Skill Development: Key To Future Careers
“Education has evolved from acquiring knowledge to understanding the entire system and has become a powerful tool for society, powering countries and transforming humanity. India is at a crossroads to harness the power of education and technology, with a time window of 10-20 years. It is crucial to develop an inspiring teacher pool at the lower level, addressing the education gap which will produce students who crave knowledge, insights, deep thinking and powerful skills. The education ecosystem should match students with inspiring teachers, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary tools and resources. However, I think, generating inspirational teachers is a difficult task and it is essential to work together by harnessing resources and using educational tools and technology,” Basuthkar Jagadeeshwar Rao, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad expressed his thoughts on the role of education in a progressive society.
He was speaking at the 7th Higher Education Summit, organised by BW Education, which featured ICFAI as the presenting partner in Hyderabad on 7 December.
Speakers emphasised that the amalgamation of technology, innovation and pedagogical shifts is poised to drive positive change, ensuring a dynamic educational landscape for generations to come.
“Whatever India has failed to achieve is because of higher education. India is lagging in higher education compared to the developed world, because of the lack of qualified teachers and a lack of inspiration for students. To address this, I suggest use of technology to fill the gap, involving visiting faculty with more responsibility, changing teaching methodologies and introducing a technology entrepreneurship programme (TEP) with the help of the Indian School of Business (ISB). This programme will encourage students to develop projects that can be converted into business plans and applied to the community,” Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department, said. Another suggestion he gave was introduction of an activity-based teaching approach, wherein students engage in activities that help them improve their college life”,
J Mahender Reddy, Distinguished Advisor, ICFAI Society, discussing at length the quality of higher education institutes in India, including Telangana, talked about the role of Madan Mohan Malviya teacher training centres in the country, numbering 110. “These centres aim to improve quality education at all levels, focusing on pedagogy, faculty development, practical skills, holistic development, multidisciplinary and critical thinking and quality research.” He also discussed the importance of outcome-based education as envisaged in NEP 2020. Outcomes include conceptual clarity, communication skills, critical thinking, application orientation and research mindset.
“The challenge of providing quality education for millennium generations is significant and academic institutions must adapt to their aspirations. The Telangana State Council is working to meet these expectations by redesigning its curriculum, introducing new courses and forge collaborations between industry and academia. They have also introduced a unique digital admission system, making it accessible to everyone and easy to get admission from anytime, anywhere across the state. This has had a positive impact on the enrolment ratio, which is currently 39.1 and for women, more than 40.3,” R. Limbadri, Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education, shared.
Talking about the issue of job elimination and the rise of new start-ups, JA Chowdary, Founder, Architect, Former Special Chief Secretary & IT Advisor, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, said, “Future jobs will be created by companies using technologies like GPT or prompt engineering, which require specific skills.” He discussed at length the kind of jobs that will be available in future and said, “We need new education policy in 2030 to ensure that the country remains competitive in the global economy.”
The session was chaired by V Venkata Ramana, Vice Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education, who pointed out that “Telangana has become a go-to state for education for industries. The efforts of all stakeholders has made Telangana occupy a place of pride in the country.”
Sudhakar Rao, Director - ICFAI Group of Educational Institutions, making the concluding remarks, pointed out that India is poised to have the largest productive youngest population within three decades, and has a huge growth potential. He reiterated what the panellists emphasised – generating an inspiring pool of teachers, creating a craving in students to pursue their dreams, creating an appropriate ecosystem and paraphernalia for education, especially technological tools, and harnessing education to develop the country.
