Importance of liberal arts degree in modern education

The concept of Liberal education is not new to the Indian educational landscape. Liberal Education did have a presence in ancient Indian Universities including the Takshashila and Nalanda University. Gradually India started to fade out liberal art education from mainstream academia due to the fixed curriculum introduced by the British education system. As a result of this, Indian Universities have seen an increasing number of students each year with technical degrees with a very unidirectional and focused mindset.

In a broad perspective, A liberal arts education integrates different areas of study, exposing students to a wide range of subjects. It integrates arts, Science, culture, and value-based education, which help Learners to succeed in whatever career they choose. It also helps in pursuing their passion and life goals.

A liberal arts education may change the game in today's world because it equips students with the skills, they need to solve issues, think critically, cooperate, think creatively, and come up with unique ideas.

The last couple of decades have brought along a drastic change in technology and communication that have, in turn, changed the way students of higher education are taught and trained. Liberal arts education is still the foundation of learning for almost all areas of expertise and can benefit college students in several ways. Liberal education can broaden career opportunities, encourage cultural literacy, and help citizens benefit from a democratic society.

Liberal education transforms students into well-rounded, curious, and proactive problem solvers. It also helps in navigating the unforeseen global challenges and interdisciplinary approach to craft a pathway to develop and strengthen the brain to think across disciplines. In today's rapidly growing and changing world these traits are important to the survival of people in the workforce.

Another aspect is, industry 5.0 is knocking the door and the requirement of skilled manpower is in demand who can apply the learning in the real world, liberal education is a way to learn how to connect and integrate knowledge and apply the learning's in real-world scenarios. The current requirements in this digitized world are thoughtful leaders, people with a deep sense of imagination, equipped with critical thinking, confidence to take decisions and interpersonal skills. An exposure to a Liberal Arts education will help to reach this goal much easily.

A liberal arts education prepares students to examine ideas from multiple points of view, solve problems, adapt, and collaborate.

(The author is the Vice Chancellor, | IILM University, Gurugram)