Why is public higher education important? How can a country as economically and socially diverse as India ensure the growth and prosperity of its population through a robust public higher education system?

Dilemmas in Reforming Higher Education in India, which includes a short selection of writings of eminent scholar of education, Jandhyala B. G. Tilak, brings together critical articles, and discusses how higher education, a valuable and special public good, can counter the many tensions between tradition and modernity.

Exploring the issue of whether higher education is a ‘public good’, these essays trace direct and indirect social benefits that are commonly overlooked, and highlight the several inadequacies in our system.

The author argues that the chronic shortage of public funds for higher education, and the widespread introduction of neo-liberal economic policies and globalisation in every sector, has displaced this cherished view of higher education as a public good, legitimising its sale and purchase instead.