BY the time you read this piece, the new government would have been already at work and we will hopefully see some young new faces in the second round. But thanks to Rahul Gandhi's insistence on foregrounding the youth, the focus finally is shifting to issues that concern this segment. Those of you who have watched the election analyses on various television channels would have heard every pundit worth his two bits speaking about the need for reforms in higher education and generating employment, two issues closest to this magazine.

A comprehensive re-look is essential at all levels, from elementary to higher and professional education. But it is the higher education domain that needs critical attention immediately. Especially so, because reforms in that segment generate maximum  multiplier effects at the shortest possible time.

Committees and commissions are not the way to go.  Neither is replacing UGC with a higher education regulatory board.  Abolishing UGC and creating a new organisation and finally getting it peopled by a similar set of individuals is a national wastage of resources and time. It is not UGC that failed the nation, but the people who run UGC. An easier option would be separate permission-granting, accreditation and grant-making functions to three different bodies and keeping them at arm's length. An executive order would do the job for each professional regulatory agency. Coming to think of it, I don't see why we need permissions to set up an educational institution when we do not need one (after 1991) to set up a company. This is all the more ridiculous since every government acknowledges that the nation needs to double or treble the number of educational institutions. So make minimum standards non-negotiable and anybody who meets that standard continuously should be allowed to set up an institution. Remove all the unnecessary NOCs from the system. The corruption levels will immediately be halved.

A single mandate by the Ministry of HRD could make it imperative for all educational institutions, private or public, to collect fees on a monthly basis. If millions of private schools can do it, so can thousands of higher education institutions. At least a student can out if he or she does not see value, with minimal monetary loss.

An executive order by AICTE is all that is required to make it mandatory that all institutions making any claim to substantiate them with supporting information. Say, if an institution claims 100% placements, just make sure that they give out complete information on the companies, the nature of job and total compensation. It would kill the misinformation game that is characteristic of many players in the country. A single order to public sector banks to ensure that they do not offer loans to unrecognized/unaccredited institutions would immediately ensure that all those who are unaccredited would have a powerful incentive to come under a regulatory regime. Make available complete information. The citizen will make his or her own choice. And that's not a comforting thought because when everything is out in the open many emperors will realize they have no clothes on.