Underlining the need for curriculum and academic reforms in higher education, Vice-President Hamid Ansari here on Tuesday favoured a “fine balance between market-oriented professional and liberal education”.
At the golden jubilee celebrations of R.V. College of Engineering he said, “Higher education must be aligned to the country’s economy and to the needs of global market. Innovative and relevant curricula should be designed to serve different segments of the job market or provide avenues for self-employment”.
He also emphasised on the expansion of skill-based programmes to make the country’s youth employable. The higher education system in the country continued to be afflicted with the problems of access, equity and quality, he said. The higher education sector had been plagued by shortage of well-trained faculty, poor infrastructure and outdated irrelevant curricula. The use of technology remained limited and the standards of research and teaching in country’s universities were far below the international standards, he said.
Presiding over the function, Governor Vajubhai R. Vala asked the youth to focus on building their personality and expanding their knowledge base instead of craving for wealth.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for Higher Education R.V. Deshpande were also present.
