Aug 27 2014 : The Economic Times (Bangalore)

UGC, Don't Stifle Teaching Innovation





Let IITs and private varsities experiment

The University Grants Commission (UGC) is needlessly pushing IITs to scrap their four-year undergraduate programmes (FYUP). Conformity with the UGC's national policy was used as the instrument to end Delhi University's misguided FYUP . Now, the UGC wants to straitjacket that national policy on the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science and some innovative private universities. This is a grave error. India needs reform in higher education to compete in an increasingly knowledge-intensive economy . Students graduating from our universities should have the ability to think out of the box and to innovate. All this calls for a change in culture including how courses are designed, and how institutions are run. The UGC should not be a stumbling block in nurturing innovation. Rather, its policy framework should not just leave room for but also encourage innovation and experimentation.UGC's fiat infringes on the autonomy of IITs that are governed by a separate Act of Parliament. There is every reason for these institutions to experiment with varied programmes. The UGC and the government must encourage, rather than thwart, innovation in pedagogy . Centres of excellence such as the IITs and the IISc and small, private universi ties are ideal for carrying out such experiments. If found successful, these can then be deployed in larger universities across the country .
An FYUP is a prerequisite for admission to the masters' programme in the US and some other foreign varsities. If some Indian students want to pursue a four-year degree in preparation for a Master's abroad, why should the UGC stand in the way? The DU experiment was illconceived and rushed through without proper consultations with all stakeholders. The extra one year in the DU programme was devoted to 12 compulsory but substandard foundation courses. Not just poor course design. DU also lacked the capacity for additional seats to house the fourth batch of students. A flawed DU experiment should not throttle innovation elsewhere through the UGC.