Welcome innovation I am a regular reader of EducationWorld and have been following the annual EW India Higher Education Rankings for the past three years. Congratulations to C fore and EW for conducting and publishing a comprehensive higher education institutions rankings survey, despite the huge disruption caused by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. The newly introduced rankings of Top 10 institutes for most popular undergrad courses serve a useful purpose. Ranking colleges and universities according to subjects/degree programmes will help students to choose the best college for academic programmes of their choice. Piyali Baruah Kolkata Most positive development Re your cover story on the EW India Higher Education Rankings 2021-22 (EW June). I whole-heartedly agree with Prof. A.S. Seetharamu’s views that the emergence of globally benchmarked private universities is the most positive development in Indian education of the past decade. Most of them are promoted by philanthropists and corporates committed to putting Indian higher education on the global map. India’s top-ranked private varsities are world-class with superb campuses, highly qualified faculty and research focus. They could do much more if the government loosens the regulatory shackles imposed on them. Seema Bahai Gurugram Necessary tall order I really liked Dr. Krishna Kumar’s timely essay ‘Repair & recovery after Covid’ (EW June). The country’s school education system has hit an all time low after the pandemic. Millions of children have dropped out of school while others are learning sub-optimally online. Government needs to urgently chalk out a plan to intensively train teachers to conduct bridge and remedial classes, to enable children to make up for their learning loss. It’s a tall order that needs to be implemented with imagination and patience. Smita Mathur Delhi ECCE misconceptions The Tamil Nadu Education News report (EW June) highlighting the phenomenon of dwindling nursery and preschool admissions across the state, indicates that parents have fallen prey to false propaganda that youngest children will not suffer learning loss if they miss a year or two of professionally provided early childhood care and education (ECCE). Moreover there is a popular misconception that online schooling serves little purpose for preschool children. As an early childhood educator, I can vouch that formal ECCE is the most important stage of the learning continuum and critical for children to develop strong foundations for future learning. Research has proven beyond doubt that 80 percent of brain development occurs in the first eight years of life. Therefore as Sudha Malini, principal of RMK School says, an hour of curated digital learning per day is a much better option than no education at all. The minds of youngest children need to be active and stimulated in their early years. Lata Chimalapati on EMAIL Insular universities The Teacher-2-Teacher essay ‘Reviving India’s laggard universities’ by Dr. Amarendra Sahoo (EW June) was thought-provoking. He has rightly described India’s higher ed institutions as “insular”. They have made little effort to collaborate and interface with academics and universities in foreign countries. The government has also done little to incentivise colleges and…
