Quality assurance of teaching and learning in Indian higher education institutions

Abstract

Prompted by concerns about the reputation of Indian higher education’s quality assurance system, this study compares the espoused theory of quality assurance for teaching and learning with its perceived practice by staff and students in four Indian universities. The data for this study was generated from policy documents, via interviews and online surveys; and analysed using a mixed method approach.

A key finding was that there are disparities between policy and practice. Stakeholders comprehend quality in terms of transformation, fitness-for-purpose, and value for money. The policy appears aligned with transformation whereas both lecturers and students want fitness for purpose. Additionally, only lecturers seem focused on transformation whereas students expect value for money. The concepts of quality as exceptional and quality as perfection did not apply to the current state of participating universities as currently the curriculum design is not sufficiently robust, staff are seen as lacking teaching skills, and the student-staff ratio is perceived as too high.

The conclusions of this research are that the current quality assurance mechanism is ineffective; lecturers lack communication skills; curriculum design is insufficient in fostering change to promote more autonomy for lecturers and, independent and critical thinking for students. This research proposes definitions of quality, specific to Indian higher education sector and suggestions to address the identified disparities.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Michael Tomlinson: orcid.org/0000-0002-1057-5188

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