VARSITIES TO START 2 NEW COURSES

Two new major undergraduate courses will be introduced in the upcoming session by universities. The threeyear BSc in Data Sciences and BCom in Business Analytics are being developed keeping in view the market requirements.

Other than this, the education department has decided to introduce vocational courses specifically for the government colleges like B.Sc. in dairy technology, crop production, fisheries, forestry and office management.

“Most of the economy is dependent on the service industry now. From that perspective, the office management course will be beneficial. Other courses are designed to give a boost for students looking to pursue agriculture and animal husbandry”, said Navin Mittal, commissioner of collegiate education.

Speaking on the mode and approach during the pandemic for the new courses, Prof. R. Limbadri, vice-chairman, TS Council for Higher Education said the future would most likely see a blended approach. “New courses are being designed to fit into the online and offline mode and we are in the process of revamping the existing courses for the blended form of teaching. There are some topics in the sciences that cannot be undertaken online, while others can. Conducting physical classes is not a possibility anymore. Therefore, students must be ready for a blended form of education from now on.”

He added that state governments are awaiting UGC guidelines to start the academic calendar. “We will be able to decide what portions of the syllabus for each course can be divided into online or offline classes,” Prof. Limbadri said.

THE EDUCATION department has decided to introduce vocational courses specifically for the government colleges like B.Sc. in dairy technology, crop production, fisheries, forestry and office management.