty members whose contributions are critical to the university’s mission.

Socio-economic impact of a paper

• Importance of content: Universities must realise that the scientific content of a paper and its possible societal and economic impact are more relevant than the impact factor of the journal in which it is published or the number of citations it garners.
• Role of teaching:  must be recognised as an important function of the university and teachers must be encouraged to improve curricula.
• Unbiased recognition: Careful, unbiased judgment must replace metrics.
• Shift in culture: Universities must enable a paradigm shift in their institutional culture to value and enable the success of both research and teaching efforts that collectively contribute to their overall mission as being centres of higher education and learning.

Conclusion

The metrics-focused system or ‘metricocracy’, if you will, which we mistakenly believe is synonymous with meritocracy, has created a situation which implies that education is a market rather than a citizen’s right and the state’s duty; knowledge is a commodity and not a means of becoming more humane; and students are customers, instead of future citizens. This warped ecosystem views academic rigour as detracting from the business of delivering the product to the customer. It kills creativity and the enthusiasm to learn, does not prepare students for the real world, and is harmful to future generations. Thus, a need to make leaning more inclusive is essential.

Editorial 2:Why Italy matters to India

Context

Piracy in the Red Sea, the conflict in West Asia, and the effects of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on agricultural and oil trade require our joint efforts to ensure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Mediterranean.

Introduction

in this age of ‘polycrisis’, Italy and India share common interests but also joint challenges in the Indo-Mediterranean Sea. This region is vital for global trade, especially for Italy which ranks sixth among the world’s largest exporters. It is also crucial for digital connectivity: the Blue-Raman submarine data cables will soon connect Genoa with Mumbai. Piracy in the Red Sea, the conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, and the effects of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on agricultural and oil trade require our joint efforts to ensure a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Mediterranean.

Italy’s commitment to security and defence in the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia

Italy has stepped up its commitment in security and defence in the Indian Ocean Region and West Asia.

• Apart from joining the Group of Friends of UNCLOS in 2021,
• It has been the second largest contributor to the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Atalanta and the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASoH).
• Since February 2024, Italy has been a driving force in the EU military operation, EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, to safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf.

Naval presence 

Italy has increased its naval presence in India.

• Joining the Information Fusion Centre: of the Indian Ocean Region in March 2023, patrol ship ITS Francesco Morosini visited Mumbai in August 2023. The Italian Carrier Strike Group (aircraft carrier ITS Cavour and frigate ITS Alpino) is currently in Goa.
• The tall ship ITS Amerigo Vespucci in Mumbai from November 28 to December 2 is expected.
  • It is the training vessel of the Italian Navy. We are also planning to build an ‘Italy village’ that will offer cultural, fashion, and culinary events, as well as conferences and exhibitions.
  • ITS Cavour: is a short take off and vertical landing ship constructed by the Italian naval shipyard Fincantieri and has been in the service of the Italian Navy since 2009.
  • As a ‘dual use’ vessel, it can project maritime power, but also provide logistical autonomy and serve environmental and humanitarian interventions.
• PASSEX exercises: (training exercises to develop and maintain mariner skills and strengthen interoperability) are being held during the stay. 
• ITS Cavour is also hosting a workshop: on defence industry cooperation.
• Social duties: At the same time, it serves as a hospital to operate children with facial malformations:
  • a team of Indian and Italian doctors is performing surgeries under the framework of ‘Operation Smile’, organised by the Smile House Foundation, Italy.

Defence ties 

• Defence Agreement: Bilaterally, the Italy-India defence cooperation relies on a defence agreement signed in October 2023.
  • This document lays the basis for a further expansion of our defence ties in many fields, from research to industrial cooperation, maritime domain awareness, sharing of information, and education and environmental issues related to military activities.
• Defence cooperation talks: At the same time, our defence cooperation strongly relies on regular talks such as the Italy-India Military Cooperation Group meeting, held in March in New Delhi.
• Defence production: Italy matters to India: two of our companies, Leonardo and Fincantieri, are ranked among the first 50 of SIPRI’s top arms-producing and military services companies in the world (2022), while other companies, such as Beretta, Elettronica and KNDS, albeit smaller in size, possess outstanding technical know-how.
• Joint ventures in Defence: Over the last few years, Italian defence companies have shown to be open to joint ventures, co-production, and joint development.
  • Fincantieri is cooperating with Cochin Shipyard since 2020, while Elettronica signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bharat Electronics Limited in 2019.
  • This partnership approach is in line with India’s ‘Make in India’ ambitions and can respond to growing requirements by the Indian armed forces. 

Italy’s role in the development of the Indian Ocean Region

• Partnership in East Africa: Italy also looks at India as a valuable partner for development of the Indian Ocean Region, from East Africa to India’s shores via the Arabian Sea.
• African inclusion in international forum: Both Italy and Indian are keen promoters of Africa in international fora and jointly supported the inclusion of the African Union in the G20.
  • During the Italy-Africa Summit in January, Italy launched a new initiative with Africa, the Mattei Plan, aimed at creating a mutually beneficial partnership to realise several important projects across the continent.
  • This initiative mobilises Italian capabilities with €5.5 billion in public investments and the involvement of all public entities and the private sector.
  • Among the first countries chosen for this plan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique are adjacent to the Indo-Mediterranean area.
  • The ambition is to engage with other partners to realise sustainable projects which will help drive economic and social development in Africa.

Italy’s support for IMEC

Italy has supported the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Amid the conflict in Gaza and the escalating tensions in West Asia, we believe that IMEC can be part of a long-term vision to ensure shared prosperity in the region. Railway connections, ports, logistics and custom systems can support peace endeavours along a trade route that is as essential for Italy as it is for India.

Conclusion: People-to-people ties 

Italy matters to India as a friend. We host the second largest Indian diaspora in the EU. Italy is a reliable economic and defence partner, the second largest manufacturing country in Europe, and a robust security provider taking up responsibilities as a member of the EU and NATO. What persists over time are people-to-people ties. These bonds dig deep into an ancient history of contacts between our two civilizations and find new inspiration with every story of cultural exchange, integration, and business success.