Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur-721 302 Manuscript received 19 May 1994, revised 7 June 1996, accepted 16 June 1997 The present status of science and technology education and research in universities and other higher academic institutions has been critically analyzed. Various aspects of teaching in graduate and post-graduate levels, such as course curricula, laboratory infrastructure, library facility, use of modern teaching aids, examination systems, administrative problems, budget cut, selection, recruitment and promotion of faculty members and staff have been discussed. Industry-academy interaction, government aid for development of science, technology and industry, manpower training and research in academic institutions have been reviewed. Finally, some suggestions have been made.