Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Institutions asked to use ICT to improve higher education

CII conducts education conclave in Salem

The 12th Five Year Plan has laid a special emphasis on expansion of skill-based programmes in higher education and institutions should utilise the opportunity, said N. Gopukumar, Joint Secretary, University Grants Commission (UGC), here on Monday.

Addressing a higher education conclave on the theme ‘Technology Integration for Higher Education: A Paradigm Shift’, jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Salem, and CII - Institute of Quality (IQ), Bangalore, he said that the focus was on reaching women students and to create hostel facilities, scholarships, creation of model colleges and provide facilities for differently-abled persons. “The plan envisages triple objectives – equity and inclusion, access and expansion, and quality and excellence. Institutions should utilise the opportunity,” he added.

S.K. Patnaik, Director, AICTE gave an insight into various spheres of higher education and said that the higher education is yet to see concerted efforts for improvement in access and quality.

C. Swaminathan, Vice-Chancellor of Periyar University, said how the traditional Periyar University has integrated technology into their process and more particularly in the examination process. He said that institutions must provide quality education and focus on excellence to attract admissions instead of focusing on freebies and fee concessions.

Chairman of CII Salem K.M.S. Rajesh Kumar said the conduct of the conclave was a testimony for various initiatives taken by CII Salem in improving the quality of education through integration of technology.

P.S.S. Srinivasan, mentor, Education Panel, CII Salem, and Principal of Knowledge Institute of Technology, briefed about various themes of the conclave and the difference between technology for education and technology in education. The conclave focused on three key issues such as policy, quality and information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education.

Sessions on integrating technology into higher education, technology for curriculum design, and enhancing educational delivery was also held.
A panel discussion on technology in higher education and initiatives for effective implementation was also held.

The Indian institutions have to use more ICT in education at par with Western Universities to become globally competitive, experts said.

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