Varsities brace for influx of students

Never before has the higher education sector remained at a crossroads as it is now, during the Covid pandemic. Express weighs in and suggests the way out for stakeholders
AMIT BANDRE
AMIT BANDRE

Each year, a large number of students from Kerala seek admissions in  colleges and universities across the country with a majority of them making a beeline for institutions in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. However, with Covid-19 making this a difficult proposition and  parents disinclined to send their children elsewhere,  colleges and universities in the state will see an influx. But are institutions of higher education here adequately prepared to handle a jump in demand? More importantly, do they have the programmes, courses and quality which draw students to the institutions in other states? 

“Plans are afoot to accommodate these students. As per the government order(GO) issued early last week, colleges will see an increase of up to 70 in seats for degree programmes. Also, there will be an increase of 25 seats for science and 30 seats for arts and commerce subjects in colleges,” said V P Mahadevan Pillai, vice-chancellor, Kerala University. 

Besides, universities are  rolling out new courses and programmes. “As of now University of Kerala has around 50,000 seats for graduate courses in affiliated colleges,” said the vice-chancellor. The Kerala Technical University (KTU) has  also decided to introduce 21 new courses. “There is no need to worry about the availability of seats,” said Rajasree M S, vice-chancellor, KTU. According to her, even now only 27,000 out of the 45,000 engineering seats have been filled. 

“Besides, we have ample time for the preparations since there has been no decision on when the  CBSE Class XII examination will be held,” she said. However, it is the infrastructure facilities in colleges which pose the biggest challenge.  “Even now, many of the colleges in the state function without adequate infrastructure. This is like saying that the ship is under construction but it has already set sail,” said Rajan Gurukkal, vice-chairman, Kerala State Higher Education Council. According to him, the colleges offering Science courses might face some problems.

“The laboratory might be ill-equipped to cater  to all the students,” he said. According to him, the institutions will have to evolve and plan courses to ensure  social distancing. “Courses will have to become more library-oriented, with classes taking the online route,” said Rajan. However, the colleges might not go in for an increase in the number of seats as stipulated in the GO.

Binoy Joseph, principal, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences in Kochi, said, “The institutions might increase the number of seats depending on the availability of  infrastructure. The increase might range from 5 to 20 per cent. We have decided to increase the number of seats for  undergraduate programmes from 50 to 60. Seats for postgraduation courses are being increased from 20 to 30,” he said. Also on the radar are plans for new courses. “These courses are in vogue and much  in demand even outside the state. One such course which is being introduced by the college is MSc in Computer Science and Data Analytics,” said Binoy.  However, he hastened to add that  since online classes are now an important mode, an increase in the number of students from the existing strength might pose problems.

“Hence, it becomes necessary for the colleges to have a foolproof online teaching system,” said Binoy.The college has also decided to enhance its IT facilities. “At present, the internet speed at our college is 100 Mbps. The internet speed is being increased to 300 Mbps,” said the principal. Also, it has been decided to get additional cameras  to beam  the interactive screens installed in the classrooms.

According to him, the college has been lucky since due to its high National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking and NAAC grading, it has been able to secure Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) funding. “And we will be able to carry forward much of our plans to increase the infrastructure facilities. However, the state government too needs to pitch in, especially in the case of colleges without adequate funds,” he said.  “Among the various steps which the government needs to undertake, increasing internet speed and programmes for capacity building of teachers are the major ones,” Binoy  added. 

However, even as the government and aided colleges are gearing up to increase the infrastructure facilities, the autonomous colleges find themselves in a bind. “Only the non-autonomous colleges in the state have been given the nod to increase the seats. According to the universities, if the autonomous colleges want to increase the number of seats as per the GO, they will have to submit an application,” said Fr Prashant Palackappillil, principal, Sacred Heart College, Thevara in Kochi.  But this proposition is against the concept of autonomy, he pointed out. “So, we will be approaching the government in this regard and will increase the number of seats after  getting the green signal. As of now, the state’s 10 autonomous colleges haven’t take a decision in this regard,” he said.

Migration for higher edu

Malayali students proceeding to other states to pursue higher education has witnessed a steady rise over the years. Most of them migrate to obtain a professional degree like engineering or medicine. One-fourth of these students pursue a professional course. Of these, 55% are males. Their age distribution indicates that the largest number belongs to the 20-24 age group (52 per cent of males and 36.3 per cent of females are in this age bracket 

Education level of  student out-migrants (2018) 

Education    Male (%)    Female (%)    Total
Below 10th    26.6    44.2    37.6
Class X, XI    4.0    6.5    4.5
Class XII    17.7    1.3    1.1
IT certificate    1.6    0.0    1.1
Diploma    1.6    0.0    1.1
Degree    16.9    9.1    15.7
Prof. degree    24.2     20.8    25.8
Prof. PG    6.5       14.3    10.7
All others    0.8     3.9    2.2

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