'Engg teachers too to have internship'

All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe stated that a three-week internship is being made an eligibility or engineering teachers, to get promotion, so that they should know what is happening in the industry sector.

“With the need for drastic changes in education, one-way teaching cannot be accepted, especially in the background of modern technology which enables students to get study material. Faculty should get updated, and students should come prepared, so that only problem solving and discussion take place in the classrooms,” he said.

Speaking after inaugurating the future skills conclave organised by Pune-based Friends Union for Energising Lives (FUEL) here on Sunday, Prof Sahasrabudhe stated that changes are also proposed in the new education policy, for which teachers can also give their suggestions.

To bring changes, the faculty should also be trained well. Therefore, we want to increase the number of Atal academies also. Teachers should recognise the talent in students, not just based on marks. Brighter students should also join teaching profession, so that there should not be dearth of good teachers, he advised.

Induction prog to expand

Three-week induction programme for freshers at engineering colleges, framed by the AICTE, would cover all colleges in two or three years, Prof Sahasrabudhe said.

Under this programme, students would be engaged in physical exercise, meditation, games, art forms, interaction, lectures by resource persons, and other activities, which would help students to understand the background and abilities of each other, develop friendship, understand the importance of mentorship, and have concern about the society, he noted.

Environment, Constitution, and traditional knowledge subjects are already introduced, though they are non-marks papers, he added.

CET to be online

Higher Education Department Additional Chief Secretary Anil Kumar B H noted that entrance tests including CET would be made online tests by 2020. Online digital signature verification system is started to check the menace of fake marks cards and certificates. Online digital evaluation system is also being developed for foolproof evaluation of answer scripts. The government would also focus on bringing online digital distance learning method, he said.

Under Kaushalya Jnanaganga Yojana, it is proposed to open a centre in each college, to make students job-ready through skill-set training, entrepreneurship training, counselling, and placement assistance, Anil Kumar added.

Volvo Group president and managing director Kamal Bali, Adobe head programmes (education & skill development) Garima Babbar, Karnatak University Vice-Chancellor P B Gai, SCMHRD director Pratima Sherorey, MIT World Peace University dean Sayalee Gankar, and UNDP State project head Kanta Singh delivered special talks.

IIM-Bengaluru former director K R S Murthy, AIC-MIT ADT University CEO Mohit Dubey, FUEL Chairman Ketan Deshpande, chief mentor Santosh Huralikoppi, and others were present.

A P J Kalam FUEL fellow convocation, leadership awards presentation, and panel discussions were held to highlight the importance of future skills like digital marketing, artificial intelligence, IoT, big data, 3D printing, and blockchain.