The Hindu : Restructuring of UG courses on the cards

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 26, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Restructuring of UG courses on the cards

By N. Rahul

HYDERABAD June 25. A restructuring of undergraduate courses in the State to meet the needs of the job market is on the cards.

The State Council of Higher Education (SCHE) has planned a series of brainstorming sessions at various levels with experts, college faculties and university authorities during the current academic year to recast these courses.

Though the scheme of the new courses has not yet taken a concrete shape, the idea is to strengthen the traditional BA, B.Com and B.Sc. courses with focus on communication skills to serve the job market.

Higher education authorities feel that degree-holders could be fashioned with communication skills the employers are looking for in the present day scenario when these abilities have become all important.

A BA or B.Com in the pattern of an honours programme with the usual subjects and tied up with training in communication skills is considered an ideal course to produce multi-faceted students ready to take up jobs, particularly in the IT-enabled services sector which is throwing up employment opportunities in a big way. By a modest estimate, about 300 positions are offered by various companies in Hyderabad itself a month.

Similarly, a B.Sc. in life sciences or biotechnology by integrating the programme with communication skills is considered to serve the job market. Without deviating from the thrust of basic sciences, a course in bioinformatics also promises employment in a big way.

The SCHE has proposed to introduce e-learning as a value addition to B.Tech and post-graduate courses to enhance job opportunities. It is trying to evolve a model whereby the students could get trained independently making use of college facilities on payment basis. Circulars have been sent to a score of colleges in the city inviting their participation in the programme.

The SCHE Chairman, C. Subba Rao, told The Hindu that the demand for the traditional M.Sc. in mathematics and physics had also shot up in the State with the IT boom on the wane and not showing signs of recovery. The demand for MCA and M.Sc (Computer sciences) had declined and instead students had shown preference for basic sciences which have upward mobility to pursue higher studies and an enduring value.

Prof. Rao said 42 colleges in the State had sought permission to start M.Sc. course in mathematics, 20 colleges in physics and 11 colleges in electronics in the current year.

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