In order to meet the demands of the industry, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released the much awaited revised curriculum for engineering and technical courses across the country.
CHANGES IN THE REVAMPED ENGINEERING CURRICULUM:
1) The number of credits required for theory has been reduced to 160 from 220. For summer internships, 14 out of 160 credits has also been made mandatory.
2) The new curriculum focuses more on practical by engaging students with laboratory assignments rather than on theory.
3) Also, engineering students will have to study the Vedas, Puranas and tark shastra (logic).
4) Moreover, students would be expected to know about the Constitution and environment sciences as part of mandatory courses whose scores will have no bearing on their final credits.
5) Further, management programme courses have also been changed. "The minimum number of credits for award of MBA (master in business administration)/ PGDM (post graduate diploma in management) course is 102 credits," AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe told HT.
WHY MANDATORY INTERNSHIPS?
This was being done considering complaints that nearly 60 per cent of those passing out of technical education institutions are not industry-ready and still require honing, said a senior official.
The inclusion of mandatory internship, both industry and social will help engineering graduates connect with the need of the industry and society at large.
Now, every student, on admission, would be put through a mandatory induction training to reinforce the fundamental concepts and the required language skills for technical education.
Meanwhile, lauding the efforts of the regulatory body, Prakash Javadekar stressed on updating the curriculum every year and carrying out reforms as per the needs of the industry.
HERE'S WHAT PRAKASH JAVADEKAR SAID:
Higher education in India especially technical education has witnessed an exponential growth in the last few years, said Javadekar, adding, "Quality education is the only way to progress and we have taken various initiatives to give impetus to its growth."
"The existing syllabus has been revamped by preparing a model curriculum as an updated curriculum is a student's right," he added.
TEACHERS MUST HAVE PASSION TO TEACH:
Furthermore, Javadekar said, the government is committed to provide the best teachers, infrastructure and scholarships to all the students.
The teachers "must have passion to teach and should follow a comprehensive design of quality practice," he added.