Vijayawada: Polytechnic curriculum to be changed to suit industry needs

Vijayawada: Efforts are on to prepare new curriculum to train polytechnic students as per the industry requirements, said State Skill Development and IT Secretary Saurabh Gaur while addressing a special workshop in Vijayawada on Wednesday on the necessity and implementation of the new curriculum in polytechnic teaching under the joint auspices of the State Technical Education Department and the State Technical Education and Training Council.

The Industry representatives, heads of departments of engineering colleges, principals of polytechnic colleges and teachers formed teams who put forward several suggestions to the attention of the meeting after a thorough brainstorming discussion.

Saurabh Gaur said, "It is the government's mission to provide training to polytechnic students as per the actual circumstances."

He said that a full-scale change in curriculum was being initiated so that polytechnic students can get immediate employment. "Currently intellectual cultivation is being done to overcome the small gap between the industry and the education system, he observed."

Director of Technical Education Department and chairman of State Technical Education and Training Council Chadalavada Nagarani said that it is a concern that even the students who have obtained the highest marks were facing problems in getting a job. She said that the current programme was part of an effort to find out the reasons for this situation and find a solution. Nagarani explained that many issues came to the attention of meeting in this context.

The suggestion to make practical examinations which is currently 40 per cent to 50 per cent is important, she said. The meeting discussed various issues including the participation of experts from the industry continuously in the formulation of the curriculum, studying the syllabus in other States, training the teachers according to the changed syllabus and timely printing of textbooks. "Our aim is to prepare a new curriculum for the academic year 2023-2024 for the benefit of the students by considering the model curriculum of the All-India Council of Technical Education," she said.

Director of Training and Employment Lavanyaveni opined that if studies are carried out with proper planning, employment will not be a problem for polytechnic students. Different industries are looking for manpower, according to their actual requirements.

Megha Engineering AGM Nasser Vali, Tata Motors head Rajendra Prasad, Efftronics executive manager Bhavani Shankar, Tech Mahindra head Kiran, Arun from Ola Electrical, Vishnu Chemicals AGM Suresh, Ramesh from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and Tatavarthi Apparels MD Subbarao, Kushalava Industries Director Gopala Rao presented many suggestions.

Technical Education Department joint Ddrector Padma Rao, Technical Education Board secretary Vijaya Bhaskar, joint secretary Janakiram, deputy directors Ramakrishna, Kalyan, joint secretary Narayana Rao, deputy secretary Lakshmipathi and others participated in the programme.