CHENNAI: The syllabus for polytechnic curriculum will be updated from the impending academic year (2023-24) to make students industry ready and more employable.
As part of the new syllabus, DoTE has established five entrepreneurship development hubs in five polytechnic colleges in collaboration with Entrepreneurship Development Innovative Institute (EDII), Chennai. They will offer 26 programmes related to entrepreneurship development and innovation programmes.
According to the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE), inputs from industry experts and from Tamil Nadu Guidance Bureau have been taken into account to redesign and reform the polytechnic curriculum. “With the advancement in technology, there is a change in industry requirements. The need is for skill-based talents to bridge the industry-academic gap. Keeping these factors in mind, new age courses like mechatronics, diploma in logistics technology and diploma in automobile engineering have been introduced,” said the DoTE official.
Polytechnic colleges contribute significantly to the state’s talent pool by producing skilled technicians to support mass industrialization. “Tamil Nadu economy is focusing on deep-tech and knowledge-based industries, rather than low-cost labour-intensive talent. So the reformation of the syllabus focuses more on employability and entrepreneurship outcomes,” added the DoTE official.
The syllabus will nurture the next generation of highly competent individuals who can harness the power of technology, innovation and enterprise to lead change and deliver social and economic impact. Along with the introduction of a choice-based credit system, DoTE will add more elective courses to make the curriculum more flexible to suit the needs of students.
It may be noted that the credit system had been introduced in engineering courses, but had not been done for polytechnic courses in Tamil Nadu. Choice-based credit system will also enable students to learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning.
No exam fee for Naan Mudhalvan
Coimbatore: The higher education department has directed universities not to collect exam fees from students of skill courses offered under the Naan Mudhalvan scheme. Secretary of the department D Karthikeyan sent a circular to registrars of all universities (except Anna University, TNTEU, TNOU) on Wednesday. The circular stated, “The objective of Naan Mudhalvan is to upskill students without involving cost at any point in the process. So, examination fees for Naan Mudhalvan courses shall not be collected.” He also recalled that in February, Bharathiar University had sought clarity whether students have to pay examination fee for the courses.