Education in India today is nothing like it was in Pre-Independence and Post-Independence Era. Education System in India today has undergone a great metamorphosis and posed before us abundant reasons to think and ponder over this drastic change, writes Dr Prabhakar Gupta, Dean Academics, Shri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering & Technology, Bareilly, for Elets News Network (ENN).
What is the meaning of education? It simply means knowledge of letters. It is merely an instrument, and an instrument may be well used and abused. The same instrument that may be used to cure a patient may be used to take away his life, and so may knowledge of letters — Mahatma Gandhi once said.
The present education system unfortunately presents the weirdest state of millions of average children with an incredible potential, but who are paralysed by the fear of unforeseen challenges in near future. Securing good grades is not a problem but allowing grades to dictate one’s life is. This defeats the whole purpose of education which is meant to build and nurture the society, not to destroy.
The System is oriented more towards teaching & testing knowledge at every level. Mugging based knowledge acquisition that provides little or no room for questioning has gained momentum over the years. It’s ironical to know If one is never been allowed to ASK or derivate then how we can expect any opinion to be formed. It’s quite thoughtful that what should be changed in Indian education system? What needs to be fixed at the earliest? These are plethora of small yet effective changes that can be implemented to improve our present ailing education system.
The Indian system of education is built on the presumption that if something is good for one child; it is equally befitting for others too. This prevailing dogma is to be eradicated and more transparent yet innovative teaching should be started with SEE, TOUCH & FEEL method for developing mind of a child. The more they visualize the more correct they can produce the answers. How can you tell that the ice is COLD without feeling the ice? This is so because some people are visual learners and others are auditory learners & still some others learn faster from experiments. Students these days have terribly short attention spans and hence gauging their interest seems a pressing problem.
Till Class one, no books no homework should be allowed & let the kids grow naturally in sync with the nature. Homework should be given to make them responsible and answerable.
Focus on the development of intrapersonal & interpersonal skills should be giving for overall development. Dance, dramas, role plays and involvement in other artistic activities help to develop these skills at every stage.
Learning has become rotten these days. Memorizing is of no help. Education should be such that they can use it practically in their future careers & not just for passing entrances. Knowledge transmission must last for long and create a reservoir of learning for lifetime.
For most of us education is just a means to an end. The student must be given a clear view of the opportunities in early phase of their education life. Meritorious students/eligible candidates must be shown a directional pathway to explore career opportunities in their chosen domain.
Relevant practical sessions should be conducted. Our testing & marking system needs to be rebuilt to recognize problem solving skills, creativity & original contributions. Practical knowledge is more useful than rattant vidya.
Since the teachers are half time parent to our children, the teacher’s curriculum needs to change so that they are capable to deal with different issues. For the teachers, regular training and behavioural studies should be made important. It is a high time to encourage a breed of versatile and dynamic teachers who not only lead at teaching platforms but act as facilitators and motivators in transforming the juvenile minds of today.
Let’s try to BEGIN with these baby steps and see the results.
All subjects should not be compulsory for everyone. There should be a system in which the kids can choose their favorite subject. Also their progress should be made subject wise. If someone is good in a particular subject, he should be allowed to go for advanced level.
Extracurricular activities should be given equal importance.
Kids should not be encouraged to take up studies as a burden rather they should be groomed enough to enjoy while learning. Learning must be facilitated with fun and ease so as to receive better outcomes.
Our present education system lacks realism and application. It’s time for the educationists to implant some life in the system by linking the conceptual aspect with real-life experiences. For example, students must be taught the management of money and people because these two are the life blood in current era that nobody in practical life can escape.
Another important factor to be considered in imparting academic excellence is building attitude towards education. Schooling should deem as vital to a child’s future; competition is fierce and college degrees must be considered an element of social status. This will generate desperation in both the child and parent to succeed.
We should also stop defaming those who have worked hard to become the successful role models our country surely needs.
For education to become a priceless commodity, it must be respected, meticulous and globally competitive. We must value traditional, respected subjects, but also embrace new technology.
We must evolve a system that is not meant to program the mindset of a kid. Children have to be educated, but must be given space to educate themselves. A true education system must be crude to the process of nation building.
The higher education sector is always fuelled by ever growing demand for capabilities and competencies and has to respond in novel ways to meet this demand, writes Dr Chandrani Singh, Director-MCA, Sinhgad Institute of Management and Head-Placement, Sinhgad Management Institutes, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Higher education, research and development, innovation plays a vital role in supporting social interconnection and interrelation, economic development and global competitiveness backed by any economy’s desire to become increasingly knowledge-based.
Dr Chandrani Singh, Director-MCA, Sinhgad Institute of Management and Head-Placement, Sinhgad Management Institutes
Higher education systems across the world in developed and developing countries have been experiencing variations that are highly interconnected. Most significant among them, is the infiltration of private service providers in higher education segment over the last two decades, particularly within the developing countries. With massification, internationalisation and commodisation of Higher Education along-with globalization of professions, Higher Education Institutions have been facing stiff competition and they are being propelled to deliver qualifications recognized in the international labour market and enforced to establish comparable educational standards and quality assurance systems.
With the advent of Higher Education’s (University/ Institutes) cross border initiatives,an international market of accreditation services is also emerging giving shape and form to a consistent quality assurance framework in line with national policies for Higher Education and establishing benchmarks for the same. Hence the very task of setting up of accreditation systems and bodies at national and international level to rank and recognize Universities and Institutions for meeting the minimum acceptable standards through inspection and assessment has taken top priority amongst the national policy makers as Education takes a centre stage in today’s world.
Much as in Europe, the Bologna Process implemented by European Union was the driving force for the national governments of EU countries to establish quality assurance systems, along with initiatives for regional integration and creating dynamics for external quality assurance.
In the US, the assurance and accreditation process is independent of government and performed by private bodies. The US Department of Education and Council for Higher Education and Accreditation, a non-governmental organisation recognises reputed bodies that act as accreditation agencies for educational institutions of various categories. The eligibility of these accrediting bodies range from their links to federal programmes, their geographic scope and experience, application of standards in reaching an accrediting decision, monitoring, revaluation, enforcement, and review of standards and finally to the standard operating procedures adopted by these accreditors.
Citing a few agencies in the discipline of engineering and technology, its noteworthy to mention that the most well-known accreditor in US for applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology is Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) which is a non-profit and non-governmental accrediting agency andis recognized by US Department of Education and CHEA (Council for Higher Education and Accreditation). ABET accreditation provides assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which the program prepares its students. Generally it caters to degree programmes which institutions operate and which are recognised by national or regional institutional accreditation agencies or authorities worldwide.
Similar approved agencies exist in US for law, medicine and architecture etc. Shifting focus to the governance of quality assurance by individual nations in higher education, it has been observed that Norway manages it at the institution level. This is the reason why the Norwegian EQA system has adopted an audit approach that evaluates institutional capacity to manage quality while the France considers attaining transparency and formulating joint initiatives in Higher Education through assurance.
A throwback on the assurance process dates back to the nineteenth century when German Research Universities started setting new benchmarks which was later imitated by American Universities. John Hopkins the most sought after university in the US had evolved around the German Model and is recognized as the most premiere research University today. While the formalisation of the accreditation agencies happened in US between 1885 and 1895 due to considerable increase in student enrolment, Philippines which was for a long time under the Spanish and American rule and already had a set legacy built around the American Higher Education Structures, in 1951 decided to establish a system of common standards for Catholic institutions.
India on the other hand was struggling to keep pace with the growing diversification of institutions. With universities increasing in numbers from a meagre 30 to 300 plus in fifty years’ time-span and the count of private higher education service providers reaching a whopping 15,000 plus owing to shift of funds from higher to basic education, there was an urgent need for setting quality standards and benchmarks. Preparatory work for the establishment of an accreditation system was carried out within the framework of the National Policy on Education (1986 and 1992), which culminated in the creation of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 1994.
In Columbia the scenario was the same as in India and the accreditation system creation got a strong support from World Bank. Hungary saw a shift from a rigid beauracratic control to content control due to political changes in early 90’s with many private education players coming to the forefront necessitating the requirement of an accreditation system which subsequently got funding from the World Bank. With the national policy makers of higher education systems realising the importance of accreditation systems, there was a great deal of speculation on how to define accreditation. Whether it should serve the fitness of purpose or that it should have predefined standards, should the system ensure whether minimum standards be followed or should it focus on continuous improvement to the existing standards. Also, there was conjecture on its applicability to subject, programme and Institution.
The American approach has taken a shift from fitness of purpose to predefined standards with institutional and programme accreditation and worldwide the same concept is followed with a little variation here and there. Accreditation is judged to have the desired impact if kept on a voluntary mode.
The European Union in alignment to the goals of Bologna reforms considered quality assurance in higher education as one of the prime goals and had authorised European network for quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) to develop an agreed set of standards, procedures and guidelines on quality assurance and an appropriate mechanism for peer review system for quality assurance. ENQA in association with EUA, EURASHE, the National Unions of Students in Europe (ESIB) and the European Commission considers four positions very critical with respect to the quality assurance i.e. the interests of students ,employers and the society at large to receive good quality higher education in addition to the responsibility that the governments and institutions for higher education own.
The importance of institutional autonomy and associated accountability, the need for external quality assurance and its balanced imposition on institutions for achievement of its objective and the interest of countries and institutions importing cross-border study programmes for higher education. The guidelines evolve around making provisions for internal quality assurance units within Institutions performing periodic review of the standards followed, external quality assurance with peer reviews reporting, participation of all relevant stakeholders and publishing of the results basically to inform and raise the expectations of all stakeholders with regard to the higher education outcomes and provision of a common frame of reference. Going into the details of the approaches adopted by the agencies they can be differentiated as enhancement-oriented (very few countries follow) as they focus on the strengths and weaknesses of a programme or an institution, resulting in endorsements for progress, accreditation approaches, which gauge whether a programme or an institution meets specific standards and audits which focuses on the assessment of the internal quality assurance system of an institution by underlining its strengths and weaknesses. Most assurance systems apply an ordinal measurement scale to rate the different quality criteria as well as for the overall rating. Scales are set in such a way that the best value refers to compliance with a standard, for other scales a standard can be exceeded. Generally the outcome of such an assessment is the continuation of running the programs/institutions.
Quality Assurance of Bologna Process is the Qualifications Framework which acts as an instrument and forms the base for improvement of quality of the qualification with regard to skill, knowledge, personal and professional competence within a country and as well internationally. Several member states of the Bologna Process have already established a qualification framework. Germany has a national framework for higher education in alignment to the European framework. The qualifications framework covers from school to doctorate across eight levels referring to learning outcomes with inclusion of appropriate credit transfer system, as well as a set of common principles and guidelines for co-operation between stakeholders at different levels that focus on quality assurance, validation, guidance and key competences.
With regard to assurance by agencies, Bologna ensures the reviews to be cyclical after a period of every five years with proper reporting and documentation for public scrutiny. In addition EU, COM and ENQA favour a European Register(ESG Compliant), chaired by a European Register (EQAR) supposed to be responsible for the accreditation, supervision and re-accreditation of the agencies, and for deciding if an agency will be admitted to the Register. This concept has strong opposition from France, Germany, Italy and Poland. Moreover, the Bologna Process favours the principle of networking rather than of central rules in which national systems to be combined with a centralized capacity, while avoiding confusion of responsibilities to remain aligned to the standard norms of assurance.
Germany has around more than ten accreditation agencies listed and recognised by Akkreditierungsrat or the Accreditation Council. The accreditation of Engineering and Technology programmes in United Kingdom is done by Institution of Engineering and Technology licensed by Engineering Council and recognised worldwide as an assessor of quality in line with the Washington and Sydney accords, governed by the International Engineering Alliance (IEA). The Washington accord is an international accreditation agreement for engineering degrees which recognizes the equivalence of the programs or the degrees accorded and those accredited by agencies of the countries who are authorised signatory of this agreement. It encourages and facilitates the mobility of engineering graduates and professionals at international level.
Presently, there are twenty permanent signatories and five provisional signatories associated with Washington Accord.While the Washington Accord is an international agreement between bodies responsible for accrediting engineering degree programmes, the Sydney Accord is for accrediting engineering technology academic programmes and Dublin Accord is an international agreement establishing the required educational base for engineering technicians.Accompanied with the accreditation and quality assurance is the ranking of the Universities and the concept of university rankings across the globe took prominence in 2003 when few researchers in China produced the Academic Ranking of World Universities to ‘benchmark’ Chinese universities against top universities worldwide.
The trend of ranking and recognition became prominent with the impact of globalisation, increased mobilization of student and staff, marketisation of higher education, and the advancement of digital media. By 2014 there were ten global rankings that were identified and in Europe it gave rise to a multi-dimensional EU-funded university mapping and ranking project – U-Multirank with an aim to identify centres of excellence. While Global rankings primarily apply research based criteria for which data are available, Quality Assurance tends to focus on teaching and learning for which data have to be collected hence inferences are derived from qualitative data which are presented in a self-assessment report drafted by the HEI, verified by an external peer review, and published in an external assessment report. But rankings are often constrained by the reliance on a single data source, the focus on publications and citations, the exclusion of certain academic fields and student surveys and very vague differences between ranked institutions.
Coming back to the topic of discussion i.e. evaluation, accreditation and quality assurance of Higher education institutions and programmes three essential standards have been divided into three sections:-Internal quality assurance, external quality assurance and quality assurance agencies. The standards for internal quality assurance enforce that each university/institution should have a policy for assurance and that should be an essential part of their strategic management with enforcement of this policy through appropriate structure and intervention. Under this section an Institution is required to design its programmes which should meet the stakeholder’s perspectives and should encourage student centric learning outcomes and the qualifications should align themselves to the NQF. Moreover, as per the mandate student admission, progression, recognition and certification should be aligned as per various regulatory norms or published rules.
Desired competencies of teachers are required across all levels hence recruitment, retention, development and appraisal have to be as per norms. Readily accessible learning resources and a strong funding base ensure robust support for student and staff. Institutions should ensure accurate collection and up to date publication of information. On-going monitoring and periodic review of programmes by Institutions is a necessity to guarantee that they attain the purposes set for them and react to the needs of students and society. Institutions need to undergo external quality assurance on a recurring basis.
The second section sets mandates for external quality assurance which addresses the effectiveness of internal quality assurance and self should be fit for purpose to achieve the desired objectives, be reliable, and useful and should accommodate stakeholder’s intervention.An external quality assurance process involves site visits, evaluation and reporting based on explicit and published criteria. Published documents should be made accessible to the academic community, external partners for decision making. Complaints and appeals processes should be clearly defined as part of the design of external quality assurance processes and communicated to the institutions.Finally is the mandate to ensure quality assurance of the Quality assurance agencies.
Explicit goals and objectives should be a part of their publicly available mission statement.Agencies should confirm to the participation of stakeholders in their governance and tasks. Legal recognition of these Agencies as quality assurance agencies by competent public authorities is a directive for these authorities. Independence, thematic analysis, resources, and professional conduct should be adequately represented by these agencies and cyclical external review of agencies at least should happen once in every five years. So every country across the world for Higher Education segment has adopted these three processes with variations here and there. Some examples are Sweden where responsibility lies with NAHE for accreditation of Institutes and Courses and national evaluation of subject areas whereas in Finland. The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council (FINHEEC) is an independent expert body assisting universities, polytechnics and the Ministry of Education in matters relating to evaluation. In Denmark, the responsibility of accreditation and assurance lies with the Danish Centre for Quality Assurance and Evaluation of Higher Education responsible for evaluating all higher education programmes at university and non-university level on a regular basis.
Vietnam whose system has been redesigned twice in the last two hundred years and here the two national universities one in Hanoi (VNU–Hanoi) and one in Ho Chi Minh City (VNU–HCMC) directly under the prime ministerial government enjoy the power of assuring quality of all other universities and institutions based on nine subject categories and forty three evaluative criteria.
In Iran the process of assessing and evaluating quality began in 1996 with self-evaluation of the departments on a pilot mode and then scaling upto the institutional level. In Australia the national protocol for quality assurance deals with the National Protocols deal with standards and procedures for the establishment and acknowledgment of universities procedure of overseas higher education institutions ,accreditation of higher education courses offered by non-self-accrediting institutions and approval of courses for overseas students.
National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (NIAD-UE) of Japan is a certified organisation by MEXT as an appropriate body to carry out a fair process describes quality assurance as a cumulative of ex-ante regulations and third-party accreditation and evaluation. Malaysia on the other hand has implemented The Malaysia Quality Evaluation which rates across six tiers and the Qualifications Framework is applied to all private and public HEIs. The Malaysian quality assurance and accreditation Code of Practice has three levels across which quality is ensured i.e. programme accreditation, institutional audit, and self-accreditation.
So in nutshell, quality is perceived as excellence, fitness for purpose, zero error attainment, and as transformation and threshold and in order to assure quality in one form or the other the Higher Education Sector in each country across the globe is trying to achieve their respective objectives and goals to support universities and national higher education systems in their efforts to deal qualitatively with trade-offs between providing good instructional quality and ensuring return on investment to their owners and shareholders. (Views expressed by author are a personal opinion.)
How new-age technologies are reshaping Indian education
Technology has been instrumental in gradually improving the education scenario in India through solutions such as digital classrooms and virtual labs, writes Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO & Co-founder, Next Education India Pvt Ltd, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Beas Dev Ralhan, CEO & Co-founder, Next Education India Pvt Ltd
The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 by the MHRD, Government of India, states that “every child has a right to full-time compulsory education of satisfactory and equitable quality”. The Government has taken initiatives to improve the reach of education by making it digital and interactive. Still the Indian education system is facing problems like poor quality, cost and access. The aforementioned problems can be resolved through new-age technologies like Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.
Cloud-based Services
Cloud is a shared pool for dynamically-scalable digital resources and other IT services that can be provided via internet, with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. There are primarily three kinds of services available: infrastructure in the form of machines, network and storage; software in the form of applications via network; platform as customised by users to run their system software components. With the help of cloud-based technology, the problems of access and lack of infrastructure in education can be solved— students can access regularly updated content (videos, expensive books, interactive lab simulations) on their mobile devices from anywhere.
Government of India schemes such as National Digital Library of India, eBasta and ePathshala are planned to be linked with cloud, according to the MHRD, to provide better access to learning materials for K-12 and higher education. These virtual libraries have millions of digital books, which are easily accessible. The private EdTech sector has also benefited from the launch of EdStart by Amazon Web Services to bring latest education solutions to Indian classrooms. EdStart is designed to help entrepreneurs build the next generation of online learning and institutional management solutions on the AWS Cloud that are secure, smart, scalable and cost-effective.
Next Education uses the AWS Cloud to host all the data of NextLearningPlatform (NLP), a solution that combines Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Learning Management System (LMS) softwares. AWS Cloud has been used to ensure data security and scalability for the NLP users.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence or machine intelligence is the programmed intelligence demonstrated by machines wherein they imitate the cognitive functions associated with human minds, such as learning and problem-solving. AI has made considerable inroads in various fields of academia across the world, such as administration (for instance, automation of admission), learning, tutoring and assessments. With AI, it has been possible to create adaptive learning technology, which facilitates students in managing their own learning. It provides every learner personalised courses based on their ability and performance. It analyses a vast pool of data to tailor the content as per students’ interest and knowledge level. Based on this, adaptive learning technology appropriately assesses individual differences of students and creates learning paths for every student.
National Testing Agency (NTA), India, has proposed the use of adaptive assessments to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions — JEE Main, NEET UG and NET— to bring higher reliability and assess the aptitude of students. Such assessments, which are already popular in the form of widely-taken tests such as GRE and GMAT, are able to adjust to the students’ individual achievement levels, so that gaps in learning can be effectively bridged. Next Education is currently providing adaptive tests for Maths and Science from grades 6–10, to gauge the chapter-wise level of knowledge of a student, available on LearnNext, our self-learning solution platform. We are also working on developing other AI-based tools such as grammar and pronunciation tools for automating the correction of grammatical mistakes and comparison with standard pronunciation.
Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are computer-generated, immersive experiences within simulated environments that are similar to the real world or are fantastical. The use of AR/VR in education is of paramount importance, for it provides a cost-effective solution to study phenomena or environments that are difficult or impossible to replicate in real life, such as space. These technologies can provide learners with simulated environments where they can develop their skills without the real-world consequences of failing.
The tech giant, Google, has launched beneficial digital reality products such as Expeditions, which allows teachers to take their students out on virtual trips around the world, with detailed views of historical landmarks. Although India has not made much progress in this sector, the EdTech industries are coming up with innovative products to help Indian students engage in deep learning in a cost-effective way. Next Education provides AR products for preschoolers, such as the AR Colouring Book and AR Explorer, to create real-life experiences with otherwise abstract concepts, which help develop cognitive and creative skills and make preschool learning engaging.
Technology integration in Indian education is still in its nascent stage. But with the exponential rise of technology users in India, EdTech solutions can help the country get ahead of the roadblocks by providing quality learning experience to every nook and corner of the country without financial strain. The innovative solutions by the EdTech industry, along with a sound national educational policy, will gradually ensure educational rights and quality education for the future citizens of the nation. (Views expressed by author are a personal opinion)
Learning among students can be improved by expressing the concepts through physical expressions, observes Bahaa Mohamed Eltahawy, Educational Consultant & Teacher, GEMS Wellington International School, for Elets News Network (ENN).
Bahaa Mohamed Eltahawy, Educational Consultant & Teacher, GEMS Wellington International School
At the end of the last century, renowned American psychologist Howard Gardner published the theory of multiple intelligences. Though there are those who say that there is a precedent to discover it, famous Egyptian historian and writer Ahmed Amin published an article on the same subject. The summary of both the renowned personalities’ work is that to involve all your students in your lessons, teachers should have as many different ways imparting knowledge as the types of learners they have.
There is no doubt that both educators and teachers consider every child unique in terms of their learning abilities, talents and behaviour. Considering it, GEMS Wellington International School has tried its best to cater to needs of all the learners in the classrooms. Staff of the school always tries to understand the differences in the learning patterns of every student individually. Today, the school has a new and innovative way to look after a large segment of students having different learning patterns.
At Gems, the patterns of learning varied into the following types:
Visual (spatial – visual): This methodology uses images and info graphics to make students learn different concepts.
Auditory (auditory-musical): This style learns more by listening. Teachers can apply this by integrating music and melodies to their lessons.
Verbal (linguistic): This style performs better in terms of words and terminology and is proficient in the use of words.
Physical (kinesthetic): This style uses lots of body language and movements to improve learning among students.
Logical intelligence (logical): This style uses logic, philosophy, and reasoning to make students understand better.
Social intelligence (interpersonal): This style make students learn in groups or with peers.
Solitary (intrapersonal): This style is more productive when working on their own or when using self-study.
We do not have to introduce the lesson in seven or eight ways to match each learning style, but we have to vary the method of presenting the information so that we can make sure it is accessible to all our students.
It is also unfair to give all your students the lesson in the same way and also ask them to express their understanding of the lesson in the same way and judge their abilities based on that. That brings us to question whether students aren’t capable of understanding what we teach or we couldn’t teach them the right way?
Learning patterns respond to this as it has changed the concept of perceiving the students’ abilities.
Let’s imagine that Mohammed Salah (Egyptian Footballer) became one of your students? Is his intelligence catered for? Will you describe him as a challenging student? Who does not sit still? Moves a lot? All these qualities that might seem challenging in a classroom setting led him to become a world class player in his field.
If we have to look for the way our students prefer to learn it, not the way we prefer to teach them, every student will shine.
Physical (kinesthetic)
This is the methodology under which written texts is expressed with physical movements, where the learner can easily remember the lesson by linking it with physical movements and motor expressions.
For example, we saw the creative actor Charlie Chaplin, the silent film pioneer, who in his expressions and movements, managed to convey the idea and the story with its full elements. With his unspoken words translated into physical movements and expressions, the actor has made audience laugh and hear the non-operative dialogue.
Is it possible for us to try similar strategies with our students? Let them shine, learn and express themselves differently?
Last but not least, we can turn words into kinetic signals and physical expressions and take into account the individual differences and integrate the kinetic intelligence into our classes so that they become productive in class rather than being unchallenged in class. (Views expressed by author are a personal opinion)
Our multidisciplinary approach shifts the classroom instruction from passive to active, thereby engaging more students in the learning process, says Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, Delhi, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What kind of industry best practices are being followed at Mount Abu Public School?
Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School, Rohini, Delhi
The school has adopted numerous innovative techniques for making the learning process easier and enjoyable. ‘Integrated Project’ introduced in the curriculum is one such initiative wherein students research on the given topic and present their knowledge. One complete day is dedicated for the project where the students think, pair, share and collaborate to research on the given theme and present their project interlinking with all the subjects of their curriculum.
Another creative method is the Flipped Classroom wherein the teacher gets their lecture recorded and video is uploaded on the youtube. Students then watch the video and get prepared with queries. Another method called Butterfly Classroom is employed where the teachers visit the classes of their peer members and learn the different teaching methods that can be incorporated in their own ways of imparting knowledge to make their classrooms more interactive.
What sort of IT-based solutions currently being adapted by your school for students’ holistic development?
The school is a ‘Microsoft Showcase’ school that emphasises on the concept of the integration of technology in all the subjects. The teachers use Microsoft tools to make the classroom teaching more efficient with a better impact on the minds of the children. Establishment of ‘Atal Tinkering Lab’ and ‘Astronomy Lab’ make the teaching and learning at par with the technology. The computer labs are well equipped with 3D modules for a better understanding of the concepts.
Tell us about methodologies of your school meant to keep its teachers abreast of the latest trends and teaching paradigms.
The school hosts various workshops, seminars and capacity building programmes for the teachers to make them better equipped and making their classroom teaching well-organised and efficient. The teachers also participate in different capacity building programmes on different subjects organised by CBSE and other ‘Centres of Excellence’. The different subject experts guide the teachers with latest trends and developments, the same is then percolated to the children in classroom teaching.
Today, a focus on nurturing life skills has also emerged as a key thrust area for institutions. How is Mount Abu Public School working in this direction?
The school firmly believes that only academic excellence is not enough to make empowered citizens. So to nurture an individual into a global personality, it is mandatory to inculcate the values of a good human being. The school has allotted specific periods for enhancement of skills and organises various programmes like workshops and seminars for life skill development in association with CBSE and Expressions India.
What has been the vision which has inspired you all these years?
The school has a vision, ‘Passionate urge for excellence at par’, which clearly defines the objective to inculcate a passion for learning and developing self-expression, innovation, initiative and experience blended with an understanding of traditional values too.
Educationists the world over are acknowledging the importance of inculcating creative and critical thinking in students. KIIT World School has encourages such thinking while nurturing young minds. Newer ideas and innovations have become the norms, that KIIT adheres to, keeping the vision of providing a holistic approach to the learners.
Fostering 21st century thinking skills among learners is the need of the hour. At KIIT, pedagogy is designed in such a way that the focus is on the understanding of the child rather than rote learning of the topic. It is ensured that the students have achieved optimal learning outcomes by different types of assessments. These assessments are diagnostic as well as dynamic in nature and are an integral part of the teaching-learning process.
In the present scenario, it has become imperative to have paradigm shift in the way knowledge is disseminated. Equipping the students with tools to deal with present day problems has become all the more necessary. At KIIT, a platform is provided to students wherein there are open debates on contemporary issues plaguing our society like substance abuse, intolerance, gender insensitivity. Apart from this, they are also given ample opportunities to create and innovate through ‘Idea Factory’ thus bolstering the scientific temperament.
Idea factory is one such initiative where any one is free to give ideas be it students, teachers or parents. At KIIT, the students of innovation team enthusiastically work on the ideas, taking them up as projects and coming up with solutions. By implementing their classroom learning, the students create prototypes. At the same time, they become a part of the innovative fraternity and work towards the goal of making India self-sustaining in terms of scientific innovation and discovery.
Reading, observation and experimentation are emphasized to cater to the inquisitive learners. It is clearly evident from the fact that reading provides requisite input to the mind resulting in better informed learners. The teachers are fully equipped with the latest in their subject area along with the news in and around the world to satiate all the queries of the students. A lot of importance is given to experiential learning, where students are given hands on learning environment for enhanced comprehension of the concepts. KIIT has developed a pedagogy where learning spaces have been created all over the campus.
The technology enabled smart classrooms bring the world to learners, enabling discussions and debates through video conferences. The state-of-the-art labs at KIIT, especially ATL Lab are discovery zones where students explore the concepts and are inspired to create. Idea Factory is the latest addition, which further strengthens our vision of equipping the students with 21st century skills.
Libraries and class libraries are profound thinking corners where learning to learn is deep rooted. Corridors have been transformed to Art Galleries brimming with creativity, artistic magnificence and new information to soak in.
The assembly areas are portals of knowledge sharing and character building as each day starts with a storytelling session. Learning within the boundaries is not enough, the learners are provided access to best of online resources. Through technology, online assessments are provided besides resource sharing.
A cross- curricular approach is followed to engage students with hands on projects based on academic and skill development standards. The school curriculum relies on realms of Gandhian Philosophy encompassing the head, the heart and the hands resulting in all-round development.
With a firm belief that today society needs schools to have a paradigm shift in their approach to education from preparing students as job seekers to job creators. The programs are designed in the school where personal and public victory are focused along with managing emotions and enhancing the art of living a meaningful life. Apart from this, students are motivated to do self-reflections of their learning, thus analyzing the gaps. The shortcomings or lacuna found in the learning outcomes are addressed by the teachers so that the child is able to overcome them, well in time.
The students who pass out from school are exploring newer avenues, getting engaged in successful assignments, making bold decisions. They are not only abiding rules, they are rule makers.
A strong belief in the amalgamation of the age-old values and contemporary trends in the field of education has resulted in creating students who see elders, especially teachers as their role-models. The learners at KIIT are self-driven and independent learners who are at the helm of the affairs and teachers are their facilitators.
Apeejay Stya University, dedicated to transform the society through value-based education, nurture global leaders and nation-building, offers rich opportunities for innovative teachinglearning, creativity and research across disciplines, says Dr S K Salwan, Vice Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University, in conversation with Elets News Network (ENN).
What are the innovative methodologies adopted by Apeejay Stya University (ASU) that differentiates it from other higher education institutes of India?
Dr S K Salwan, Vice Chancellor, Apeejay Stya University
ASU offers an internationally prevalent credit-based system with the freedom to choose subjects/courses of student’s interest. ASU allows its students to choose their fields of study, customise their schedule, and change their streams/course as per their interests. Each course is carefully selected, vetted, and is further revisited regularly in sync with the changing market dynamics with ASU’s ‘Mark to Market’ approach.
What industry oriented practices are adapted by ASU to enhance skills and improve employability among its students?
ASU has collaborated with different industries across the globe. The University encourages entrepreneurship through its E-Cell, Corporate Resource Centre and Incubation Centre supported by leading industries of different fields. The University supports research in emerging areas to facilitate incubation centre activities, promote industry collaborations and create a culture of self-reliance. We also provide students the environment to take up leadership roles in different events and activities. Well-known academicians from Stanford and Harvard Universities are part of ASU’s Advisory Board.
How does ASU enhance business/technical knowhow of its students by joining hands with global varsities?
ASU has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with many international institutions and universities to extend global exposure to its students and faculty. Apart from identifying and developing collaborative research projects, the MoUs entail student and faculty exchange programmes and designing of other mutually beneficial potential academic modules.
How do the programmes run by ASU bridge the gap between students’ skillset and the industry requirements?
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) has accorded Apeejay Stya Universityas ‘Incubator MSME’ under the scheme ‘Support for Entrepreneurial and Managerial Development of SMEs through Incubators’. The MSME would fund a maximum of (up to) Rs 6 lakhs per project with the cap of 10 novel ideas per college/institute. To achieve the objective of equitable and inclusive quality education, ASU is focusing on research, industry interface and skill based development with multi-disciplinary learning approach. The curricula of the programmes at Apeejay Stya University have been designed to cater needs of industries so that both national as well as global level objectives of higher education can be fulfilled.
Along with education, career related guidance is also very important for the youth. What steps are taken by ASU in this regard?
We give an effective industry outreach to the students to decide the right career path. We conduct one-on-one counselling to guide students in choosing a career as per their interest, pursuing higher studies, preparing for competitive exams or choose entrepreneurship. Regular training and counselling sessions are also held. Successful entrepreneurs are invited to the campus to motivate students to take up entrepreneurship.
With a legacy spanning 114 years, Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions is a well-known name in the education domain across the country. A number of industry best practices are currently being employed by the institution for the holistic development of students, says Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman, Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, in an interview with Elets News Network (ENN).
How do you foster curiosity and critical thinking in a child?
Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman, Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions
Children are by nature curious and they have a lot of questions to ask and seek clarification. The school environment which we provide, encourages our students to ask questions and learn through peer group activities. The teaching-learning system is designed like a voyage of exploration that brings a lot of joy to students at each destination, with each discovery. The design of each program fosters curiosity and critical thinking. The students progress step by step from acquiring basic knowledge to solving complex problems. Project-based learning (PBL) is an integral part of the school curriculum which sparks curiosity to enquire, question, find out solutions and thereby enhance critical thinking and application of concepts.
Initiatives like STEAM and ATAL Tinkering Lab promote creativity and critical application. Operational tools like Robotics Club, Math’s & Science kits , Question wall & Think Tank Corner, TED TALK, dedicated spaces for Fine Arts, Music, Dance & Theater, Art & Craft, graphic studio, Annual Exhibition, Multiple Intelligence Camps etc are used in the school to inculcate curiosity and critical thinking among children. We also conduct a lot of activities focused on environmental challenges and community services to develop qualities of good citizenship. These areas also challenge the students’ mind to find creative solutions to social and environmental problems.
How do you focus on the training of your teachers?
Training of trainers is of utmost importance to us. Teachers are the most important influencers in the life of every student. They are the fulcrum of the school education system and each teacher holds a delicate balance for the life of every student she/he tutors. The teacher is also looked upon as a mentor and a role model of impeccable conduct, which goes far beyond the official role of a Teacher.
Seth Anandram Jaipuria Schools focus on professional development of teachers as a systemic intervention. We have a systematic process for the training of teachers. The Corporate Resource Cell and School Resource Cells provide institutional guidance for assessment of training needs, to design training programmes and implement.
The training curriculum is designed to update domain knowledge, meet standards and the training modules are calibrated to provide personal attention to each teacher. It underlines subject-matter mastery and provides hands-on experience for teachers under the guidance of experienced facilitators. The resource persons are empanelled or associated with CBSE, NCERT, CIET, NIIT etc. Apart from subject-domain skills, we train teachers on Soft Skills and IT-enabled Pedagogy. We also encourage all teachers for selfreflection, continuous self-improvement using online resources and keeping an open mind for observing and learning from peers.
Student security is of huge concern these days. How does your school ensure student safety?
Our Schools pay high attention to student safety. We are committed to the parents to provide a safe and secure environment for students to learn, so that their parents can send their children to school without anxiety or fear. Our school infrastructure meets construction and building safety standards applicable for educational institutions. All operational safety policies, procedures, rules and regulations are documented and followed. The School Safety Committees are in place to oversee and implement safety policies. GPS enabled buses equipped with fire extinguishers, first-aid and horizontal iron bars on windows ensure safe to & fro transit of students. A teacher accompanies the students on board, in every bus during transit.
All our school campuses are secured with boundary wall and round the clock ‘Watch and Ward Service’. Iron Grills are installed at all vulnerable entry-exit points protecting the corridors, class rooms and washrooms used by the students. CCTV surveillance is installed as per norms for the entire school and is diligently monitored. Lady security personnel are detailed for guarding areas exclusively used by Girls. Police verification of character antecedent is mandatory for all employees, including outsourced services staff, before appointment and deployment in school services.
Special attention is paid regarding chemical use in labs, use of art tools, cyber safety, and during sports events, fire drills, earthquake evacuation drills, etc. Safety mock-drills for checking an emergency, are periodically conducted at each school premise. Sensitization training on POCSO and COPTA are organised periodically. Workshops are conducted for staff and all other associated stakeholders to sensitise on child emotion. Expert therapists visit the School for counselling students to relieve stress.
Please tell us about the pedagogy adopted for K-12 in your school and about its unique aspects.
We have a progressive school system. Though we follow board curriculum, it doesn’t restrict us to experiment with new things and try out new pedagogies. Whether it’s integrating life-skills in curriculum or welcoming the latest learning technology into our classrooms, we make sure our children get the latest and the best. We keep an open mind. We believe, pedagogical innovation is imperative for continuing the journey of excellence. We are having a running dialogue with Microsoft Education, Google Education and the Khan Academy to improve our pedagogy. We are working with a number of reputed educationists and consultants for continuous improvement. We visit the premises of Schools in India and abroad to learn about their new interventions or experiments.
The classrooms in our schools are now competing with virtual classrooms which are flourishing in the Internet and Social Media. The pedagogy in our schools has to stay ahead and retain the edge over the virtual platforms. It is a humongous challenge but our Schools and our teachers are reinventing continuously to stay on top. We have successfully converted the threat from the internet and social media to a great opportunity for building a massive collaborative platform.
We focus on interdisciplinary teaching wherein we foster critical thinking to align and integrate learning from different subjects to make them interesting and applicable to complex problem-solving. We leverage IT for enhancing the speed of learning and enriching the learning experience for students. Our students are trained to excel in the curricular as well as extracurricular faculties. They learn to handle pressure without losing the smile on their faces. They are not only trained to be digital savvy, with a modern outlook, but also as compassionate human beings with a feel for the society and environment and their minds deeply rooted in the ethos of Indian Culture.
Easing the way for appointing Ombudsperson at higher education institutes, the University Grants Commission(UGC) has revised the criteria of appointing a retired judge not below the rank of the district judge for it.
As per the new draft regulation, the commission has revamped the criteria. Widening the eligibility for the post, now, any retired vice chancellor, registrar or faculty member, with an experience of at least 10 years can be appointed as the Ombudsperson.
The draft proposal is available on the Commission’s website inviting recommendations from the general public, which can be submitted till December 31 this year.
According to the UGC (Grievance Redressal) Regulations 2012, it is must for all higher education institutes to appoint an ombudsperson for redressing grievances of students. But a superficial survey reveals that none of the central universities, at least in Delhi, has this figure to arbitrate as an impartial authority. Even if they have, they have been appointed against the eligibility criteria.
The 2012 regulations, as do the latest, issued last week, stipulate that the ombudsperson must not hold, or have held, any office of profit in the university where he or she is appointed.
Assam Government will set up three medical colleges to improve the medical education ecosystem in the State, said Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The medical college will be established at Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Tinsukia districts of the State entailing an expenditure of Rs 1,186 crore. The three medical colleges will add 1500 beds to the existing facilities in the Government sector, the minister said.
“In order to achieve the goal of bringing the healthcare facilities to all corners of the state, the government is going to start three new medical colleges at Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Tinsukia,” Sarma added.
Explaining about the project in detail, Sarma stated that each college will also have 500 bed hospital and 100 MBBS seats for students. The expenditure allocated for Nalbari Medical College is Rs 398.31 crore for, Rs 382.70 crore for Kokrajhar Medical College and Rs 404.63 crore for Tinsukia Medical College.
“Foundation stones of Kokrajhar, Nalbari and Tinsukia will be laid on January 6, 7 and 9 respectively and the colleges will be ready in the next three years,” Sarma informed.
Currently, Assam has six medical colleges at Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Silchar, Jorhat, Tezpur and Barpeta. Four more are currently under construction at Dhubri, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Diphu, which will start functioning from 2020-21.
Education in India today is nothing like it was in Pre-Independence and Post-Independence Era. Education System in India today has undergone a great metamorphosis and posed before us abundant reasons to think and ponder over this drastic change, writes Dr Prabhakar Gupta, Dean Academics, Shri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering & Technology, Bareilly, for Elets News Network (ENN).
