THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The curriculum of all universities in the state affiliated to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will be revised from next academic year, Minister for Higher Education KT Jaleel said. He was addressing a high-level meeting comprising the managers and principals of various aided and self-financing engineering, architecture, MBA and MCA colleges on Tuesday.
Jaleel has called for a complete make-over in the higher education system by making necessary changes in the conduct of examinations and valuation process. “Special workshops will be conducted in engineering colleges and polytechnic institutions related to the revision of the curriculum in the coming days. The revision will also be done in the curriculum of Kerala Technology University which can benefit the engineering students. The entrance examination calendar will be revised immediately.
The institutions which come forward with the idea to start new courses will get due consideration. In addition, the government will liberalise the permanent affiliation proceedings for the colleges,” Jaleel said. The other major decisions in the meeting included the launch of a web portal named ‘For the students’ in the minister’s office. The students can enter any details, including queries related to the curriculum, in the portal. The details will be handed over to the respective universities or related centres for further action.
The Minister also laid stress on starting more entrance examination centres at foreign countries where the Malayali population is higher. However, he also shared apprehensions about the pathetic condition of certain self-financing engineering colleges in the state.
“Many colleges still don’t have a sufficient number of students due to the dip in the quality of education. It was due to the unscientific approach by a section of people who opened colleges without any study. A student will get admission in an engineering college by securing only two per cent.
SAAC (State Assessment and Accreditation Council) and accreditation will be implemented in the state modelled on the lines of NAAC
The complaints by the students pertaining to the valuation of examinations will be sorted out.
The fine for the teachers who commit lapse in valuation has been increased from `5,000 to `25,000
Minimum qualification
The minister emphasised the colleges should ensure minimum qualification for the lecturers of the engineering colleges is MTech.