comparative analysis
talking
Education TimesBhushan Patwardhan, former Vice-Chairman, University Grants Commission, and National Research Professor – AYUSH Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University, says, “Rajasthan may appear ahead in the race for general education or UP may appear to be technical. However, to understand the real story, we need to make a comparative observation using some quality parameter. If we take NIRF ranking as a parameter and do state wise analysis, the picture will become clear. For example, the mere number of institutions in a state can be a misleading indicator of the state of education, especially its quality. Rajasthan has 50 institutes, the highest number in the country, but only 2 in the top 100 NIRF university rankings (4%). In contrast, Tamil Nadu has 26 institutions, 73 per cent of which are in the top 100 NIRF university rankings.
He further said that an important message from this report is that increasing the number of higher education institutions or providing online degrees may not be the right strategy to increase the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER). “Such unhealthy expansion may result in further burden on current unemployment. Not only the numbers but also the quality, relevance and employability are the most important factors in higher education. NEP 2020 rightly focuses on these aspects, making it necessary to implement the policy without any delay. ”
Kamlesh Vyas, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP explains that the GER has increased from 24.5 in 2015-16 to 27.1 in 2019-20. “The GER for women (27.3), which was higher than the GER for men for the first time in 2018-19, has further extended its lead over the GER for men (26.9). Other higher education parameters such as the number of universities and colleges, enrollment numbers and infrastructure have improved over the years. The number of teachers showing a decline for 2 years has also seen an increase for two consecutive years from 2017-18.
more women in mphilo
As per the report, the total enrollment through regular mode in all higher education courses in 2019-20 is around 342.5 lakhs. The highest share of enrollment (80.96%) is at the undergraduate level, followed by postgraduate (9.32%), and diploma (7.45%), with all other levels increasing by 2.27%. Female enrollment under various education levels has been highest in MPhil (62.25%), postgraduate courses (57.52%), and certificate courses (55.75%) as compared to male enrollment. “The increase in the enrollment of girls in higher education is a good trend. Enrollment in an MPhil program can be an indication of intention to embark on an academic career. Women are born teachers who have a natural tendency to groom, inspire and shape personality. More committed women teachers can help improve the seriousness and quality of higher education,” says Patwardhan.
Geeta Bhatt, director of non-collegiate women’s education board, DU, agrees when she says, “Teachers are at the heart of successful implementation of NEP. Institutions that can facilitate and orient their faculty will be able to provide quality education.” Enrollment figures for women in ASHE are encouraging. Many women are standing at the crossroads of deciding their future after post graduation. To take up research as a future option, MPhil gives an opportunity to test the waters. ”
The report indicates that apart from MPhil, where enrollment numbers have actually decreased in the last two years, all other courses, be it PhD, have seen an increase in enrollment levels in UG and PG courses. The MPhil program should not be stopped, says Patwardhan, “It needs to be revised, and needs to bring in more components related to teaching skills apart from research orientation. Such a strong MPhil program may be a desired qualification for college teachers.” It is worrying to see increasing enrollment for PhD programs. This may be because it is a mandatory qualification to become a teaching faculty. PhD should be an option primarily for those who want to pursue multidisciplinary education and research universities want to continue their career as researchers or senior faculty in the U.S. There is also a need to focus on increasing the number of female candidates for Ph.D.
Rise of Digital Learning
On the pandemic accelerating the pace of online learning, which the report emphasizes, Vyas says, “Some challenges associated with online and digital learning such as fatigue, low connect and low completion rates have emerged. However, there is a general perception among teachers that the digital learning system is still evolving and new pedagogical approaches are needed for virtual learning to be effective. Also, most teachers believe that blended learning is the way forward.”
Outlining the post-pandemic trajectory of edtech, he said, “Traditionally, edtech has been largely focused on the learner-tutor network. However, many new technologies are emerging, such as analytics and AI/ML, which have the potential to increase the effectiveness of learning for students. Similarly, there are other areas that are being targeted by edtech such as material duration, micro-plucking of material and predicting learning needs based on assessments. EdTech is also being used to design learning pathways using analytics for teachers to make curriculum decisions, accelerate learning and high-integrity virtual assessments. The report takes into account these trends and more.
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