IIIT-Hyderabad conducts India’s first Training of Teachers for Student Induction Programme by UGC attended by over 200 faculty from southern states

Hyderabad:The University Grants Commission of India (UGC India), a statutory body set up by the Union government who is assigned with the maintenance of standards of higher education, granting recognition to universities in India proposes National Academic Credit Bank. Disclosing this interacting with the media on the sidelines of the three-day Training of Teachers(ToT) for Student Induction Program(SIP), Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice Chairman of UGC India, New Delhi told that the proposal is similar to that existing in some foreign universities.

Sharing more details, Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan said as of now it is an idea, proposed sometime back. We want to explore it further. UGC has already appointed a committee which met a couple of times to study the same. Soon it will be put for peer review and explore also how to implement it and work out more modalities. Once this goes through proper deliberations and accepted, we would like to roll it out on an experimental basis or on a pilot project basis in any one of the Universities by the academic year 2021. It will be introduced both Under Graduate and Post Graduate Level, he shared.

Explaining the proposal, Patwardhan said, “If a B. Tech student needs say 150 credit points, of which 120 are mandatory from the core subjects to finish the course. For the rest, he can accrue 30 points by doing hobby courses such as say “Aaarngetram,” or say “Tabla” from a non-conventional institution. Thus the students get 120 points or credits from his core subjects before time and can move on to the subsequent level without waiting to spend scheduled or stipulated time in the course by redeeming the 30 points earned.”

The proposal which was proposed by him recently in Pune is still in deliberations stage only, he added.

With the National Academic Credit Bank, gaining acceptance among the community, inter-university degrees to be a reality in the near future in India, he added

The Higher Educational institutions play an essential role in the development of individuals, family, and society. It lays a strong foundation for a strong nation. The goal is to enrich all fields of knowledge. Nearly 3.6crore students enroll for Higher Education in India. It is the responsibility of Universities/colleges to provide quality education to each and every student.

The transition from School to University /college life is one the most challenging events in a student’s life. They enter into a diverse environment, an unfamiliar environment. Therefore they need to be welcomed properly into a new environment, observed some speakers.

The current education system is Teacher and Institution Centric. This has to be changed. It has to become student-centric, Patwardhan, the top official of the UGC announced. If this proposal becomes policy, it will be the beginning of a new era in the Indian Higher Education scenario. According to the new initiative proposed in the place of the current system of CBCS—Credit Based Choice System, it will allow students to join in one University, pursue it with another university and earn a degree from a different university. It will give a lot of flexibility to the students, he emphasized.

When he shared the news about it and asked the feedback of the 225 gatherings, 90 percent of them raised their hands in support of the new initiative.

Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan was the Chief Guest the training program organized by the Human Values Cell at IIIT-Hyderabad. It was a first of its kind program for Training of Teachers (ToT) It is being held under the aegis of UGC Quality Mandate. The three-day program is being attended by around 225 faculty and teachers from leading institutes across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. The program will go on till 18th May. Subsequently, it will be held at Bangalore, Pune and will be further extended to Bhubaneshwar and Guwahati.

Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice‐Chairman, UGC, New Delhi was the chief guest at the inauguration of the program at IIIT-H campus in Gachibowli. Dr. Renu Batra, Additional Secretary, UGC, New Delhi graced it. Prof Rajeev Singhal, former Director IIIT-H; Prof. Duraisamy, Vice Chancellor, University of Madras, Chennai, Prof. P. J. Narayan, Director, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. The program coordinated by Prof. R. Pradeep Kumar of Human Cell of IIIT-H.

University Grants Commission (UGC)’s Student Induction Programme is a well-planned event to educate new entrants about the environment in a particular institution, and connect them with the people in it shared Dr. Renu Batra, Additional Secretary.

It has been designed to help new students adjust and feel comfortable in their new environment, inculcate the ethos and culture of their institution, help them build bonds with other students and faculty, and expose them to a sense of larger purpose and self-exploration. Added Prof. P.J. Narayan.

Around 225 faculty and teachers from leading institutes across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu attended the program that included workshops, interactive sessions, and talks by Prof. Rajeev Sangal, former director of IIIT-H and IIT-BHU and Prof. Ramancharla Pradeep Kumar, Registrar, IIIT-H. Some of the topics explored include the role of education in building integrity, understanding human aspirations and needs, dealing with peer pressure and understanding relationships.

This is the first in a series of ToT Sessions which Prof Ramancharla will be conducting in Bangalore and Pune later in the month. Speaking on the program, he said, “SIP will get students to reflect on their own goals and inculcate understanding and responsibility toward national and larger human goals.” Subsequently, it will be extended to Bhubaneshwar and Guwahati, he added.

Academic Institutions are unlike the popular perception are not mirrors of the society. In fact they are meant to provide Leadership in the community. Globalization is a narrow thought. The world needs Universalisation and not globalization, added Rajeev Sangal. The Future Prime Minister, Defence Minister, is sitting in the classroom. So introduce a universal element, he told the massive gathering of educationists. SIP will enlarge the vision of the students. It will help bond teachers and students.

The students are subjected to suicides and depressions because they are not oriented to new environment. There must be a clear environment to enable students to settle in new environment. Colleges are not meat simply to produce graduates but to give holistic development. This should be the focus on higher education informed Prof. P. Duraisamy, Vice Chancellor of University of Madras, Chennai.