Dr M A Shah
A university will mean a multidisciplinary institution that offers undergraduate, graduate, post graduate and doctoral programmes, with high quality teaching, research and community engagement. The New Education Policy drafted by visionaries need to be implemented in systematic and phased manner. NITs and IITs need to strengthen humanities departments, open biological sciences/schools and explore possibilities of nurturing natural sciences by all means. These initiatives shall help us to move slightly faster towards more holistic and multidisciplinary education. The policy which is aligned with SDG-4, intends to bring a systematic reform in the education sector, proposes the revision and revamping of all aspects of the current education structure, including its regulation and governance, besides addressing the 21st Challenges. With climate change, increasing pollution, dreadful infections and depleting natural resources like-fresh air, fresh water, natural forests, there will be a sizeable shift in how we meet the world’s water, air, medicine and food demands, resulting in the need for new skilled labour, particularly in biology, chemistry, physics, agriculture, atmospheric and social science. Thus, we need institutions which are multidisciplinary as world is undergoing rapid changes in almost in all sectors of life.
NIT Srinagar is steadily moving towards the new paradigm. I remember when I entered in NIT Srinagar (erstwhile REC Srinagar) in September 1999, the college was having only Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) in few streams. In year 2003, the Seventeen erstwhile Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) were rechristened as National Institute of Technology (NITs) and taken over as fully funded institutes of the Central Government and granted deemed university status. With this new initiative of making NITs as the institutes of national importance, few new emerging engineering graduate programmes like IT, computer sciences were introduced. Major reforms were made under the zestful and spirited guidance of Prof. A R Chasti and Prof. A M Wani, the then Directors, who widened the path for up-gradation of the institution.
With the arrival of Prof. Rajat Gupta in year 2011, Post Graduate Programmes (M.Tech) flourished and blossomed almost in all engineering disciplines. Many in-service candidates were benefited by these programmes, besides helped in making a competent manpower in Engineering for the state and country. In 2014, having an interesting story behind, I conceived the idea of having post graduate programme in sciences streams particularly in Physics and with support of administration and of capable colleagues, we were able to float the M.Sc in Physics from year 2015. It was a milestone in the history of NIT Srinagar and around 5 batches so for have received degrees.
Prof. Gupta was also able to get 100 scholarships from MHRD for Ph.D students and with this initiative, it gave a new dimension to research activities in the NIT Srinagar. It proliferate the research activities. In year 2018, with the arrival of Prof. Rakesh Sehgal, present Director many new initiatives were taken in academics and few of them are still in process due to unfortunate pandemic which is our common sorrow and common pain. Hundred more Ph.D scholarships were added and we are now having more than 200 Ph.D students excluding sponsored candidates. Many new programmes like M.Sc Chemistry and business courses are being introduced. During this pandemic, I suggested in writing to explore possibilities of opening biological sciences on a pattern of Kusum School of Biological Sciences of IIT Delhi. That will make NIT Srinagar a complete model multidisciplinary institution, but I know it takes decades.
Besides multidimensional institutions, Education must build character, enable learners to be ethical, rational, compassionate and caring, while at the same time prepare them for gainful, fulfilling employment. The gap between the current state of learning outcomes and what is required must be bridged through undertaking major reforms that bring the highest quality and equity. Presently, pedagogy must evolve to make education more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, discussion-based, flexible and of course, enjoyable. Thus, there is need to make existing intuitions/universities multidisciplinary so that all programmes of academics are covered. States and UTs need to implement the policy in phased manner and IITs/ NITs need to be role model.
The author is a faculty at Special Center for Nanosciences PG Department of Physics NIT (Sgr)
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