A Study On The Equity Of Higher Education In Punjab In Context Of Equal Opportunities In Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education is central to the development of a country. Without it, countries are bound to lag behind others in the race for development. Without human resources development and institution building, a nation cannot dream of progress and prosperity. The investment in higher education does not go unrecorded and its neglect does not get ignored. The policies of the Government are placing greater stress on upgrading the skills of the vast resources of human capital in the country through measures promoting access to education, with a focus on enhancing the knowledge distribution power of the economy through collaborative network and the diffusion of technology, and providing the enabling conditions for change in the science system to maximize the benefits of technology.The objective of the study was to investigate the extent of equal opportunities in higher education in Punjab.

The study was descriptive and survey type. The study was delimited to the higher education institutions of Punjab. The population included 18 public universities in Punjab. A random sampling technique was applied for selection of sample. Ten public sector universities were randomly selected for the above population. Ten teachers (5 male and 5 female) and 20 students (10 male and 10 female) were further selected from the sample universities.

Data were collected through questionnaires developed with the help of experts. Data collected were tabulated, analyzed using the Likert’s five-point scale and chi-square. After drawing the conclusions, some workable recommendations were made for the improvement of higher education, bringing equity and access in higher education. The following conclusions were drawn from responses. (1) The concept of gender bias is prevailing in the developing countries of the world. (2) The study showed that there is indifferent attitude of teachers towards male and female students.(3) It was also found that the behaviour of the teachers was indifferent to rural and urban students. It creates region differences to breed. (4) The results showed that girls are not preferred to boys in selection of technical or scientific subjects. (5) The majority of the respondents pointed out those admission criteria effects the students with average grade to get enrolled in higher education. (6) Age restrictions keep the students with genuine problems away from higher education.

The following recommendations were made on the basis of conclusions: (1)The authorities must assure that fair access to higher education is provided without gender bias.(2) There should be establishment of public universities in rural areas to promote equity region wise. (3)There should be equal opportunities for girls in selection of the subjects of their own choice. (4) Teachers should be trained in a way that student belonging to any group or sex have equal behaviour of teachers.(5) Admission criteria must have some relaxation for deprived students.(6) There should be an alternate way in the selection of medium of instruction.