To test students’ understanding of concepts and skill

The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has set the ball rolling for the provision of a model examination format to technical education institutions to test the students’ understanding of concepts and skills, as part of a slew of reforms finalised recently by the technical education regulator.

“The final exams being conducted by the institutions shall test the understanding of the concepts and the skill — rather than the subject knowledge,” says a recent resolution of the AICTE. “A model exam format would be prepared and shared with the institutions and the technical universities for suitable adoption. This aspect would be reviewed at the time of approval.”

Curricula will also be revised annually, the AICTE has resolved.

“Every affiliating technical university shall constitute subject-wise industry consultation committee (ICC) with the mandate of examining the existing curriculum and for making suitable changes in the curriculum every year. This process shall be completed in the month of December each year for the courses to be offered in the coming academic year. Each institution, while applying for approval, shall certify completion of this process, which will be mandatory,” the resolution says.

Refresher course

Teachers in technical institutions will also be required to mandatorily undergo an annual online refresher course to ensure better quality in teaching. Heads of institutions will also have to undergo leadership training.

“Every teacher shall mandatorily undergo an annual refresher course delivered through SWAYAM portal, encapsulating all the major advances in the field of their study. Online courses would also be prepared and delivered through the SWAYAM platform for improving the pedagogical techniques of the teachers. The participation in the courses by at least 50% of the faculty would be a mandatory condition for approval of the institution,” the resolution says.

“Similarly, there should be leadership training to the heads of the institutions once in 2 years. These trainings would also be hosted through the SWAYAM platform.”

This apart, there will be compulsory student induction training to ensure the brushing up of fundamental concepts and required linguistic skills.