ETHICS AND
HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE CHANGING
SCENARIO OF
INDIA
INTRODUCTION
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with
moral values religious group or an individual. It studies human character and
conduct in terms of good and bad, right
and wrong. The moral code of the people is an indicator of their social and
spiritual ways of life. The true essence of human life is to live amidst
worldly joys and sorrows. Ethics is primarily concerned with the moral issues
of the world. People are required to discharge their duties according to the
moral code of ethics. Ethics is of two kinds, individual and social. Individual
ethics is indicative of the good qualities that are essential for individual
well-being and happiness. Social ethics represents the values that are needed
for social order and harmony. In the knowledge tradition of India, ethics has
its religious and philosophical thinking. Every religious and every
philosophical system of India has a prominent ethical component here. Ethics is
the core of all these systems.
DEFINTION OF ETHICS
v Ethics
involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong
behavior.
v Ethics
are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.
v Ethics
are a branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.
MEANING OF ETHICS
Ethics
is also known as moral philosophy, is the branch of philosophy that involves
the concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ethos which means habit
or custom. Ethics in the broadest sense alludes to the worry that people have
dependably had for making sense of how best to live. The logician Socrates is cited
as saying in 399 B.C. , ‘‘the most essential thing is not life, but rather the
great life.’’ What is ethics? Ethics is two things. To begin with, ethics
alludes to very much established guidelines of good and bad that endorse what
people should do, as a rule regarding rights, commitments, advantages to society
, decency, or particular ideals. Ethics for instance, alludes to those measures
that force the sensible commitments to shun assault, taking, homicide, ambush,
criticism, and misrepresentation . Moral guidelines likewise incorporate those that
charge ethics of genuineness, sympathy, and reliability. Ethics additionally
implies, the ceaseless exertion of examining our own ethical convictions and
our ethical lead and endeavoring to guarantee that we , and the foundations we help to shape, satisfy
benchmarks that are sensible and
emphatically based.
HISTORY OF ETHICS IN INDIA
India has a very
ancient history of thinking about ethics. Its central concepts are represented
in Rgveda, One of the oldest
knowledge texts not only of India but of the entire world. In Rgveda , we came
across the idea of an all pervading cosmic order(rta) which stands for harmony and balance in nature and in human
society. Here rta is described as a power of force which is the controller f
the forces of nature and of moral values in human society. In human society,
when this harmony and balance are disturbed, there is disorder and suffering.
This is the power or force that lies
behind nature and keeps everything in balance.
In Indian tradition, the concept of rta
gave rise to the idea of dharma. The
term dharma here does not mean mere
religion; it stands for duty, obligation and
righteousness.
It is a whole way of life in which ethical values are considered
supreme
and everyone is expected to perform his
or her duty according to his or her social position and station in life. The
concept of right and wrong is the core of the Mahabharata which
emphasizes, among others, the values of non violence, truthfulness, absence of
anger, charity, forgiveness, and self realization. It is only by performing
one’s righteous duties or dharma that one can hope to attain the supreme path
to the highest good. It is dharma alone
that gives both prosperity and the supreme spiritual god.
Similarly the
importance of ethics and ethical values is highlighted in epics and
philosophical texts like, Upanisads, Ramayana, Darsana sastras and
Dharma sastras. The Darsana sastras are philosophical texts, which provide rational explanations of the ethical issues;
the universal moral problems faced by man in daily life are placed in a
philosophical context. In the dharma sastras, emphasis is one of
the social ethics. In these texts the inter-personal and social relations are
placed in an ethical framework for guidance. In these texts the ethical
problems are discussed in an indirect manner.
THE BHAKTI MOVEMENT
During the middle ages,
the Bhakti movement arose in India. It was an all India movement of social
reform and spiritual awakening. It played a very important part in reawakening
moral consciousness in India. Jayadeva, Namdev,Tulsidas, Kabir, Ravidas, and Mira are some of the
prominent saints of this movement. Most
of these saints came from the
downtrodden sections of society. Rejecting the distinctions of caste, color,
and creed, they spread the message of human equality. They were saint poets. In
their poetic compositions they propagate the ideals of love, compassion,
justice, and selfless service. These are the ethical values which we need even
today.
INFLUENCE OF INDIAN CULTURE ON
ETHICAL VALUES
Indian
culture plays an important role in inculcating ethical values. Indian values
gave prime importance to right to happiness for all human beings. Indian
culture is complex in nature and with diversity in religion and their customs
we live with unity. The two most important tenets of Indian culture are human
values and Holism. Human values refer to moral, spiritual, and ethical values
while Holism means oneness or unity. Indian Culture is very rich and diverse
and teaches us to be tolerant to others. Human values are inculcated from the
Vedic teachings to lead a peaceful integrated life. Indian culture shows us
evidences of development of values in life by training and experience. The
Bhagawad Gita is considered as the essence of the Vedas and Upanishads.
Important values that are ever relevant and unchanging are found in the form of
scriptural texts in the Indian culture.
ETHICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY INDIA
The
fruitfulness of ethics in the ancient India is faded in the 21st
century. We all know the fact that contemporary India is filled with
corruption, rapes, possessive minds. The only goal of people is to attain
positions and earn money .For that they can do anything without having a little
bit of guilt. This is the condition of today’s India. There is no place for
ethical values in the present changing scenario of India. We proudly saying
that India is known for its social diversity. But the fact is the contemporary
India is known for its competitions for positions and corruption. The reason
behind these things is the disappearance of ethical and moral values within the
mind of the people. If we choose medical science just for analyze the value of
ethics, we will clearly understand that there is no place for ethics in any
field. This can be clearly understand
when we will read the newspaper. Even our educational system doesn’t possess
any ethical values. Indian ethical traditions have been one of the great
repositories of moral thought in world philosophy whose insights have influenced
early Greece, Europe, Asia, and the New world. The business people and the
companies don’t possess any moral and ethical values. The unethical base in
business management education is responsible for most of hitches faced in
society and environment prominent to the physical and passionate pain of
manhood. The trend in management education is now moving to a holistic approach
that not just focuses on profit maximization but has emphasis to locate business with a larger societal context with myriad stakeholder perspectives to be taken
into consideration.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA
India’s
higher education system is the third largest in the world, next to the United
States and China. The main governing body at the tertiary level is the
University Grants Commission, which enforces its standards, advises the
government, and helps coordinate between the centre and the state.
Accreditation for higher learning is overseen by 15 autonomous institutions
established by the University Grants Commission(UGC) .As per the latest 2011 census , about 8.15% (68 millions) of
Indians are graduates, with Union Territories of Chandigarh and Delhi topping
the list with 25.65% and 22.56% of their population being graduates
respectively. Indian higher education has expanded at a fast pace by adding
nearly 20,000 colleges and more than 8 million students in a decade from 2000-01 to 2010-11.
As of 2016, India has 799 universities, with a break up of 44 central
universities, 122 deemed universities, 90 private universities, 5 institutions
established and functioning under the State Act, and 75 Institutes of National
Importance which include AIIMS, IIT’s among others. Other institutions include
39,071 colleges as Government Degree Colleges, including 1800 exclusive women’s
colleges, functioning under these universities and institutions as reported by
the UGC in 2016. Colleges may be Autonomous, i.e. empowered to examine their
own degrees, up to PhD level in some cases, or non autonomous, in which case
their examinations are under the supervision of the university to which they are affiliated;
in either case, however, degrees are awarded in the name of the university
rather than the college. The emphasis in the tertiary level of education lies
on science and technology. Indian educational institutions by 2004 consisted of
a large number of technology institutes. Distance learning and open education is
also a feature of the Indian higher education system, and is looked after by
the Distance Education Council. Indira Gandhi National Open University is the
largest university in the world by number of students, having approximately 3.5
million students across the globe.
Some
institutions of India, such as the Indian Institutes of Technology(IITs) ,
National Institute of Technology(NITs) , Indian Institute Of Science(IIS),
Indian Institute Of Science Education And Research(IISERS) , Indian Institute
of Information Technology(IITS), Indian
Institute Of Management(IIMS), International Institute of Information
Technology(IIIT) , University Of Mumbai And Jawaharlal Nehru University have
been globally acclaimed for their
standard of education. The IITs enroll about 8000 students annually and the
alumni have contributed to both the growth of the private sector and the public
sector of India. However, India still lacks internationally behind universities
such as Harvard, Cambridge, and Oxford.
Indian higher education
is in need of radical reforms. A focus on enforcing higher standards of
transparency, strengthening of the vocational and doctoral education pipeline,
and professionalization of the sector through stronger institutional
responsibility would help in reprioritizing efforts and working around the
complexities. The rise of IT sector and engineering education in India gas
boxed students into linear path without giving them a chance to explore and
discover their passions. Concreted and collaborative efforts are needed in broaden
student choices through liberal arts education.
UNIVERSITIES
Universities
in India gave evolved in divergent streams with each stream monitored by an
apex body, indirectly controlled by the Ministry of Human Resource Development
and funded jointly by the state governments. There are most universities are
administrated by the states, however, there are 18 important universities
called Central Universities, which are maintained by the Union Government. The
increased funding of the central universities give them an advantage over their
state competitors.
The University
Grants Commission estimated that in 2013-14, an estimated 22849 PhDs and 20425
M Phil degrees were awarded. Over half
of these were in the fields of science, engineering/technology, medicine
and agriculture. As of 2014-15 over 178,000 students were enrolled in research
programs.
Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan
A
total of 316 state public universities and 13,024 college will be covered under
the Rashtriya Uchattar Shiksha Abhiyan, a plan to manage funding for higher
education. This is a scheme to develop state university by central government
funding (65%).
Rankings
The
university of Mumbai was ranked 41 among the Top 50 Engineering Schools of the
world by America’s news broadcasting firm Business Insider in 2012 and was the
only university in the list from the five emerging BRICS nations viz Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa.It was ranked at 62 in the QS BRICS
University rankings for 2013 and was India’s 3rd best Multi
Disciplinary University ranking of Indian Universities after University of
Calcutta and Delhi University. Three Indian universities were listed in the
Times Higher Education list of the world’s top 200 universities-Indian
Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management, and Jawaharlal Nehru
University in 2005 and 2006. Six Indian Institutes of Technology and the Birla
Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani were listed among the top 20 science
and technology schools in Asia by Asiaweek. The Indian School of Business
situated in Hyderabad was ranked number 12 in global MBA rankings by the
Financial Times of London in 2010 while the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences has been recognized as a global leader in
medical research and treatment. The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University
Rankings published in 2013 ranked IIT Bombay at 233, and IIT Kanpur at 295. No
Indian universities appear in the top 200 worldwide except IISC Bangalore which
is ranked at 147.
There
is no domestic ranking system for India. However, the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council (NAAC) has developed, after wide consultations, 50
indicators, assimilated into seven criteria, as Quality Benchmarks for
accreditation of universities. The Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET)
, an Inter University Centre (IUC) under the UGC, has reported that there are
150 areas in which research has been undertaken in 37 Central Universities.
Conclusion
Once
our country India is known for its ethics and moral values. As years passing, those
ethical values disappeared from the scenario of Indian society. This can be evidenced
in every newspaper. As a student teachers it is our responsibility to mould the
younger generation with a clear understanding about the moral ethical value
which were once considered as great virtues. But in case of higher education,
we are enough blessed. Because India has
as many educational institutions as to give education to all. So we proudly
saying that our country is well developing in higher education even though
there is illiteracy in our country.
