A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION –INDIA V/S CHINA

Higher education plays an important role in the economic development of any economy.
Globalization has brought education to the forefront and colleges/universities are vying with each
other to lure the best possible talents. In the midst of all these are the two Asian countries India and
China who have been drawing a lot of attention in recent times. Higher education in India has a
long history dating way back to 4th century BC. She has a universally acclaimed Brain Power. Our
system has a number of advantages such as large education sector, widespread use of English as a
medium of instruction, Prowess in the fields of science and technology, political stability etc. The
system, however, is not devoid of demerits. They include poor infrastructure, faculty crunch,
bureaucratic inertia, dualistic system of education, outdated syllabus etc. China on the other hand
is currently the fastest growing economy ranking first in the world in terms of enrolment. After
being under rigid political rule and being influenced by the Soviet Union, the economy implemented
reforms in higher education in 1977. Since then the economy has been progressing. The system has
advantages in terms of increasing number of foreign students, rising number of institutions,
emphasis on research etc. Chinese system of higher education also has demerits in the form of
neglect of humanities and social sciences, Chinese legacy, disparity between funding and equity etc.
A comparison between the two highlights China’s advancement over India in terms of quality,
Gross enrolment Ratio, and growth of high quality institutions. The Global Competitiveness Report
of 2014- 15, indicates that while India ranks 61, China ranks 30. It is predicted that India will top
the world by 2030. However, this has to be accompanied by quality improvement and by laying
greater emphasis on research and innovations if India has to make her mark as an Intellectual
Super Power