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Research article publication is often considered a critical indicator of academic institutions' success and productivity. It improves the institution's reputation, attracts talented students and faculty members, and increases the institution's chances of receiving funding opportunities from different funding agencies. This paper provides a reliable and sustainable methodology for improving the quality and quantity of research article publications for engineering institutions in India. The various tools, techniques, and initiatives that promote research culture and improve its outcome in terms of research papers are also discussed. A case study of Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), Pune, India, depicts how predictive, prescriptive, descriptive, and diagnostic data analytics approaches help to identify the barriers in the research article publications in academic institutions and provides the ways to overcome them. It also helps to set the publication targets and develop the path to perceive the targets. The outcomes and effectiveness of the case study are discussed using the papers published in Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. The challenges, opportunities, and recommendations are also provided for the smooth and effective implementation of the developed methodologies.

Purpose: Inclusive growth in the education sector is still a major challenge in some countries because of limited access to technologies and internet connectivity, among other reasons. However, as a technology, augmented reality (AR) is expected to be widely used in the field of education in the future. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the use of AR for inclusive growth in education as well as identify the challenges, particularly in countries like India and Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach: This paper applies a systematic literature review by analysing and synthesising relevant documents, mainly journal articles, books and conference papers. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were used for the analysis. Content analysis was used to evaluate the contents of the reviewed literature. Findings: For the use of AR, it is important to have adequate digital infrastructure, access to universal internet or broadband facilities and the digital empowerment of citizens. Major challenges to inclusive growth in education include the lack of trained teacher educators and students' preference for practical or project-based curriculum. Practical implications: Practitioners in both countries may consider the use of AR for inclusive growth in education. Originality/value: This paper specifically examines the use of AR in higher education and the related challenges based on a review of two countries, namely India and Tanzania.

This paper examines the predicament of the Dalit youth in their pursuit of higher education through a qualitative study in a low-income locality of Delhi. In absence of control over material resources historically, education offered promise in liberating socially excluded groups for its instrumental link with modern occupational structure. The policy of universal public education backed up with affirmative action in India has formally aided its access across sections. Even as the participation of the hitherto marginalized groups has been increasing manifold, privatization and marketisation in the education sector under the neo-liberal regime have transformed the educational landscape. Dalit youth is largely segregated into low-quality distance and social sciences education. The paper discusses various constraining and motivating factors embedded within and outside the neighbourhood and educational institutions which shape their educational interests, choices, and decisions. It elaborates on how cumulative socio-cultural, spatial, and historical disadvantages continue to shape the process of educational exclusion, even when these groups live in a metropolitan city amidst educational institutions. However, we also stress that the state policies, informed mentors, shared aspirations, and diversity in socio-cultural interactions hold the potential to alter and widen educational aspirations, access, and outcomes.

Several communities in India have defined the contours of the extent and quality of women's education based on the shifts in the demands of marriage within the community. The following paper traces a similar pattern in the educational trajectories of first-generation women of the Meena community across the rural and urban areas, to access the state government's women's college in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India. The relevant data has been collected through fieldwork conducted in Sawai Madhopur in the year 2017. The paper explores the complicity of the women's college with the institutions of family and marriage that result in a complete elimination of the classroom as a meaningful space of learning for women. The paper focuses on these and other such costs that Meena women bear for access to education.

Purpose: This research aimed to capture undergraduate students' experiences in the transition from face-to-face (F2F) learning to online learning. This study explored their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online learning in their academic lives, challenges encountered and suggestions for enhancing online learning in the post-COVID-19 era. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a concurrent mixed-methods research design and selected 118 undergraduate students using a multistage random sampling technique from four colleges in Assam. Standardized questionnaires and open-ended interview schedules were used. Findings: Undergraduate students reported a positive attitude and satisfaction with online learning, valuing its adaptability to their schedules, its role as a motivating factor for self-learning, its effect on making them more technically proficient and enhancing their communication skills to articulate their thoughts. However, the challenges identified by the students have the potential to overshadow the promises of online learning. This research provided more constructive suggestions under the themes of "content delivery", "systemic and infrastructural issues", "pedagogy" and "capacity building" to enhance their experiences with online learning. Practical implications: Our research findings would assist educational institutions in adopting innovative approaches for simpler and more efficient online learning experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic. Institutions should prepare themselves and design dual-mode courses for F2F and online learning. Originality/value: The paper addressed a relevant topic in this era of online learning by examining undergraduate students' viewpoints that added complementary information to the current body of literature on online learning in rural India. The insights gleaned from their experiences would be beneficial for the development of best practices for online learning in the coming decades.

Background: Learning losses does not mean forgetting only curricular learning but slipping back of fundamental learning abilities that learner would have acquired during schooling. School closures in India have severely disrupted learning processes of children resulting in learning losses and social gaps in academic outcomes. Though school closure is a global phenomenon, its adverse effects on learning outcomes are unevenly distributed in the society. Purpose: The paper aims to trace the phenomenon of learning losses resulting from a prolonged school closures during COVID 19 pandemic at the national level since march 2020.The study further is directed to trace accessibilities and uses of digital resources in India. Method: The study used secondary sources of data mainly of Bihar to ascertain the trend of learning losses. The data were regenerated to measure the emerging trend. Results: Learning loss was unevenly distributed in the society. Those who were digitally equipped had compensated their learning losses during school closures. The Bihar had mere 5 per cent computer and 15 internet facilities. The rural households had only 3 per cent computer and 13 per cent internet facilities. Primary grade children especially of disadvantaged groups in Bihar suffered more because they have very limited home learning resources. Learning crisis was more prominent at elementary school level where both the home resources and digital tools were inadequate. They spent hours in surfing social media for private purposes. The phenomenon of cyber loafing was widely seen among young students, showing a serious problem of internet abuse by secondary school students. Conclusion: Despite constraints Bihar managed to continue school learning programme during COVID 19. It had a largest force of digitally-equipped teachers (about 1.25 lakh) known as Potential Learning Community (PLC) who were ready to deliver e-contents to beneficiaries. Teachers established connectivity with parents and learners who had no android mobile. They started running Schools on Mobile (SOM) classes. The paper discusses learning recovery plan such as engaging community, reallocating resources for schools, etc.

The present paper studied the various issues and challenges of student's assessment that has been faced by college teachers and students of Kashmir division during COVID-19 Pandemic. Assessment is the major aspect of the education system. The student assessment is the act of evaluating student's abilities and achievements. It is ongoing process and integral part of the teaching and learning process. The teacher makes judgments about the students learning or to determine student's interest through assessment. It helps the teacher to reflect on each student's level of achievement as well as to customize their teaching plans accordingly. After COVID-19 Pandemic the student assessment has been shifted more to the online assessment. The teachers have faced lot of issues due to lack of access of internet and technology. In every sphere of education there is a great impact of technology on the students learning that has been done after COVID-19. The present study was descriptive- survey based study. Both primary and secondary sources of data were collected. For the secondary sources of data the investigator had reviewed various national and international papers related with the present study. The sample comprised of 400 college students and 400 teachers from various degree colleges of Kashmir Division. Self- developed interview schedule and self-constructed were used for the data collection. The investigator has conducted a group interview of 10 college's students and 10 teachers separately that constituted of 80 interviews. On the bases of these 80 group interviews the researcher developed themes of all interviews and analyzed all these into specific themes. The investigator suggested some recommendations for improving the better assessment of students through remote learning. The study indicated that there are major six challenges in the context of online assessment i.e., lack of internet connection, language problem, parental attitude, mental disturbance, heavy work load and inaccessibility of smarts phones.

The study aims to understand the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts the PRISMA approach to screening the selection of journal articles and review papers according to the research aims and the inclusion criteria. The journal articles and review papers were extracted and stored in Microsoft Excel and Google Scholar, Academic. Microsoft, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and Emerald Insight databases searched relevant documents using formulated keywords. A statistical technique was applied using the M.S. Excel analysis tool (PivotTable and an independent t-Test) to analyze data and determine the differences between teachers and students. The review revealed the evidence that the majority of the studies were primarily focused on the individual developing countries and results from other developing countries were not considered. In addition, the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate skills and training, inadequate Internet/Infrastructure, lack of supporting resources and lack of online student engagement and feedback. Finally, the independent t-test reveals there is no statistically significant difference in challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students encounter similar challenges. The systematic review raised concerns that higher learning needs to effectively implement long term strategies and support teachers and students in getting into online teaching and learning.

This paper analyses the issues and challenges of linguistically diverse English Language Teaching (ELT) classrooms in India. In India, the English language is not the first language; the majority of them speak Hindi or their state languages. Due to this concern, numerous questions are arising for teachers, such as (a) How many languages and which specific language should be used as a mode of classroom communication to convey the message/instruction effectively? (b) What should be the number of students in a particular class? and (c) Does the teacher have competency in the native language? Most of the local schools in Tribal areas do not teach in native or "Adivasi" language in ELT classrooms. Indian speaking now many languages, they are multilingual but for communicating, we have to speak in a single language. So, the question is arising for how to tackle with this multilingual classroom to teach the English language? This is a challenge for India in the twenty-first century. Thus, we need to have some ways to accept the challenge and to increase the level of students in India. This paper suggests some solutions to those challenges and seeks the answer to such problems to enhance the quality of multilingual in ELT classrooms.

Since social media is increasingly pervasive in modern society, this bibliometric study aims to investigate its educational applications. Using the Scopus database, the bibliometric method analyses publications published between 2010 and 2022. The research indicates that student participation and ease of access are the two main benefits of using social media in the classroom. However, it also spreads misinformation and poses privacy and security risks. Articles that discussed how social media could be used in the classroom were found and organised using a bibliometric analysis based on their subject matter, year of publication, and authors. The research shows that between 2001 and 2020, there was a rise in the number of papers discussing the use of social media in the classroom. In addition, the top five countries in terms of annual publication output include the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia/India, and Canada. To further explore the connections between relevant articles, a co-citation network analysis was performed. Therefore, there must be strict rules and policies for using social media in education to address privacy and security concerns and the spread of false information.

The 2017 general comment (GC21) to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on children in street situations, provides a framework of legal guidance for governments developing policies aimed at protecting street-connected children and sets up the rationale for more awareness raising and public education to counter negative and deficit attitudes towards street-connectedness. Within this framework, the media has a role to play in either challenging conceptualisations of street-connected children as out-of-place within the public and predominantly adult domain described by urban streets, or in reinforcing ideological constructions of citizenship and normalised notions of childhood that result in negative stereotypes of these children. GC21 recommends that interventions targeted at street-connected children should be ethically responsible -- adopting child rights approaches aimed at using accurate data/evidence that upholds the dignity of children, their personal integrity, and their right to life. As such, these approaches should also extend to how organisations engage with and utilise the media to represent street-connected children. Focusing on media representations of street-connected children during the six pandemic-affected months of February to July 2020, this paper provides a review of the content of the sources to provide an insight into the structural barriers that face street-connected children because of how they are positioned in society, during the pandemic and in general, and the extent to which the media reinforces or counters the rescue or removal narratives that can lead to inappropriate intervention responses.

Political science as a subject is integral to the development of sensible and patriotic citizens, yet it is not given the attention it deserves in the Indian education system. Solidified by the findings of field research conducted in five schools that cater to India's middle-income bracket (the largest segment of the population), this research paper brings forth the reluctance of over 92% of the representative sample to undertake education in a discipline as important as political science- a distressing figure indeed. The sample involved random selection of students of grade 11 in the five schools mentioned herewith; qualitative research was obtained through anonymous questionnaires allowing a safe space for truthful responses, and quantitative data were obtained through access to the schools' records pertaining to subject selection for grades 11-12. This paper will highlight some of the current deficiencies in the system, undertake a comparative study of how it stands vis-à-vis those of European countries, and arrive at recommendations to the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on how to improve civic education among high school students in the country, eventually fostering a moral and capable Indian generation.

COVID-19 has transformed higher education learning and teaching practices globally. Tertiary students, internationally face both opportunities and challenges in learning and adapting to this paradigm shift in the delivery of education. It remains unclear how students in international contexts are responding to these changes in digital learning during and post-COVID-19. This paper aims to compare student perceptions of digital competence, confidence, and resilience in present times using data from surveys of tertiary students from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, and Malaysia. There are disparities not only in the teaching and learning pedagogies amongst these countries but also in the levels of technological advancement, infrastructure support, and pace of digital innovation in the delivery of courses. These differences have put in focus students' both digital competencies and resilience as they pursue higher education on various digital learning platforms. Resilience includes the ability to bounce back or adapt from stress (Smith et al., 2008). Digital resilience is students' tech-savviness and preparedness to adapt to different digital environments as they pursue higher education. This paper examines the perceptions of tertiary undergraduate students from these countries in this emerging new digital learning norm. A total of 687 tertiary students from the aforementioned countries participated in a survey to questions related to digital competence, confidence in using and/or adapting to digital innovation, and resilience. Statistically significant attributes are identified to help better understand the challenges these culturally diverse students perceive in digital learning environments. This study will reveal barriers that impact the digital transformation of undergraduate students which can be used to recommend necessary teaching and learning support frameworks to enhance their digital competence and resilience. This will help tertiary institutions better equip all stakeholders in adapting to the new normal of higher education in the future.

Purpose: In the two consecutive surveys conducted by the authors in 2015 and 2018, it was found that out of a total of 810 and 1008 Indian higher educational institutions, only 54 and 63 institutions (6.67 and 6.25%) were led by women, 725 and 934 institutions (89.51 and 92.7%) were led by men and 31 and 11 (3.83 and 1.1%) were reported to either have no information about their leaders or those posts were vacant (Banker and Banker, 2017; EduShine Report, 2015 and 2018). The current study is a follow-up attempt so that the knowledge around the status of women academic leaders in Indian higher education (2021) can be upgraded. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned issue. Design/methodology/approach: The qualitative exploratory research approach was followed for conducting the study. Findings: It was found that out of the current total of 1151 Indian higher educational institutions, still only 110 (9.55%) are led by women, 1031 (89.57%) are led by men and for 10 institutions (0.86%) data on leadership is unavailable. Important contextual inferences have been made in the discussion section followed by the concentrated literature around the possible reasons for such low representation of women leaders in the global higher education sector. Research limitations/implications: One possible limitation of this study is that it does not provide an idea about why there is the highest women leadership in central institutions and the lowest in INIs. Taking the contextual factors into consideration, an extended exploration could have been made of different facilitators and barriers for each type of Indian HEI. The author invites future researchers to conduct this inquiry and come up with certain remedies, which is also one of the limitations of this study. Different enablers and disablers can be found through different primary and secondary research. Practical implications: Increased women leadership will bring diversity in the institutions' modus operandi and impact their culture in a great way. It is the prime responsibility of women to break the glass ceiling and come out of their shells. Family responsibilities contribute to their career stress in a great way, and women may balance their personal and professional lives by creating a sound support system in their family. Utilizing domestic help services will liberate them partially from their routine and unimportant duties. This will allow women to focus on more important work related to their careers. Trending nuclear families is also one of the major contributors to low women leadership; joint family pattern may benefit women to nurture and build their career keeping their sanity intact. Institutional decision makers and other stakeholders at work will be sensitized toward different barriers experienced by not only women leaders but also women in lower positions. Men at work across the levels are responsible for creating a more inclusive and conducive workplace for women. Inclusive workplace policies will render women equal opportunities and fair rewards. Ensuring unbiased and prejudice-free work culture will have a positive impact on the self-efficacy level of women which can be validated through their performance. Social implications: Slow and steady efforts consciously made by both men and women in the workplace for the betterment of women may progressively help overcome the social preconditioning at a macro level. Originality/value: All the studies reported in this paper have been sequentially conducted and are unique in the Indian higher education system.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges the author had encountered and the counter-strategies she had adopted to overcome them while conducting ethnography for the first time during her doctoral research. In this paper, the author hopes to provide guidance for future researchers by discussing the role she played in her research, the experiences she gained as a result of it, the difficulties she faced and the strategies she employed to overcome these difficulties. Design/methodology/approach: Following the social constructionist perspective, this paper analyses the experience that the author had gained during her field study. As a novice researcher, the author entered the field to study the relationship between caste and occupational mobility. The caste that she had selected was the Kansari caste to which the author belongs. Therefore, her position as a researcher while conducting ethnography became a crucial part of the methodological challenges the author faced. While insider ethnography has its advantages and disadvantages, this paper does not discuss these aspects of the methodology. Instead, it discusses how, as a novice researcher, the author had to negotiate her position as an insider and outsider. Findings: While analysing her experience as a novice researcher, the author found that her journey of conducting insider ethnography was of rediscovering herself as a Kansari as well as a researcher. Through this research, the author found that as an insider ethnographer, certain strategies had to be adopted in the field by the researcher to be objective and unbiased throughout the research process. For example, whenever the author conducted an interview, she tried to try to say less, listen more and be as objective as possible, without allowing her preconceptions to influence the information she gathered from the field. Originality/value: This is an original paper based on the primary data collected by the author.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to apply systems modeling to explore the usability of the online learning platform in the future compared to its usefulness during the pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: The applied systems research methodology has been used to develop a stock-flow model encompassing enablers and constraints for learning platform usage from the primary data collected through a survey of 163 respondents. Findings: The model simulation observed promising trends over one year for online learning platforms provided the challenges are reduced in seven to eight months. Challenges linked to the Internet and interaction need must be removed for future usage. Research limitations/implications: The results of the survey and model simulation suggest actions for product planning and development of online learning platforms based on customer insights. Product customization and feature enhancement will be required for the continued usability of online learning products. Actions for Internet service providers are to capture the online learner market by removing issues of Internet access bandwidth, and quality of content. Also, there should be sufficient teacher--student interaction in the online learning mode. Originality/value: This is an original study using systems modeling to evaluate factors contributing to students' intention to use online learning conducted at Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed to be University) Dayalbagh Agra, UP, India, 282005.

Sexual health education among adolescents with intellectual disabilities is an area of concern among parents and educators. Special educators play a vital role in teaching sexual health and safety to their students with disabilities. The present study explores special educators' concerns in teaching sexual health among adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The participants included 35 special educators working with adolescents with intellectual disabilities in India. Summative content analysis of the data collected using a semi-structured interview schedule highlights the neglect of the issues related to sexual health among adolescents with disabilities. Special educators reported the challenges in providing sexual health education. Teachers lacked skills in imparting sexual health education. Developmentally and culturally appropriate sexual health education can help adolescents with a disability learn healthy life skills. The paper emphasizes the need for professional support and training among special educators on sexual health education.

The introduction of computers in Indian schools runs parallel with the development of a digital divide in the country. In addition to the formal ways in which government policies shape access to computers in schools, deeper informal cultures of the state and schools shape opinion about these technologies. In this paper, we examine three levels of these informal cultures: political cultures and their perceptions of technology; bureaucratic cultures, which are distanced from schooling realities; and classroom teaching-learning practices, where digital inequalities add to pre-existing educational inequalities. For examining the interplay of the informal cultures, we scale down from the national level to examine the case of West Bengal, a state in eastern India. The state has been one of the strongholds of Left politics in India. Drawing upon its experiences, we explore the linkage between political ideology and the social embedding of resistance to computers.

The main goals of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) are to achieve primary education for all school children aged 6-14; reduce gender, regional and social spaces, and complete 100% retention of school children. Although, some obstacles and lacunas are pointed out here and there. Therefore, this paper attempted to analyze infrastructure facilities, academic facilities, community participation, and co-curricular activities from the stakeholders in the primary schools of Mahaboobnagar, Nalgonda, and Ranga Reddy under the Jurisdiction of Telangana state. The survey found that 70% of Heads of Institutions agree with SSA plans.

Purpose: The study aimed to capture student experience during virtual internships by identifying the facilitators and barriers during their experiential learning journey. The students were pursuing their Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program at a business school in India. The authors shed light on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the current education system, specifically experiential learning through virtual internships. Design/methodology/approach: About 38 Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted from July to September 2022 with the students of a business school located in Pune, India. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed to generate new themes for ascertaining the facilitators and barriers to virtual internships. Interpretative Phenomenology Analysis was undertaken to analyze the lived experiences of the respondents. Findings: Students viewed virtual internships positively in terms of mentor support, active learning, flexibility, and an easy onboarding process. Poor work-life balance, lack of peer learning and infrastructure issues were some of the barriers/challenges faced by the students. Practical implications: The study discusses various managerial and administrative implications. The findings help educationists design effective pedagogy by drawing insights from constructivist learning theory, where students' active role during virtual internships must be given primary attention. Corrective measures in the pedagogy can be taken while designing a virtual internship, considering the barriers found in this study. Originality/value: The themes identified in the study are a novel contribution to the growing body of knowledge on virtual experiential learning. The study empirically captures student experience regarding a relatively new phenomenon of virtual internships, which is the uniqueness of this paper.

Constructing the syllabus of a school subject could be a highly contested exercise given the fact that it must cater for the concerns of competing stakeholders and pressures to incorporate all possible aspects of that discipline. For geography, whose field of study is extremely vast, and its nature is not clearly defined, developing its syllabus is particularly challenging. This paper discusses some key issues concerning the status of the geography syllabus in the secondary schools in India. The central theme of the paper is built on the study of documentary sources, research works, as well as on the survey of schoolteachers and geography experts from some school boards. The paper concludes that the educational value of school geography can only be realized by incorporating both physical and human aspects of the Earth in the syllabus.

The paper seeks to expand our knowledge on the importance of public academic support programmes (ASPs) in higher education (HE) in India, which extend supplementary instruction with the aim to improve academic performance and support academic efforts of students from the socially and economically disadvantaged groups (SEDGs). This paper shows that students from the most disadvantaged amongst the SEDGs, that is, those residing in rural areas and women who experience multiple barriers that compound the effects of their disadvantages, have taken advantage of supplementary instruction classes. These classes have allowed HEIs to account for students' academic needs and challenges related to their socioeconomic disadvantages, that remain unmet in regular classrooms. By targeting educational resources to students who are most disadvantaged, these programmes compensate for the absence of parental support and recognises the underlying socio-economic obstacles of students from achieving academic success at college. Given the acknowledged role of higher education in providing economic and social benefits to individuals, the paper argues that oncampus state enabled ASPs targeting students from the SEDGs make HE in India more equitable and contribute in reducing social inequalities in the wider society

The paper explores India's response in the face of the COVID-19 educational crisis compared to the educational thoughts and experiments of Rabindranath Tagore, Asia's first Nobel laureate and an avid educator. The context of the study is formulated from the perception that the past and present are interconnected; hence examining similarities and dissimilarities between them can reveal latent undercurrents. A comparative historical method is employed for the study to take three diverse yet interconnected periods in the Indian education system--the Tagorean/colonial period, the post-independence period, and the pandemic period--for a continuous and comprehensive evaluation. Tagore's educational experiences evidenced that the colonial system reeled under biases that alienated the natives from their nation and its operations. Despite the efforts, the post-independence period bears remnants of the colonial system. The educational response to the pandemic also exhibits specific social, cultural, and economic tensions similar to its predecessors. As the COVID-19 lockdown implementation has forced shutters on the educational institutions, an increasing emphasis is laid on digital education without adequate engagement with the pre-existing challenges. Under this convoluted circumstance, the paper opines that colonization continues to be the underlying process propelling the education system. Thus, the Tagorean ideals of education and its indigenous ways require urgent consideration before falling back on the old system post pandemic or endorsing digital education as the next giant stride in education.

The paper offers a synthesis of findings from an international initiative coordinated by the Asia Productivity Organisation (APO) to measure higher education productivity across nine Asian countries. The paper discusses benefits, barriers, and potential for estimating university productivity across international contexts. Stakeholders from nine participating countries collected and analysed institutional data and reported measurement results. The APO initiative represents the first multi-country test of an adapted productivity measurement model first advanced by the United States National Research Council (NRC). The research provides evidence for proof of concept of the adapted NRC model for use across international contexts. Additional findings demonstrate the range of productivity definitions and interpretations for higher education. The paper concludes by showing priority areas for both targeted and broad developments in research and practice of measuring productivity in higher education.

There will be elaborated several facts about creativity in Twenty First-Century educational reforms in six countries (The US, India, Chile, Mexico, China, and Singapore). The crucial source of the content in the paper relies on the book, "Teaching and Learning for the Twenty-First Century" (Reimeres and Chung, 2016). Nevertheless, my exploration of creativity in modern education in the six countries has a limited range. Creativity depends on three meaningful factors of education such as equality, quality and implementing modern educational reforms. The paper sheds light on similarities and differences of six countries that they experience with the three factors (equality, creativity, and implementing modern educational reforms). All countries strive to apply equality in the whole country, although, none of the countries has employed equality throughout the nation. Some countries made better progress on applying equality in education, and others are facing many obstacles with equal education throughout the country. Creativity is significant to every educational system, and it is interrelated with equality and applying modern education. The US system of education applies creativity in a few school districts. Other countries state creativity in their curriculum, but they do not use it in the classrooms at all. Six countries have different economic development, and different economic demands; therefore, they have different approaches to implementing modern educational reforms. Despite the fact all countries have dissimilarities with implementing creativity in educational reforms, they all know creativity's weight in modern education. Creativity as a first step of the innovation that defines the progress of education especially accelerates the growth of the entire economy within a society.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in school education is considered as one of the important tools to make education learner centric and helps to reduce the digital divide between different socio-economic classes in a developing country like India. The government is implementing policies to encourage schools to adopt ICT and integrate in the school curriculum, but the response is lukewarm from the schools. School teachers have a decisive role to play in the effective implementation of ICT in the classroom. Their level of acceptance of new pedagogy using ICT is a key to successful implementation. The existing research shows that the lack of willingness of the teachers to use ICT in the classroom is one of the major hurdles in its implementation at the ground level. At present, there are very few studies that identify these perceived barriers of the teachers. This paper focuses on identifying the barriers to use of ICT from the teachers' perspectives by using the rank order method for English and Regional medium school teachers. The paper uses logistic regression analysis to find out how the willingness to use ICT can be improved if some barriers are mitigated for both types of schools.

This paper examines leadership challenges in managing digital power and digital poverty, in the delivery of schooling during the Covid-19 emergency lockdown in India. The article suggests that although India is considered a global leader in digital technology, its primary and secondary school system suffers from digital poverty with associated tensions for school leadership. The paper explores the nature of teaching and learning in a selection of girls' schools in India during Covid-19. In the context of the pandemic, school leaders have had to respond quickly to remote learning, supporting teachers to facilitate the use of educational technology. Our research examined the experience of leadership in a cross section of schools from different geographical and socio-economic backgrounds. The respondents reflected on their engagement with digital literacy and remote teaching methodologies, and how the pandemic changed the classroom experience with little or no lead in time to adapt. The article examines how Indian women in positions of educational leadership perceive digital power or poverty and how it affects change and challenge in their leadership responsibility. Conclusions are drawn regarding educational practices operational at present and anticipate considerations which must be acknowledged to support virtual learning into the future.

Purpose: Engineers graduating from premier institutions of India look for global opportunities that will provide a chance to work with the best and the most innovative minds in the world. Nevertheless, to compete in the global job market, they require added competence in English. However, it is seen that despite exemplary hard skills, lack of good communication skills has obstructed the growth of engineers. This study aims to find a viable tool to enhance engineering students' communication skills despite many limitations. The purpose of this study is to explore how presentations can be used to address problems of low levels of English ability in highly skilled, high-functioning engineering professions. Design/methodology/approach: This paper discusses a study conducted in India's premier institution where around 240 first-semester engineering students were the sample. It uses partial ethnographic research to verify its hypothesis that presentations compel students to plan, prepare, practise and perfect their communication skills. It presents an ethnographic experiment conducted by the researchers and data collected using the qualitative research method of interviews. Findings: The results of the paper indicate that making engineers plan, prepare and make presentations can explore their ability to communicate in English. It also concludes that presentation helps students explore all four language skills, that is, reading the information collected, listening to peers, writing or preparing their presentation and finally speaking in front of the audience. Practical implications: This paper argues that presentation can be made a practice even in a large class of multi-level second language (L2) learners as it will generate interest in students and will develop many qualities such as team spirit, confidence and public speaking. Social implications: This study will help to address problems of low levels of English ability in highly skilled, high-functioning engineering professions. Originality/value: Since engineering classes in Indian institutes often comprise 80--120 students, the English teachers face immense challenge of simultaneously improving communication skills of a large number of students who are multi-lingual, multi-level L2 learners. Therefore, this paper presents an effective and interesting way of involving all the students and using presentation to improve their communication skills.

Higher education in India was caught completely unawares by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessitated closure of educational institutions. Despite almost a decade of experience with online and distance learning at some top-tier and private institutions, the vast majority were unprepared and looked for quick solutions for different components of teaching-learning depending on the need of the hour. The immediate tool sought was a videoconferencing platform to substitute in-class lectures. With no access to a learning management system, faculty chose one platform for videoconferencing, one for interaction with students, and another for uploading class notes. Disparity in students' access to devices and the internet presented challenges. Assessment of learning, which hitherto was largely pen and paper based, was delayed for lack of a viable solution. Experiences documented in this study demonstrate faculty resilience, but lack of institutional leadership and preparedness is starkly evident.

Electronic Governance (E-governance) in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System is the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the governance and management of the ODL institutions. This includes planning, implementation, and monitoring of university programs, projects, and activities. Interest in e-governance is growing with the increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) by government to improve the quality of governance and service delivery. ODL system, commonly known a distance education, has evolved as an effective medium to support the increasing demand for education of a variety of learners, in a developing country like India. In the 21st Century, most of the learners entering the ODL institutions are digital natives. This makes it more important that the e-governance is an integral part of the ODL system to deliver cost-effective education, with dedicated learner services, and improved processing of transactions within the institution, and between the government and other agencies. In this paper we discuss about e-governance in distance education context. We also highlight some of the important initiatives such as implementation of enterprise resource planning solution, online admission system, national open and distance learners' library and information network, taken by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), a premier Open University in India, towards e-governance. The paper also discusses various issues and challenges related to the planning, development and implementation of e-governance projects and initiatives in an ODL institution.

The development of any nation depends on its citizens. Every citizen has their contribution to the development of a nation even the disabled person. They also have an equal rights to get a higher education. Higher education increases the chance of employability, thus, affirming dignified life for persons with disabilities. As per Census 2011, in India, out of the 121 Cr population, about 2.68 Cr persons are 'disabled' which is 2.21% of the total population. But it has been seen that very few of these people reach higher education. According to census 2011, 61% of the disabled children aged 5-19 years are attending an educational institution, 12% attended educational institutions earlier while 27% never attended educational institutions. That makes the author think and ask about how our higher education institutions are accessible for disabled students. How inclusive are our higher education institutions? In the light of the above-mentioned problems the present paper has discussed the education of children with special needs in higher education specifically with respect to visual impairment, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, and speech-related impairment. The discussion starts with what all kind of legal provisions and reservations which are there for them in higher education and how many are utilized and used by them. What all things are there in the new education policy for them specifically in higher education, whether their needs have been realized in detail or it has been just touched superficially and at the end, few suggestions related to all these issues have been discussed.

The IBSA forum is an important collaboration of India-Brazil-South Africa to address the social developmental challenges of developing countries through South-South Cooperation. All three countries share same colonial history and at present have developing economies and struggling to provide best public services to their citizens through the appropriate policy planning and introduction of welfare schemes. In the field of education, all these countries are facing problem in the expansion of access of education for all due to the challenges such as high number of out of school children, high drop-out rate, high repetition rates etc. To tackle these problems, appropriate education policies on free and compulsory education have been implemented in these countries. Besides these education policies, these countries have started many compensatory programmes to address the major challenges in the goal of universal elementary education. One of the most important compensatory programmes in these countries is school meal programme. In all the three countries, school meal programmes have been started with dual purpose of keeping the children in the school and improving their nutritional status. This paper is an attempt to review the school meal programmes of IBSA countries to highlight their impact on the health and educational attainment of children especially children from the disadvantaged sections of the society.

There is a need for individuals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers to drive the innovation and research potential of Europe. Yet, there is expected to be a decrease in the number of STEM professionals, as there is less student interest in STEM fields of the study. Studies show that STEM classes that focus on inquiry-based science education (IBSE) are engaging and encourage students to become more fascinated with STEM fields. The Ark of Inquiry Project involves a consortium of STEM- and education-focused universities and organizations across Europe that created an online platform with IBSE and STEM lessons. The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe conducted the pilot phase of the Ark of Inquiry Project in Italy from September 2015 to February 2016. In this paper, we will discuss some of the barriers to the expansion of this online STEM education project that was noted by the 14 participating Italian teachers of the pilot phase and 30 educators from India, Germany, Canada, and Denmark who participated through online surveys. We discovered that teachers must be able to overcome barriers of access to technology, misconceptions about women's abilities in STEM fields, and the effect of poor pre-service teacher training as it relates to implementing IBSE effectively for student-centered learning. This paper will focus on how the above factors hinder the growth of teachers as designers and facilitators of student-centered IBSE curriculum and will recommend how The Ark of Inquiry Project can be scaled up to impact the rest of the world.

The growing global demand for tertiary education has led to the increased use of e-learning approaches around the world. Demand has increased most rapidly in low and middle income countries (LMICs), which account for half of the students currently enrolled in higher educational institutions (HEIs). But the implementation of e-learning programmes in resource-constrained settings faces many obstacles. This paper explores some of the key issues involved in implementation of e-learning in HEIs involved in the education of health professionals, given the resource constraints within which many institutions have to function. We present case studies of three such LMIC institutions of varying size and primary purpose. The paper suggests use of appropriate ICT infrastructure, both in terms of hardware and software, combined with effective access and bandwidth management policies is crucial to the successful implementation of e-learning courses on health within HEIs based in LMICs.

India is the second-largest tribal population in the world. However, after the seven decades of independence, the tribal groups are disadvantaged and socially backward from the cycle of growth in many areas such as health, education, employment, and empowerment, and more. Among these, for tribal society, education is an essential requirement. The state and central governments have initiated several programs to educate tribal groups. Many of these programs have achieved only 10 percent of the targets. The vast numbers of tribal peoples are missing their education at various levels. They lag in education due to the high illiteracy rates among the tribal population relative to Scheduled Castes (S.C.s). Hence, the time has come to consider tribal education and inclusive growth seriously. In this context, the comprehensive literature review seeks to provide a contemporary overview of India's current status and challenging issues of tribal education. The paper is purely based on second-hand information from various research studies conducted in India and collected from different government sources. The outcomes are more helpful in implementing schemes that can improve tribal literacy and inclusive growth perspectives.

Gender diversity and equality in the workplace has been much researched and spoken about in the corporate sector but the higher education sector in India remains largely untouched by it, probably because women seemingly far outnumber men in the teaching fraternity. However, data also suggests that most women in the higher education sector remain restricted to middle-ranking posts, rising as high as heads of department, deans, controller of examination and even registrars but hardly ever becoming vice-chancellors. In a sector which has traditionally attracted many women as their preferred career choice, lack of an adequate talent pool cannot be the answer. This paper is a study exploring the barriers and enablers for women academicians' ascent to leadership roles. It also presents strategies to close this gap and facilitate pathways for women to hold leadership roles in Indian universities. This paper is one of the first few on women's leadership in Indian universities.

Online teaching and learning as an electronically supported approach relies mainly on the Internet as the medium for knowledge transmission. The utmost efforts are being made so that learning will be possible, even during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also maintaining academic integrity. In this paper, we discuss the major steps taken to foster the educational needs of chemistry students in India along with the major challenges faced by Indian teachers and learners. Transmission of education involves all-round and far-ranging development of the learners. This paper elaborates on how the activities being carried out in everyday classrooms could not be replicated efficiently in an online teaching--learning platform. Great attention was given to maintaining academic integrity; this was reflected in the process of moving instruction online.

India, as a developing nation, is consistently progressing in the education field. While Indian higher education has expanded tremendously in terms of enrolment, the country has failed to produce an adequate number of world-class universities. Researchers have analysed challenges like demand-supply gap, lack of quality research and innovation, inadequate infrastructure, shortage of quality faculty, etc. Worldwide higher education policies have been transformed by various internationalisation processes that operate in a constant flux of globalisation. Given the projected demand for massification and quality improvements needed, internationalisation of higher education has become an important national goal in India. This paper conceptualises the importance of foreign partnerships in the Indian higher education sector. It delineates major challenges for the foreign enterprises to enter the Indian higher education market and highlights some recent developments on policy initiatives and schemes initiated by the Indian government to bring higher education at par with international standards. Specific hindrances of foreign partnerships in the higher education sector have also been discussed. In conclusion, this paper critically argues for formulating useful regulatory guidelines for foreign partnerships by fostering research on understanding the policy and management of the Indian higher education system.