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In its second set of recommendations to the State government, the KKC headed by Planning Commission member and former ISRO chairman K Kasturirangan has suggested that throwing open the libraries of universities and colleges to the public will not only improve dissemination of knowledge, but also help increase utilisation of available resources.
Well, for colleges and universities that volunteer for the scheme, the Government should chip in by providing financial incentives and support, the Commission has said in its report.
“The concept is available in Information Science and Library Science literature. The Commission felt the move will go a long way to increase the interface between educational institutions and society,” KKC Secretary and Executive Director M K Sridhar said.
Sridhar feels a limited section of the libraries could be made available for the public to start with, and access be restricted only for reference of books. “There can be a debate and discussion on the recommendation before working out the final modalities,” he said.
At the same time, the Commission has suggested the Government to review the existing Karnataka Public Libraries Act, 1965 and restructure the public libraries to play a more meaningful and involved role in a ‘knowledge society.’
The Commission has made as many as 19 recommendations in the second set which were submitted to the chief minister last month. The Commission has also made a strong case for incorporating vocational and skill-based education for students.
It has suggested introduction of add-on course comprising of life and vocational skills to all students of UG programmes in different universities of Karnataka.
Voluntary basis
“This can start on voluntary basis and can be integrated into the course curriculum over a period of time. The students who complete this add-on course could be considered for the issue of a certificate to that effect by a competent authority,” the recommendation states.
Simultaneously, the Commission has recommended the introduction of awareness and information on vocational knowledge and skills at secondary level of education.
The KKC submitted its first set of 26 recommendations to the Government in August last year. In all, the KKC plans to submit a total of four sets of recommendations including a final report by April, 2011.