The Vice-Chancellor of Jaffna University Vasanthi Arasaratnam on Monday stressed the need for framing curriculum based on the need of employers, environment, and society.
Delivering a special address at a one-day seminar on strategies to improve higher education in developing countries organised by the Departments of Eco-Biotechnology and Women Studies of Bharathidasan University here, she said the curriculum introduced by the British rulers had still been the base for the curriculum of school and higher education in developing countries. It might have suited that period. Numerous changes had taken place since then. There was a need to relook at the curriculum.
There were views that it should match curriculum being followed in developed countries such as the U.S. or the U.K. She was of the view that it should meet the requirement of the country and the employers.
Ms. Arasaratnam said the governments should accord priority for primary, secondary, and higher education. Building knowledge society should be the base for growth.
M.M.M. Najim, Vice-Chancellor, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, in his keynote address, said besides building infrastructure and human resource, equal importance should be given to improve the governance in educational institutions. There must be a holistic working environment to attract best talent and retain them.
The benefits would ultimately pass on to the students.
Highlighting the need for increasing the allotment to the education, he said many developed countries had been allotting an average of 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Product to education. It was around 1 to 3 per cent in developed countries.
K. Selvam, Registrar-In-Charge, Bharathidasan University, said the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education had seen remarkable improvement thanks to the proactive steps taken by the governments and educational institutions. The university had been ranked at 150{+t}{+h}place in a recently released world ranking list.
E. Ramganesh, former Registrar-In-Charge, Bharathidasan University, said that India had been the pioneer in higher education.
It was the third largest in the world.
The number of universities had increased 34 times from 20 in 1950 to 677 in 2014. Similarly, the number of colleges had gone up to about 40,000.
It had ultimately paved the way for improving the Gross Enrolment Ratio.
Babu Rajendran of Eco Biotechnology and N. Manimekalai of Department of Women Studies spoke.
