It is ironic that while searching for models that promote excellence, we have not made the outstanding teachers and researchers the hub of future reforms. The fact that in any field of social investigation or higher education, the top few ranks are always occupied by public institutions has not influenced the advocacy for private institutions in the name of improving quality. Surely, mere ownership cannot influence quality. But, having achieved quality, public institutions need to be supported. The roadmap for educational innovations looks at the initiatives taken at the level of students and faculty. The concept of faculty governance has been diluted in many institutions of higher learning. The bureaucratic structures have sapped lot of energy of the students as well as faculty. It does not matter whether people perform because meritocracy itself has suffered a great deal in appointments to various positions, consultation for policy and institutional changes and for creating future vision. Time has come to arrest these tendencies and rebuild the educational edifice. A proposal for establishing an inter-university centre on innovation is made to operationalize various suggestions.