The Hindu Business Line : Preparation for life

Education is not preparation for an examination but for life. Normally, an academic institution, defined as a self-governing community of scholars, is preoccupied with its own internal processes — admissions, teaching, examinations — and rarely keeps in touch with what is going on in the outside world. But in the last decade and a half, the world outside has undergone a sea-change and has become ‘turbulent’.

The transition shock

The sudden transition from a protected, theoretically-oriented, spoon-fed environment to the harsh real world of constant change and cut-throat competition is likely to be a shock and unmanageable for students. There can, therefore, no longer be a disconnect between the real world and academic institutions. To improve/modify the various aspects of an academic institution’s working — such as admissions, curriculum, pedagogy, evaluation, research, infrastructure, and placement — the transition shock must be minimised.

The higher education system must be a real preparation for life. As far as possible, admissions should be merit-based, even within the discretionary and reserved categories. Without basic competence, a student cannot be fully prepared to face the turbulent world.

The Boards of Studies, instead of being dominated by armchair academicians and administrators, should associate successful practising professionals and successful alumni with the framing and updating of the curricula.

Education system

Instead of teaching being confined to classroom lectures delivered by academicians who are not suitably updated, successful practising professionals should be associated with teaching on a part-time basis so that the real world ambience is to some extent brought into the classroom and the knowledge imparted to the students has a hands-on feel.

Successful alumni can motivate the students by sharing their experiences. Unfortunately, unlike in the West, keeping in touch with the alumni and using them as a resource is still to become a habit with most of our educational institutions. Self-learning capacity has to be developed in students through project visits, library assignments, classroom seminars, etc.

Research in most institutions of higher education, with the possible exception of the IITs and the IIMs, is either non-existent, of poor quality or unrelated to the needs of the outside world. The faculty should have a link with potential employers through research and consultancy, which would not only add authenticity and authority to their teaching but also help them acquire valuable contacts and credibility with potential employers and facilitate placement.

Instead of being tied to the apron strings of the university or stuck with traditionally designed permanent courses, good institutions should have the autonomy and flexibility to start and close short term, just-in-time and just-for-you types of courses in quick response to market demands.

Maximum use should be made of information technology both as a teaching aid and for streamlining the management of institutions. A recent McKinsey study showed that 70 per cent of our engineering graduates are ‘unemployable’ in the perception of the industry. Institutions should set up Employability Centres or Finishing Schools where soft skills like communication, preparing bio-data, facing a viva voce, working in teams, etc. are inculcated in students after they complete their formal courses of study.

The Directors of these centres would also keep in close touch with alumni and potential employers and collect and keep data on employment opportunities and the employers’ expectations and pass them on to the departments to be incorporated in the latter’s respective curriculi.

(The author is former Special Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh.)