Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Academic Freedon

Mains level: State of higher education in India

freedom

India’s academic freedom index is in the bottom 30 percent among 179 countries, according to a new report.

Academic Freedom Index Update, 2023

The report was a collaborative effort of 2,917 country experts worldwide.
It was co-ordinated by Swedish think tank V-Dem Institute and the Institute of Political Science at the Friedrich Alexander University in Germany.
It identified 22 countries – including India, China, the United States and Mexico – where it said universities and scholars experience significantly less academic freedom today than they did ten years ago.
The index score measures five indicators-

What one means by academic freedom?

Academic freedom refers to the independence and autonomy that scholars and researchers have in pursuing their academic work, without fear of censorship, retaliation, or repression from the government or other entities.
It includes the freedom to conduct research, publish findings, and express opinions and ideas, without interference or pressure from external forces.
It is considered a cornerstone of higher education and is essential for the advancement of knowledge and the free exchange of ideas.

India’s performance

India is ranked among the bottom 30% with an index score of less than 0.4 among the 179 countries assessed by the researchers.
On a scale of 0 (low) to 1 (high), India scored 0.38, lower than Pakistan’s 0.43 and the United States’ 0.79, says the report. LOL!
The report has ranked the United States among the top 50% of countries with an index score just below 0.8. China has been ranked among the bottom 10% with a score of less than 0.1.
The report said that academic freedom in India began to decline in 2009 with a drop in university autonomy, followed by “a sharp downturn in all indicators” from 2013.

A lack of a legal framework to protect academic freedom has enabled attacks on academic freedom.
The report sees there is notable pressure on the institutional dimensions of academic freedom — institutional autonomy and campus integrity.

The report sees regime change in India since as a declining trend in the country’s academic freedom.
All such reports are being increasingly publicized ahead of India’s general elections in 2024.