Karnataka - Mysore   

Academics call for improving quality of education

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, DEC. 30. Academics and educationists have stressed the need to improve the quality of education to face the challenges posed by globalisation on higher education which, they said, have positive and negative consequences.

V.S. Prasad, Director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), said the impact of globalisation has not only resulted in a concern for improving the quality of education but has also created fears of commercialisation of education.

He was delivering the valedictory address of a three-day workshop on the "Impact of globalisation on higher education in India and evaluation method in the semester/trimester system of higher education". The workshop was organised by the University Grants Commission in association with the Academic Staff College of the University of Mysore. Fifty principals and heads of various colleges participated in it.

Prof. Prasad said there is a growing concern for improving the quality of education and the level of competence among students without which the challenges posed by globalisation cannot be faced. However, this also has ushered in a few negative elements such as commercialization of education with foreign universities of "dubious standing" exploiting the demand for foreign degree among Indian students. Hence, he called for a regulatory mechanism to protect the standards of education in India and dovetail it with the international standards. The Centre and the UNESCO are preparing a framework for this.

Prof. Prasad said that it is imperative for all institutions to enhance the quality of teaching and education if they want to survive the challenges of globalisation and called for greater cooperation among institutions for resource sharing. He cautioned that India will be excluded from the process of globalisation if the quality of education did not match the international standards. Education not only focuses on preparing a student for job but also furthering the social and cultural values. In this context, he stressed the urgency for social science subjects to reorient so as to be relevant to the changing socioeconomic conditions, he added.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore, J. Shashidhar Prasad, compared the impact of globalisation to tsunami and said one has to be prepared to face it or be doomed in the process. He underscored that the best will survive the competition in the wake of globalisation. Hence, the onus is on educational institutions to raise the standards to meet the growing expectations. He called for introducing innovative courses to meet the demands of industry. He cited the example of the university, which introduced a course in Information Management Systems.

Prof. Prasad expressed fears that social sciences, despite their importance, will become irrelevant if they are not reoriented to the requirement of society. K. Byrappa, Director of the Academic Staff College was present.

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Academics call for improving quality of education

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