Higher Education curriculum should be more research-informed: Lakshmi Narayan

KREA University Chancellor and Managing Trustee of Chennai Institute of Mathematics Lakshmi Narayanan said on Tuesday that the higher education curriculum in the state requires greater focus on research-oriented content to make teachers and through them students more research knowledgeable and enhance their employability.

Delivering the inaugural address at the Uyarkalvi Uraiyadalgal – Higher Education Dialogues organized by the Tamil Nadu Council of Higher Education (TNSCHE) in Chennai, Mr. Narayanan said, “Research-oriented content and knowledge needs to be introduced to encourage invention. Gradually, we will create a mindset among faculty members that will be much more research-oriented.” “This will clearly reflect on students who will emerge from universities with a curious and inquiring mind and will ask questions that have not been asked before.”

Giving an example of the ICT Academy model, Mr. Narayanan emphasized on bridging the gap between urban and rural institutions by bringing faculty from rural institutions to urban centers to interact with various sectors, including IT and manufacturing. He said the attendance and performance of students who were removed from the faculty could be linked to what was happening in the industry. The number of students joining the IT sector from Tier II and Tier III institutions was more than those from Tier I colleges.

“This was a turning point where we showed that this type of model could work. I believe this is something we can replicate for higher education,” Mr. Narayanan added. Encouraging students to participate in extra-curricular studies, especially soft skills, will go a long way in improving their employability.

Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan said that the latest Economic Survey stated that more than 50% of engineering graduates are not employable and this is alarming. He said some other national surveys pointed to an even darker picture, showing employability as low as 8%. Although Tamil Nadu performed better than other states with a gross enrollment rate of 50%, the quality of education provided was not better. “Graduate employability must remain at the very heart of our curriculum reforms,” Mr Viswanathan said.

Higher Education Secretary V. Arun Roy said low employability points directly to serious flaws in the way the curriculum is designed; perhaps it has failed to convey the skills, knowledge and qualifications demanded by the new job market.

TANSCHE Vice-Chairman MP Vijayakumar and TANSCHE Member Secretary R. Kanimozhi spoke while University Education Commissioner P. Ponnaiah and Technical Education Director P. Rathinasamy attended.