College principals to discuss education improvements

As many as 350 principals of various first grade colleges in the State will meet here on August 26 to discuss ways to improve the standards of higher education.

“There has been tremendous growth in the number of educational institutions in the State and there is a need to improve and monitor the quality and standards of learning as well,” said Dr B S Srikanta, President of the First Grade College Principals’ Association which is organising the State-level seminar.

The seminar, titled “Quality Initiatives and Bench Marking in Higher Education,” will discuss issues such as contemporary curriculum development, raising academic standards, strengthening of teaching-learning equations, administration, infrastructure and student support services, and bench marking.  One of the main challenges facing higher education in the State is the heavy decline of interest in basic science and such issues will be brought to the fore in the seminar.

The number of students pursuing BCom has risen at a rapid rate forcing the Department of Higher Education to start 70 additional BCom sections in various government colleges in the State.

“A lack of interest in science is a very worrying trend and if it continues at this rate, there will be no Science or Maths teachers in schools, within the next five years,” Dr Srikanta said. The recommendations and deliberations of the seminar will be submitted to the government, universities in the State and the NAAC, according to Dr M Prakash, general secretary of the Association.