The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) is introducing a month-long orientation programme for students joining engineering courses this academic year.
Under the programme, students will get 3-4 weeks to acclimatise themselves to their surroundings. “They will be taught to express themselves in English or in their native tongue. Let the students express themselves in their language and then, they will start thinking critically and analyse situations,” AICTE chairman Anil D. Sahasrabudhe said.
AICTE has decided to start the programme in 100 colleges this year and by next year, plans to cover all colleges. The programme has been designed based on successful experiments conducted by IIIT-Hyderabad and IIT-BHU (Varanasi), he said. At present, students receive a one-day orientation programme. The proposed month-long programme would help students from rural areas, he said. “A longer orientation would cut down failures, which occur because many students don’t understand what is being said in class,” he said.
The Council had also proposed to make certification mandatory for engineering teachers to continue in their job. A three-month module that includes learning new technology, besides interaction techniques with students, is on the anvil.
Mandatory for recruits
The programme will be mandatory for fresh recruits, who should complete the training during the summer vacation before classes commence, Prof. Sahasrabudhe said. Older teachers would be given time till the end of the year to complete the programme at a time of their convenience.
The council is evolving a curriculum that includes physical classroom training, in addition to MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses).
These are part of the 10-point agenda created in conjunction with the industry, industry bodies and the government to improve student-faculty interaction.
