The proposed Centres of Excellence wil initially function as inter-university autonomous institutions for higher education in Kerala.
The higher education sector in Kerala will soon be richer with 30 centres of excellence (CoEs) being lined up. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who spoke after inaugurating a workshop that aimed at strengthening the higher education sector in Kerala said that these proposed CoEs will be initially rolled out as inter-university autonomous institutions.
Listing out the state’s plans for the betterment of the higher education scenario, the Chief Minister said that measures will be charted out taken to bring select institutes of higher learning in Kerala under the State Institutes of Technical Excellence.
Universities urged to establish incubation, start-up centres
He also called upon the universities to plan and implement incubation centres and start-up centres as part of the curriculum so that students can grow up to be employers. He suggested that the universities functioning in Kerala need to work towards a minimum 3.5 NAAC grade. The academic standards and physical facilities should be improved in this regard, he added.
The state wants to ensure that all departments in the technical education institutes would excel and that all establishments would undergo inspections in a timely manner. On the basis of such inspections, the areas that are to be improved by the institutions need to be identified and a blueprint should be prepared towards achieving their goals. The Chief Minister added that these plans should be implemented in a timely manner.
Higher education institutes asked to usher in Earn by Learn programmes
Besides, higher education institutes need to mull over and implement an Earn by Learn programme so that students would get to generate income along with their education.
Some time ago, the Kerala Higher Education Department Minister Dr.R. Bindu had announced that the department has constituted as many as three high-level panels comprising top-level academics in an effort to push forward-looking reforms in the higher education sector.
These high-level panels are expected to recommend the implementation of reforms in the academic as well as administrative arenas in the sector.