Governance for Quality in Higher Education in Odisha, India

Abstract

The rise of the global economy, where
 social and economic development are driven by knowledge
 coupled with the information and technology revolution,
 signifies that tertiary education everywhere cannot continue
 with business as usual. The hope is that by creating,
 applying and disseminating new ideas and technologies to
 greater numbers, higher education systems will graduate a
 skilled, flexible and productive work force. The scope of
 the study includes primarily the governance and management
 system across the Higher Education (HE) sector in Odisha;
 the current Quality Assurance System (QAS) including
 affiliation and accreditation and the inter-relationship
 between QAS and HE governance system; issues associated with
 autonomy in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Odisha;
 the existing policy and legal environment in view of
 systemic transformation of governance for excellence; and
 international experience of good practices of governance and
 management system focusing on quality assurance. This paper
 aims: to describe and analyze the state of governance in
 Odisha higher education with special focus on the role of
 the higher education department of the GoO, university
 management, college management and the relationship between
 these structures; to analyze and re-examine the concept of
 increased autonomy for HEIs in Odisha; and to make
 recommendations on how to improve efficiency, effectiveness
 and accountability for increased autonomy in higher
 education governance.