Exploring teacher's perception towards sustainability in Indian higher educational institutions

This study aims to explore the views of teachers from HEIs regarding sustainability in higher education. The qualitative research methods have been employed in this study, which involved in-depth interviews via semi-structured interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) has been used to study and examine in detail the personal, lived-in experiences of the respondents. The study's findings highlight the various issues and challenges preventing higher education institutions from becoming sustainable. The authors have identified and explored that blurred vision of leaders, infrequent policy reviews, unethical conduct, demotivating organisation culture, lack of social contribution and huge investment demands are putting mounting pressure on the institutions and preventing them from being sustainable. Their myopic view of fulfilling short term goals and sheer focus on the profits and money minting are making situations worse. The study provides a framework and suggests ways that the HEIs can adopt to make themselves more sustainable and overcome the challenges that come their way. The present study can be utilised by the organisations and policy-making bodies to understand its various implications and accommodate necessary changes to garner the positive and remove the bottle neck that prevails. Employers can take decisions for the betterment of employees using the present study and devise appropriate policies accordingly.