India has drawn attention for scoring significantly low in the international Academic Freedom Index (AFI) with a score of 0.352. The notion of academic freedom refers to the liberty bestowed upon scholars to demonstrate their ideas without the dread of official interference or professional disadvantage.
About the Academic Freedom Index
The Academic Freedom Index (AFI) was published by the Global Public Policy Institute in conjunction with the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Scholars at Risk, and the V-Dem Institute. This index is part of a global time-series dataset covering the years 1900 to 2019.
The AFI was designed to measure levels of academic freedom worldwide and increase comprehension of its restrictions. To evaluate countries, eight components were utilized: freedom to research and teach, freedom of academic exchange and dissemination, institutional autonomy, campus integrity, freedom of academic and cultural expression, constitutional protection of academic freedom, international legal commitment to academic freedom under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the existence of universities. Countries are scaled between 0 and 1, although the index didn’t report data for 35 countries, including the United States and Australia.
Top Performers
Uruguay and Portugal lead the AFI, each with scores of 0.971, followed by Latvia (0.964) and Germany (0.960).
India’s Performance
With a score of 0.352, India lags behind, closely trailed by Saudi Arabia (0.278) and Libya (0.238). Over the past five years, India’s AFI has dropped by 0.1 points. Countries including Malaysia (0.582), Pakistan (0.554), Brazil (0.466), Somalia (0.436) and Ukraine (0.422) have outperformed India. The country demonstrated significant shortfalls in categories like institutional autonomy, campus integrity, freedom of academic and cultural expression, and constitutional protection of academic freedom.
The AFI referenced the ‘Free to Think: Report of the Scholars at Risk Academic Freedom Monitoring Project’, indicating that existing political tensions in India may play a role in the declining academic freedom. This report describes violent confrontations between students, security forces, and off-campus groups stimulated by these political tensions. It also mentions legal actions and disciplinary measures against scholars that have criticized those in power.
Challenges for India
Several factors contribute to this situation. They include limited freedom for scholars to discuss controversial topics, political interference in universities, highly politicized appointments, corrupt practices such as illegal licensing and accreditation, bureaucratization of universities, and nepotism in staff appointments and student admissions.
Solutions for Improvement
Implementing the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and making regulatory and governance reforms could help revamp India’s higher education system. NEP 2020 is primarily based on principles such as creativity and critical thinking. It aims to remove any political or external interference in the education system. Another key proposed solution is creating a National Research Foundation (NRF), responsible for research funding based on merit and peer-review, and operating independently from the government.
Way Forward
Governments worldwide express concern over the lack of world-class universities, without acknowledging the role of their interventions and the increasing political intrusions. Institutions where politics is kept at bay, such as IIT, IIM, or the IISc, tend to flourish. Policymakers in higher education must address declining AFI scores to progress towards making “India a global knowledge superpower”. This aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal-4 (SDG 4 -Quality Education). Universities must be safe spaces for raising doubts, debating issues, and thinking independently – all essential pursuits for academic excellence.
