The Nalanda University attracted scholars and students from near and far, some travelling all the way from Tibet, China, Korea and Central Asia in quest of knowledge. It was a centre of excellence not only for Ancient Indian wisdom, Buddhist studies and philosophy but for Medicine and Mathematics, Astronomy and Logic as well. After teaching thousands of students for centuries, Nalanda ceased to exist just as universities were opening up in Bologna, Paris and Oxford at the beginning of the second millennium century. The shift of centres of knowledge from East to West was symbolic of the eventual transfer of power which followed within half a millennium. There is now a perfect opportunity to recreate the hallowed universalism of Nalanda as a centre of knowledge.

The Indian higher education system has undergone rapid expansion. In less than 20 years, the country has created additional capacity for a mammoth 40 million students. While the scale of this expansion is remarkable in itself, what set it apart from earlier decades of equally aggressive expansion is a deliberate strategy and an organized design of university system. In this learner-centred paradigm of education, students are encouraged to take greater responsibility for their learning outcomes and the university ceases to be the fountainhead of knowledge filling the empty receptacles of students’ minds; instead students actively participate in the discovery of knowledge. This learner-centred approach will help to solve the problem of equity in higher education.The Nalanda University attracted scholars and students from near and far, some travelling all the way from Tibet, China, Korea and Central Asia in quest of knowledge. It was a centre of excellence not only for Ancient Indian wisdom, Buddhist studies and philosophy but for Medicine and Mathematics, Astronomy and Logic as well. After teaching thousands of students for centuries, Nalanda ceased to exist just as universities were opening up in Bologna, Paris and Oxford at the beginning of the second millennium century. The shift of centres of knowledge from East to West was symbolic of the eventual transfer of power which followed within half a millennium. There is now a perfect opportunity to recreate the hallowed universalism of Nalanda as a centre of knowledge.

The Indian higher education system has undergone rapid expansion. In less than 20 years, the country has created additional capacity for a mammoth 40 million students. While the scale of this expansion is remarkable in itself, what set it apart from earlier decades of equally aggressive expansion is a deliberate strategy and an organized design of university system. In this learner-centred paradigm of education, students are encouraged to take greater responsibility for their learning outcomes and the university ceases to be the fountainhead of knowledge filling the empty receptacles of students’ minds; instead students actively participate in the discovery of knowledge. This learner-centred approach will help to solve the problem of equity in higher education.