Straight Talk: The needless war on 4-year undergraduate programmes

Pushkar discusses the issues underlying the debate over India's four-year undergraduate program.

Straight Talk: The American Nightmare - Laws, Campuses and Guns

The US is a preferred destination for international students. However, the recent spate of campus violence has cast a long shadow over its academic institutions. What is the historic and legal foundation for USA’s gun laws and what are their long term repercussions? Take a look with Dr. Pushkar.

Straight Talk: What good is a PhD from an Indian university?

Across the world, a PhD is synonymous with the summit of academic excellence. But is it also true for India? An in depth look at the reality of an Indian PhD.

Straight Talk: India must make drastic cutbacks in academic research to ensure quality

Is research the only way to ensure the quality of Indian academia? Dr. Pushkar argues otherwise.

Straight Talk: Why do junk private colleges survive and thrive?

What's the story behind many of the useless private institutions in India? Pushkar gives his view.

Straight Talk: How useful is India Rankings 2016 for students?

Dr. Pushkar takes a close look at the recently released India Rankings 2016 and discusses whether it can serve as a reliable guide for students and parents in the upcoming admission season.

Straight Talk: Plagiarism - its practice in an Indian context

Plagiarism is a serious offence in the academic world. Politicians and professors have lost their positions for it. Yet, Indian institutions are notably lax about it. Dr. Pushkar writes about what plagiarism is, and examines why it is so widespread in India.

Straight Talk: Foreign faculty will be immensely beneficial for Institutions of Eminence

The combined research output of all India’s central universities is less than that of either Cambridge or Stanford alone. Hiring foreign faculty will boost research and internationalization.

Straight Talk: Do College Rankings Matter?

Prospective students should not decide where to study based on college rankings alone, says BITS-Pilani Professor Pushkar.

Straight Talk: Who are the losers in India's Higher Education?

In the first of a two part series, Dr. Pushkar writes that if India’s higher education system stays broken, we can realistically let go off all expectations from our demographic dividend. Who are the biggest sufferers in India’s higher education system, and why are they suffering? Read part two of the series here.