Cybersecurity course to be made compulsory in Karnataka’s higher education curriculum
The Karnataka Higher Education Council is planning to make cybersecurity learning compulsory
Cybersecurity and all things related to it are in. With the cyberspace now being threatened by deviant forces from all around, protection of data and lives have turned necessary than ever before.
In a move that could go a long way in educating tomorrow’s citizens about the many facets of cybersecurity and the importance of making cyberspaces secure, the Karnataka state government is lining up cybersecurity as part of the higher education curriculum.
It is a known fact that cybercrimes have turned out to be a daily phenomenon these days, and this calls for the inclusion of cybersecurity courses in the curriculum.
The Karnataka Higher Education Council is readying means to make this possible. A report quoted Professor B Thimmegowda, vice-chairman of Karnataka Higher Education Council, saying that a cybersecurity course would be a compulsory subject in all degree courses from the next academic year.
Cybersecurity in curriculum need of the hour
Going by what we understand, the Karnataka Higher Education Council new cybersecurity course in the higher education sector will be included apart from the existing Information and Technology and Computer Science courses. The state Higher Education Council has stated that Artificial Intelligence and digital fluency portions have already become part of the curriculum starting this year.
The department will take steps to compulsorily include the cybersecurity course for all degree students irrespective of their streams. This is to be done in collaboration with NASSCOM.
The state is of the opinion that courses in cybersecurity are a must to be added to the curriculum of even the non-technical students pursuing their education in Karnataka. as well. It needs to be recalled that the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 had mandated that digital literacy courses such as cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence need to be mandatory.
Cybersecurity Policy soon
The Karnataka administration, in the meantime, is also looking to release a Cybersecurity Policy with a view towards building a strong cybersecurity ecosystem in the state. This policy will also look towards defining the strategies to protect the state’s IT assets.
Besides these, the state government is also lining up measures to constitute a State Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the effective coordination of responses to cyber security incidents at the state level.
This is being envisaged to be kicked off by CySecK – the K-tech Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity. The state will launch a series of awareness programmes this month across different sectors to put things in perspective. The report added that CySecK will also be looking towards unveiling activities aimed at promoting cybersecurity.
