In a significant reversal of its stance, the State government is actively pursuing the possibility of commencing four-year undergraduate (UG) programmes this academic year.
The volte-face has come two months after it had announced its decision to defer the reform by a year in the face of vehement objections raised by teachers and students’ organisations who called for adequate deliberations prior to its introduction.
The abrupt change in the government’s position appears to have come after the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) strongly discouraged delaying the move in spite of the opposition it could evoke, sources said.
Higher Education Minister R. Bindu, while interacting with mediapersons here on Friday, said a recent meeting of Vice-Chancellors agreed to let universities to take a call on launching the four-year courses. “Universities will be permitted to commence such courses this year, provided they have adopted preparatory steps. Those that are unable to launch them this year will have to do so next academic year without fail,” she said.
Pointing out that universities have highlighted various practical difficulties, Dr. Bindu said the higher education curriculum framework has been circulated among the institutions. The curriculum will have to be customised based on the specificities of each university before preparing the syllabi.
She said the future course of action will be decided at a meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday. She also dismissed reports of a growing rift between the Higher Education department and the KSHEC.
KSHEC vice-chairman Rajan Gurukkal said the curriculum framework committee has already formulated the guidelines of the foundation courses for the first two semesters. The content for the subsequent semesters can be prepared in due course. Moreover, the Vice-Chancellors could constitute expert committees to design courses. The syllabi can then be finalised by the Board of Studies before being disseminated among the colleges. The entire process could be expedited within a month, he claimed.
However, a section of the teaching community cautioned against a hasty implementation without carefully studying the impacts of the “massive transformation” that lie in store with the introduction of the four-year UG courses. Besides the reduced focus on language studies, the changes in credit pattern will also necessitate reworking the teachers’ workload.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan accused the government of imposing its decision on the universities without adequate preparation. The “ill-prepared” move encroached upon the autonomy of universities. He also alleged such efforts were aimed at implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020.
