Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said a Kerala Higher Education Curriculum Framework will be finalised before March 2023 to reform curricula in higher education institutions.
Inaugurating a two-day colloquium on higher education reforms here on Tuesday, Mr. Vijayan exhorted universities to work towards reforming their curricula and syllabi in line with the proposed framework.
The framework draft, which will be developed by academic experts, must be prepared by March next and circulated for extensive discussions. Besides incorporating a broad spectrum of disciplines, it must ideally uphold the State’s cherished ideals including equality, gender justice, freedom of expression etc.
The framework, the Chief Minister opined, should also have room for flexibility in courses. Students must be provided the opportunity to complete a portion of their studies abroad, while enabling foreign students to study in institutions in the State, he said.
Higher education institutions must also be equipped to launch project-mode courses in emerging areas that could be retained or substituted with another after five years. Three such courses each will be launched in seven universities in the initial phase.
Mr. Vijayan also urged academics to explore the possibility of launching four-year undergraduate courses that were popular in institutions abroad.
Referring to the confrontation with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, he said the government cannot be cowed down into abandoning its resolve to overhaul the higher education sector in the time-bound manner.
Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit Vice Chancellor M.V. Narayanan, Sree Narayana Guru Open University Vice Chancellor P.M. Mubarak Pasha, and V.P. Mahadevan Pillai, who completed his tenure as Kerala University Vice Chancellor a day ago, were in attendance.
Higher Education Minister R. Bindu presided over the inaugural session. Principal Secretary (Higher Education) Ishitha Roy, Kerala University Law Reforms Commission and Exam Reforms Commission chairpersons N.K. Jayakumar and C.T. Aravindakumar, Commission for Reforms in Higher Education member Sabu Abdul Hameed, and Kerala State Higher Education Council member secretary Rajan Varughese spoke on the occasion.
