Revisiting University Education In India
Toolika Wadhwa
LIBERAL EDUCATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS: THE CRISIS IN THE INDIAN UNIVERSITY by Shashikala Srinivasan Routledge, New York, London, South Asian Edition, 2019, 246 pp., Rs.995
January 2020, volume 44, No 1

The past few years have been tumultuous for universities across the country. On the one hand, universities have seen student unrest accorded to a demand for greater freedom for speech and exchange of liberal ideas; on the other, there has been a restructuring of courses and revision of syllabus at all levels of higher education. Changes in both administrative and academic systems and processes have led to a radical change in the experience of education and the idea of a ‘university’. The increased attention enjoyed by university education in the past few years perhaps stems from the emergence of ‘knowledge economies’. Knowledge is looked at as a variable that indicates a nation’s development. It is in this context that the book by Shashikala Srinivasan proves to be critical in understanding the discourse surrounding university education in the country.

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