Higher Education Governance Reforms In India Since The 1990s

Indian higher education management had experienced the "scholar-led " model in the colonial period,"government-led" model in the Nehru period,"dual centralized"model in the Gandhi period.Since the 1990s,some changes in Indian political,economic and social fields have caused the governance reforms in higher education field.The transfer of power center from central government to state government,the liberalization of market economy,the new managementist movement and other realistic background has influenced the governance reforms in higher education.The relationships between government,universities,markets and society begin to change.First of all,the adjustment of university-government relations is the focus of the reform of higher education governance system.The government has been experiencing the change of functions through vertical decentralization,policy making,and establishment of performance-oriented quality assurance mechanism.In the higher education sector,the government then withdraws from direct control to"steering from a distance".At the same time universities and colleges obtain a certain degree of autonomy in this governance reform movement.The universities obtain administrative autonomy,academic autonomy and financial autonomy.The colleges get rid of the control of affiliated universities and state government by getting the"autonomous college" status.Autonomous colleges will have access to determine the content of course,syllabus,enrollment policy and assessment standards.Thirdly,with the "performance management","consumer-led","efficiency","competition" and other concepts penetrate into the field of higher education,the relationship between the market and the university has undergone tremendous changes.The market participates in the adjustment between supply and demand.Market participates in institutional structure adjustment.It has also involved in the allocation of resources,which promotes the diversification of funding sources.Competition mechanism is also introduced in government funding.Finally,with the improvement of civil society and the establishment of citizen participation mechanism in government regulation,the demands of public participation in higher education governance continue to increase,and the relationship between society and higher education institutions begin to change.Enterprises,social organizations and other stakeholders participate in higher education institution decision-making,performance evaluation and cooperative development.Colleges and universities promote social assessment and supervision through the establishment of information disclosure mechanism.All in all,since the 1990s,India has gradually formed a unique "multi-center governance model ".Varied governance subjects,multiple governance objectives and complex governance structure are the main features of this new governance pattern.Indian higher education has shifted from the market-led "multi-center governance model" in the first 15-year to the government-led "multi-center governance model" in the later 15-year.According to Clark's "triangle" of coordination theory,we can make a conclusion that a new higher education governance model is reconstructed.The market axis is weakening,the government tends to paly an increasing role in the macro development of higher education,and social participation is still in the initial stage of development.Before the year of 2030,Indian higher education governance reform will continue to deepen the concepts of stakeholder participation,consumer services,competition and performance.Strengthening the government's macro-control functions,further expanding the autonomy and accountability of colleges and universities,deepening the regulation of market forces,and expanding the participation of social forces.