He regularly advises various Commissions on issues relating to corruption and good governance in Sri Lanka and India, and was previously recognised for his splendid contribution to legal education and institution-building. Education Plus speaks to Professor C. Raj Kumar on the status of higher education in India.
Optimistic about India’s future, Professor Kumar discusses India’s aspirations to establish world-class universities and the need for transformation of the regulatory environment for seeking reforms in the sector.
Coming from a middle class background and raised in Chennai, leadership came naturally to Professor Kumar. While pursuing his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the University of Delhi, he never thought of becoming a Rhodes Scholar, one day. “Had it not been for this scholarship, I wouldn’t have even thought about going to Oxford due to financial hardships,” he said. He was also a Landon Gammon Fellow at the Harvard Law School, USA, where he obtained his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree and a James Souverine Gallo Memorial Scholar at the Harvard University. “Oxford was a completely different world. The intellectually engaging environment and the extraordinary emphasis on the power of ideas and discussions blew my mind. Nothing I had experienced as a student in India could match my experience at Oxford and Harvard,” he explains. “That was also the first time I started thinking about what was lacking in Indian higher education,” he added. From being appointed as the Founding Vice Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University at the age of 34 in 2009, to having more than hundred publications to his credit, Professor Kumar has traversed several verticals throughout his career.
JGU was recently accredited the highest rating, “A Grade” by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Expressing his delight, Professor Kumar said, “The main reason for its success has to be attributed to our emphasis on research and innovation, and the outstanding faculty members from around the globe who believe in imparting quality education.” While he celebrated the recognition, he is not blindfolded to address India’s higher education structural challenges. “The reason why Indian higher education institutions constantly fail to feature in the annual world university rankings is because we have failed to appreciate the inter-disciplinary approach in higher education. In India, the gross enrolment ratio is less than 20 per cent and the aspiration is to increase this to 30 - 40 per cent in the next decade or so. Also, there is a high level of distrust between the government and the providers of higher education. We have a lot to learn for institution-building and there is a need for emphasising ‘Making of India’ rather than Make in India,” he noted. Enunciating that quality education is the foundation to improve people’s lives and sustainable development, he emphasised that widening the reach of education in the country, promoting research and world-class training programmes for academic administrators are some key measures needed to create a sustainable future for the country and its citizens.
