ICT IN UNIVERSITIES OF THE WESTERN HIMALAYAN REGION IN INDIA: Performance Analysis

The paper presents a comparative analysis of a live project study carried out to understand the impact and performance of ICT initiatives taken by the Universities located in the Western Himalayan Region of India. A basic four-tier framework has been used to carry out this study. Accordingly, a pre-structured questionnaire on ICT initiatives, status and accomplishments, 117 questions divided in 18 groups, was prepared and given to the Head of the Department (HOD) of ICT in the Universities, who along with his technical team, supplied the feedback on a five-point scale. In each of the groups, one question was related to performance (as performance indicator) which was identified and thus another special group 'S' was created with 18 responses. In order to assess the respective performance and impact, a standard statistical analysis was carried out in terms of the weighted mean and the correlation (Pearson's) coefficient (CC). The findings of the study are: A dynamic academic leadership and a properly trained skilled human resource yield better performance and impact leading to effective problem solving capability, research output and actual placements. This aspect is being implemented in most of the universities effectively and the performance is found to vary from one to another university. For most of the groups the CC, with the 'S' group, was found to be significant, indicating a positive ICT-based performance in the universities (iii) The universities, to a greater extent, have been found to act as nuclei towards creating skilled professionals with enhanced core competence.