Research thrust vital for higher edn institutions

To start with, it is helpful to think ofHigher Education as two types: the first one is that of Higher Education in arts and science institutions and the second category is that of professional Higher Education institutions that focus on Engineering and Medicine.

The first category is clearly in need of examination system reform, which till now is memory based, to one of a test of learning in the context of change and changing attitudes of the individual and society. Such a reform will need continuous evaluation, modernization of the curriculum and change in the teaching methods. The clue to the reform is giving an opportunity to the students for lifelong learning, which they can use in life. Such a reform would not only make the students employable but would also help them learn the skills of analyzing, comprehending, solving any problem that they face in any sphere of their lives, be it family, farm, factory or office. The emphasis then is not in gaining expertise in a few tools related to one’s specialization, but in one’s ability to think through any problem or master any tool from first principles. Such a philosophy underlines much of the modern liberal arts education.

Compared to these arts and sciences courses, professional degrees require heavy investment in infrastructure such as buildings, labs, machinery and equipment. This is exacerbated by the rate at which the technology is fast changing, calling for quick replacement. Such technological changes also raise the question of whether more of the profession is not learnt on the job, rather than in professional HEIs. It then immediately follows that we need to attain a delicate balance between class room teaching and ‘On the job’ training such as periodic internships or externships.

Increasingly, the distinction between these two types of Higher education institutions is getting blurred through interdisciplinarity, which in turn is forced on us by several complex multidimensional problems such as climate change, pandemics, and poverty, apart from technology induced changes such as those emanating from the spread of Artificial Intelligence across disciplines. Modern education policies such as NEP recognize these trends and are reflected in a four-year undergraduate curriculum with increasing exposure to a whole lot of disciplines in the forms of Minor or specialization subjects, thereby assuring flexibility in portability across disciplines.

In these changing circumstances, along with attendant curriculum and examination reforms, the spotlight is on one’s ability to think through from first principles, and quick adaptability to a fast-changing world of learning. Hence, exposure to independent thinking, which then leads to one acquiring rudimentary research skills, will happen endogenously and in an organic fashion, without too much of a drum beat.

(The author is Vice-Chancellor, Vidyashilp University, Bengaluru)