Kashmir's Dead Horse Theory

By Dr. Ashraf Zainabi

With an overwhelming mandate, the elected government has an opportunity to fix crisis-ridden higher education. If the government misses this chance, they'll be just flogging the dead horse in the name of reforming system.

The first positive sign however came when a recent high-level education meet passed some comforting instructions. Things look promising, but will they translate into action? That's a big question on Kashmir's Dead Horse Theory.

It's a satirical metaphor that illustrates how individuals, institutions, and governments often refuse to acknowledge problems. Instead of abandoning failed strategies, they double down on them – wasting time, resources, and effort in the process. This theory is painfully relevant to the state of higher education in Jammu and Kashmir, where systemic issues continue to be met with superficial solutions rather than genuine reforms.

J&K's higher education system faces a range of deep-rooted challenges, like lack of proper-research infrastructure, uncertain career prospects for contractual faculty (which constitutes about 50% of teaching force), outdated curricula (shuffling the syllabi units in between semesters won't make it updated), poor industry-academia linkages, and the unpreparedness of Government Degree Colleges (GDCs) to implement the ambitious Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) under NEP 2020.

Yet, rather than addressing these core issues, decision-makers often resort to bureaucratic patchwork solutions-committees, reports, marginal policy adjustments-that do little to change the ground reality. Instead of dismounting the dead horse (accepting that the current system needs an overhaul), they persist in finding ways to justify and sustain it, even when it is clear that these efforts are futile.

One of the most pressing concerns in J&K's higher education sector is the lack of research infrastructure in colleges. With the introduction of FYUGP, students are expected to undertake research projects, yet most GDCs, barring few, lack proper laboratories and funding. Instead of acknowledging this and providing concrete financial and infrastructural support, the response has been predictable: more committees, more assessments, and more task forces to“review” the situation.

The reality is that, GDCs are ill-equipped to support research at this level. Yet, instead of addressing these gaps, policymakers insist on pushing forward with implementation of FYUGP. This is akin to holding meetings to discuss how to make the dead horse run faster.

A more pragmatic approach would be to gradually develop infrastructure, train faculty, and establish research-industry linkages before enforcing the FYUGP program at full scale. If not, we will be continuing the mass production of graduates that lack skills, training and required qualifications to become industry ready.

Instead of building real partnerships with industries and startups, authorities opt for superficial measures like conducting“entrepreneurship awareness programs.” These seminars may look good on paper, but without functional incubation centers, funding support, and mentorship, they do little to foster real entrepreneurship. This is the equivalent of improving the diet of the dead horse, an illusion of progress that does not change the core issue.

Another glaring issue is the plight of contractual faculty members, who form a significant portion of the teaching workforce in GDCs of J&K. Despite their years (some with above 15 years) of service, they remain in precarious positions, with no clear path to job security.

A practical approach would be to formulate a long-term policy ensuring their career progression. When asking about reforms and a policy, concerned ministers satisfy everyone with a statement,“examining the issue”, which is followed by a prolonged silence.

Thing is, when 50% of teaching force is not stable, hired and fired every eight months, have no job security, what efforts they will put in realizing the vibrant higher education sphere? Therefore, without a structured policy for contractual faculty, higher education in J&K will continue to suffer from instability and brain drain.

The government should learn from Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, the twin northern states that have regularized thousands of higher education contractual teachers in past few years.

At this moment, the faculty recruitment process remains another area where Dead Horse Theory logic prevails. It's time to abandon API matrix to hire and promote teaching staff. The system should focus on developing a real-time-all-time evaluation model, with a major focus on quality not quantity.

Notably, the crisis in J&K's higher education cannot be resolved by renaming policies, forming committees, or making symbolic gestures. It requires bold and structural reforms that must translate into action on ground. Colleges need well-equipped labs, funding for student projects, and faculty training in research methodologies. A massive investment is need of the hour.

A structured, merit-based system for regularization and career progression of contractual teaching staff is also necessary. About 90% of the non-permanent teaching force is well qualified (Ph., Post., and beyond) and fit to engage students in interesting and applied research. They need hand-holding, support, encouragement, and job security in terms of better salaries and equal treatment and respect. Without them, it's hard to imagine a result-oriented research progression in degree colleges.

Colleges should be upgraded in phases before forcing them to accommodate research-intensive programs (4 year UG NEP). An actionable timeline in this direction with full emphasis on above two recommendations is essential. Instead of just awareness programs, there should be direct industry partnerships, internships, and startup incubations programs. The system should prioritize real qualitative teaching and research contributions over bureaucratic paperwork (API framework).

If a survey is conducted in GDCs today, I am sure that non-permanent teachers will figure above in all indexes. Therefore, count them as an important part of the system, not just a patchwork lot or internees as claimed by ministry concerned.

Until these fundamental changes happen, the Dead Horse of J&K's higher education system will remain firmly in place-decorated with new policies, but ultimately going nowhere. It's time to dismount and move forward with real solutions.

• – The author is a Kashmiri teacher-researcher. Views expressed in this article are author's own and don't necessarily reflect KO's editorial policy.

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