KSHEC moots overhaul of academic calendar preparation for UG programmes

The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has mooted a plan for overhaul of the academic calendar preparation in higher education institutions. The proposal was presented at a Vice-Chancellors’ Conclave organised by the council here on Tuesday. Vice-Chancellors of universities in the State participated in the conclave. It was inaugurated by Minister for Higher Education Roji M. John. The council proposed preparation of academic calendar for four years — from the time a batch of students begins an undergraduate course to when they complete it.

A portal will be readied to support the implementation of the academic calendar from the 2027 academic year. All universities will have to upload information on the portal to ensure compliance with the academic calendar. Any deviations will be flagged.

Listing deadlines

Going a step further, the council has listed deadlines for other processes to ensure compliance with the activities or events on the academic calendar. For instance, if a youth festival has to be conducted during a semester, funds have to be released on time. But that is possible only if accounts for the previous year are settled by the unions. Such ‘dependencies’ have been listed on the portal so that deadlines are not missed and the academic calendar does not get disrupted.

Discussions were held at the conclave on roping in retired teachers for valuation of answer scripts so as to achieve the requisite number of working days. Often, it is found that academic calendars are disrupted when teachers are deployed for evaluation of answer scripts and college students are given holidays for conduct of valuation camps. When retired teachers evaluate answer scripts, the teaching schedule will not be affected.

Another proposal is the Kerala Campus Diversity Mission whose objective is to attract not only students from foreign countries to Keralam but also those from other Indian States. With this in mind, a fellowship will be given to two students from each State for studying in Keralam.

Restructuring of programmes

The council has mooted restructuring of existing programmes against the backdrop of a drop in student enrolments in traditional programmes when new courses are launched. This will help utilise the services of qualified and trained permanent teachers. For instance, instead of a Mathematics programme, the institutions will be encouraged to come up with Mathematics and Data Analytics or Mathematics and Computer Science. The discussions spanned the current scenario in higher education, future development prospects, challenges faced by universities, and new interventions.

Council Vice-Chairperson Achuthsankar S. Nair and member secretary Abida Farooqi presented the KSHEC’s ongoing activities and future action plans. Higher Education department Principal Secretary B. Ashok gave a presentation on the administration initiatives in the higher education sector.

The Vice-Chancellors shared suggestions for improving the quality of higher education and enhancing academic and administrative efficiency of universities. The need to further strengthen coordination among the government, universities, and the KSHEC was additionally discussed. The conclave praised the Higher Education Minister and the government for taking prompt action in connection with the alleged assault on Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit V-C Ciza Thomas.