BW Businessworld Exclusive: The Needs Of Today Are Health, Education And Technology: Rajendra S Pawar, NIIT Group
Rajendra S Pawar, Chairman and Co-founder NIIT Group and Founder, NIIT University talks to BW Businessworld about the educational reforms, need for new assessment and rise of Edtech.
What has changed in the last 16 months in the higher education ecosystem?
Owing to COVID-19, the education sector went through a tectonic shift, compelling educational institutions to adopt a digital delivery model through communication tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Though this ensured continuity, the digital model is woefully limited. Another factor that we need to take into consideration is that traditional learning enables socialization, which is absent or minimal in digital learning. Socialization happens not just inside the classrooms, but also in other social settings through peer-to-peer interactions, creating real-world experience and building confidence in learning. There are also other limits pertaining to subjects that require introspection, deep discussion and debate are more effectively taught in traditional settings.
Therefore, what we need is a blended learning model that incorporates innovative pedagogies, technology-based teacher-student engagement and other administrative processes like admissions etc. At NIIT University, a significant part of such a blended learning model has been implemented through our platform, NU Digital.
Where in education do you think we need to see a reset?
The cancellation of 12th board exams and many challenges that COVID brought forth should be an impetus for us to reset our education models. This crisis offers an opportunity we should not miss. We need re-evaluate our assessment methods in education and introduce ways to evaluate the students’ overall development. This would be consistent with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and will certainly help students develop as independent, disciplined, self-driven and tech-enabled learners.
In my opinion, India needs three types of policy reforms in the education sector. Firstly, we need to push for curricular reforms where technological knowhow is evolving each day. Therefore, educational institutions need to be granted the freedom to engage with the industry and change the curricula as and when required.
The other two are administrative and financial reforms. The government should be able to provide scholarships and loans to those who need it the most and leave academic fee to be determined by market forces. That is what will make our educational institutions relevant and self-sustaining. The need of the hour, therefore, is to rapidly implement this three-pronged reform process- policy reforms, curricular reforms, and financial reforms.
Therein lies momentum in NEP’s focus on academic reform; on both the institutional and faculty fronts — which can raise the relevance of education, taking it closer to what the students and the
industry need. The recommended push for a stronger industry-linked orientation, implying a stepping up in internships, greater industry-academia engagement and co-creation of curricula with active involvement of students, can be a game-changer.
What parts of the new education policy are critical that we get right?
New education policy ( NEP) lights a spark of hope. The policy not only assures a more generous financial outlook for the education sector, it also aims to usher in a slew of reforms across its various categories, segments and dimensions.
First, there is the most change inducing concept of ‘holistic and multidisciplinary undergraduate education’. What this spells is flexible curricula, innovation in the combinations of subjects, focus on vocational education and an all-new Academic Bank of Credits (ABC). This crucial multi-disciplinarity and flexibility has the power to create more well-rounded, multi-faceted and creative learners. This will, in turn, mark the beginning of an ‘era of synthesis’.
We now have a policy vision for education that will stay with us for a decade. We have a cohesive plan for curricular advancement and have the monetary requirement in place. What we now require is concerted implementation to make NEP 2020 work and take it to fruition.
The cost of education is increasing for an average student. What are your thoughts to curtail this, especially keeping in mind tier 3, tier 4 cities?
This is truly a big question. Shouldn't it be the government's responsibility to pay education for all? Again, there is a contention when we talk about budget allocation in terms of priority, which is clearly the health sector.
The reality is, we do not have resources nor the budget to make education free for each and everybody. My view is that, firstly, a very highly motivated and curious student today will be able to learn a lot on their own because of these unprecedented times. Universities' primary role is to look out for bright students and offer scholarships and financial support.
In the history of education, bright students have been able to procure admissions based on their merit, which is possible in these times. Again, I would like to lay emphasis on the evaluation of students, which shouldn’t just entail marks but also their overall personality needs to be taken into consideration when it comes to admissions.
More people are setting up newer institutions, so there will be a dispersal for those who can afford to charge very little and keep it sustainable, while others who will charge the market fee. There exists a demand-supply gap which needs to be balanced.
What do you have to say about the valuation of Edtech companies?
Indian EdTech has been on an upswing; owing to the easy access to their technology enabled learning platforms. These platforms have made available a plethora of learning materials, right from doubt clearances to coaching for competitive examinations to new-age skills to their learners.
While the EdTech industry has made it easier to upskill in these changing times, it cannot replace the personalized attention that face- to-face learning brings. Subjects that require introspection, deep discussion and debate are more effectively taught in traditional settings. What we therefore need is a blended mode of learning.
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