In the following passage there are numbered blanks. For the blank named in the question, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find the appropriate word. India with…

In the following passage there are numbered blanks. For the blank named in the question, four words are suggested, one of which fits the blank appropriately. Find the appropriate word.

India with its 600 universities and 35000 colleges is the third largest education system in the world. But 68% of these universities and 73% of colleges are ______ (26) ______ to be medium or low quality by Indian standard itself. With a severe shortage of quality higher education institutions, India faces the challenges of educating nearly 30% of its 1.1 billion people. Certainly, India requires many more institutions of higher learning since nearly 100 million students are going to the higher education market in the next 10 years.

In such a scenario improving the standards of ______ (27) ______ universities and establishing quality institutions should be our priority.

Steps should be taken to reduce the disconnect between higher education institutions and industry requirements. The possibilities of private sector contributions in, higher education should be fully exploited. The practice of big business houses and philanthropists promoting quality universities in the West could be ______ (28) ______ in India. But before initiating such private sector participation in higher education the government should ensure that there are proper checks and controls on the activities of such entities. Also it is our recent experience that the mushrooming of substandard schools and deemed universities ______ (29) ______ resulted in the deterioration of educational standards in India.

Upgrading the higher education sector especially in terms of patents filed and controls on the cutting edge research output is essential in improving India’s global ranking. Our sustainable economic development depends on human resources. A quality higher education base is essential to reap future benefits of our demographic dividend.

In its mission to redress inefficiencies in higher education, the strategies of the 12th Plan focus on technical education distance learning, quality research, infrastructure, faculty and curriculum content.

Whole hearted, co-ordinated efforts of the government departments and the private sector are needed to ______ (30) ______ the Plan’s educational goals.

Choose the word that best fills blank (26).