Explain the measures taken by the government of India that enabled higher education to capitalise on 4th Industrial Revolution. (250 Words)
Refer - Business Line
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
· Microsoft India said it plans to train five lakh youth in artificial intelligence across the country over the next three years and set up AI labs in 10 universities.
· The announcement is being seen as a potential game-changer for the fledging sector in India. It also indicates the direction higher education in the country should be taking in the next decade.
Measures taken
· The Graded Autonomy status granted by the University Grants Commission (UGC), has given the freedom to higher education institutions to launch new courses, off-campus centres, skill development courses, and foster other academic collaborations with industry.
· In simple terms, this means that new-age courses in emerging technologies can be easily launched by universities without being delayed by the regulator’s approval.
· Even as the country is debating liberalising the education sector, with an emphasis on autonomy and quality, our academic institutes lack a performance-based public ranking system. The gap is set to be filled after the Ministry of Human Resource Development launched the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation and Achievements (ARIIA).
· Under this initiative, by April 2019, over 800 higher education institutes will be ranked on parameters related to innovation and entrepreneurship development. For example, universities that create an ecosystem for students to launch market-ready products, launch start-ups etc., through new courses, will be highly rewarded under the rankings.
· The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), on the other hand, has reduced the minimum credits needed for a degree from 180 to 160, thus effectively reducing a full semester of academic load for students and faculty.
· Through the AICTE-formulated National Student Start-up Policy, India’s engineering education regulator is enabling bright students to take up courses in emerging technologies and learn practical engineering skills by working on prototypes and gain a “minor degree”.
· The interlinking of these measures will let institutes adopt new technology courses (elective and minor) with industry partnerships and, for example, introduce a degree in MBA in Technology Entrepreneurship through incubators, which stand a greater chance of going up in innovation rankings.
Sandeep 5 years
Kindly review thanks
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good answer. Keep Writing.
