A ROADMAP FOR CHANGE

UNIVERSITIES NEED TO REINVENT THEMSELVES AND THE CURRICULUM TO STAY AHEAD SAYS G VISWANATHAN, FOUNDER AND CHANCELLOR, VIT UNIVERSITY

The world is changing and so are the needs of the modern day industry. And this requires a modification in the approach and teaching methodology of educational institutions. The curriculum, the learning outcomes, the academic processes and the ambience need to change as well, and the institutions need to prepare students to be ready for the current job market.

WHAT ROLE CAN THE GOVERNMENT PLAY IN BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN SKILLS AND COURSES TAUGHT IN INDIAN UNIVERSITIES AND NEEDS OF THE JOB MARKET?

Making students employable is the responsibility of all three stakeholders—educational institutions, industries and government. Educational institutions need to understand the reality and plan for ‘gap bridging’ strategies and be ready to execute those. Industry being the direct beneficiary of this exercise should be willing to provide technical and human resources support. And the government needs to partially fund such initiatives while giving full autonomy. But, there is not much progress taking place in this direction because the stakeholders are only pointing fingers at each other instead of working towards realising their responsibilities and fulfilling them.

WHAT IS BEING DONE BY YOUR UNIVERSITY TO BRIDGE THIS GAP?

At VIT, we believe in having a curriculum which has contemporary and industry-oriented content. So, we have industrialists on our Board of Studies and Academic Council who give inputs from the industry perspective. We believe that there is a need for change, not only in content and use of new technology, but also in teaching of soft and life skills. So, we have integrated the soft skill training programme in the curriculum itself. Every semester, students take up one credit soft skill course which equips them with skills needed for the 2020 job market.

WHAT ARE THE SKILLS AND COURSES THAT STUDENTS SHOULD ACQUIRE TO EQUIP THEMSELVES FOR

THE REAL WORLD?

All courses are and should be job-oriented. In my opinion, some of the special skills needed for the current job market are digital, design thinking, cognitive load management skills, virtual collaboration, cross-cultural competency and creating (innovating) skills.

WHAT REFORMS YOU WOULD LIKE THE GOVERNMENT TO INITIATE IN THE FIELD OF HIGHER EDUCATION?

First of all, like developed countries, the government should do away with ‘licence permit raj’ by abolishing all regulatory bodies in the field of education. We should depend upon strong and independent accreditation agencies. Accreditation must be mandatory for all educational institutions in the country. And there should be no exemption from accreditation for any higher educational institutions

INSTITUTIONS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE REALITY AND PLAN FOR GAP BRIDGING STRATEGIES

funded by central or state governments. There should be no discrimination in autonomy or funding among universities. Secondly, in order to compete with developed countries and in order to become the hub of global higher education, we should do away with the affiliating system in a phased manner. Thirdly, to support the poor and middle class seeking higher education, the government should spend more money on national level scholarship scheme. A minimum of six per cent of the GDP should be spent on education.

WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HAVE FROM THE GOVERNMENT IN TERMS OF POLICY PUSH FOR SKILL TRAINING?

India enjoys a demographic dividend that has to be channelised properly. If we miss this opportunity, our demographic dividend could become a demographic disaster. The government should take measures to address this issue. So, CSR (corporate social responsibility) funding available with every corporate body should be used only to adopt a college and engage in skill development for the next five years. Another measure can be preparing the online training modules on skill development as add-ons. This will reduce the number of contact hours and will benefit a number of students. Lastly, skill development should be integrated in the curriculum of all programmes in institutes of higher education and made mandatory to all students.