Access Denied

Context: The recent litigation against online pirated media portals (Scihub and Libgen) has highlighted the importance of accessibility of books and information in higher education research.

Issues with applying Western standards in Indian Education (or any developing nation): Challenges of globalisation of academic practices -

• Not compatible with historical evolution: E.g. educational system was historically evolved in countries like India, with a colonial past and a persisting “non-industrial” present. 
• Misplaced precise point-based measurements to measure knowledge: in knowledge ecosystems of the global south.

Problems related to research in higher education in India:

• “Objective” criteria:
  • Mandated “standardisation” by University Grants Commission (UGC): has impacted social sciences and humanities research in Indian universities.
    • In STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Management) disciplines, research is often highly objective and quantified.
    • But in social sciences and humanities research is subjective, analytical and argumentative.
  • Linkage of institutional funding with objective parameters like with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
    • These rank universities based on faculty research measured by citations in global journal databases like SCOPUS rather than research
  • In comparison, the importance granted to research outputs like books or other forms is declining.
• Tyranny of “peer review”:
  • Excessive number of article due to the intensive competition: on any possible subject competing with each other for citations.
  • Peer review consumes valuable time: Teachers have to spend their productive time in writing articles and getting them published.
  • Subjectivity of peer review: as it depends upon the knowledge, inclination and availability of time of the particular reviewer.
  • Challenge to meet peer-review standards: locally published journals are omitted in large numbers.
• Overemphasis on particular forms of research outcomes: Results in missing out on the very essence of research.
• The ghettoisation of research: Access to knowledge is structurally made inequitable in favour of the elite institutions while students and teachers, access articles through pirated sites like Libgen and Scihub, which are prone to be shut down.

Way Forward: Improve research in higher education.

• Raise the standards to global levels.
• Improve research potential of teachers: By reducing teaching hours, increasing student-teacher ratio, providing sabbaticals, providing research and travel grants, improving access to research facilities.
  • Replace “Regulating” research with “Facilitating” research: Regulations without facilitation will merely bureaucratise the governance of knowledge without generating any path-breaking insights.