We tried to make it a week without updating on India, but it didn’t happen. As it is, we’re going to summarize three news articles about proposed changes in India in this single post, but all 3 are recommended reading. Naturally, it’s possible that none of these will come to fruition, and it’s equally possible that it may take decades, but it still feels like we’re sitting on the edge of our seats to see what’s going to come out of the Human Resources Development (HRD) in the next 100 days.
Here are the most exciting highlights:
- making 10th year certificate (SSLC) optional – relying instead on internal assessment – and operated by central board rather than state-wide
- getting rid of the the University Grants Commission, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Teacher Education and Distance Education Council and replacing them with the to-be-established Commission for Higher Education and Research
- cancelled of Deemed to Be Universities status & time limit to get up to par for those previously granted this temporary designation (as previously reported here)
- IITs and IIMs be upgraded to universities
- academic reforms (semester system, credits, and revision of syllabi also reported here previously) spread beyond just universities to other central educational institutions
- establishment of 100+ new polytechnicsand, 100 new model degree colleges, and 10 new NITs to meet educational needs
- national testing along the lines of the GRE for university admission
- aligning all levels of teacher education under higher ed
- identifying top 1500 colleges and upgrading them to universities
Wow. That is a VERY ambitious list! It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of the next 100 days…
Education Panel Wants UGC, AICTE Scrapped (Times of India)
HRD Ministry’s Proposal Draw Mixed Response (Hindu.com)
100 Days Programme of HRD Announced (IndiaEduNews.net)