Chapter 7

o.Overview of the Major Initiatives

The objective of TANSCHE is to bring about feasible initiatives to improve governance, increase access, ensure equity, encourage research and promote private sector involvement in higher education. With this in view, the following initiatives were formulated.

Governance

  • Relaxing theNorms of Recruiting the Teachers for the vacancies in Government and Government Aided Colleges.
  • Increasing the retirement age in teaching posts from existing 58 and 60 years to around 60 to 65 years respectively in colleges and Universities.
  • Providing autonomy for ensuring self-regulation and state-funded programs to monitor quality of higher education institutions.
  • The drop-outs rate has to be assessed and steps should be taken to minimize drop-outs.
  • Imparting vocational training and skill education to children who drop-out after secondary education and transforming them into human resource.
  • It is desirable to have programmes quantified in terms of credits.
  • Proper communication systems between the University and the study centre are required.
  • Open Universities need to be encouraged to offer quality programmes at the least cost.
  • A regulatory set up is required to ensure that there is no cheating or hoax and fixation of fees should not be in state control.
  • University/institution should have bodies like Planning Board/Academic Council/School Boards and the like for taking academic and administrative decisions.
  • The parent institution should ensure that there is a laid down mechanism for curriculum development and its approval by the statutory authorities of the parent institution, preparation of material in self-learning format and proper policy for admission of students.
  • In consultation with the business and industry, make changes in the curriculum at regular interval.
  • Introduction of “industrial training” wherever possible, at Masters’ level as a two credit course.
  • Universities to organize regular campus interviews.
  • Establish a Skill Development centre in Post Production activity in Media and entertainment.
  • Establishment of a ‘Patent Cell’ in every University and utilize the services of expertise available with the Dr. Ambedkar Law University or the HRD Chair on IPR at the Madras University or Anna University, Chennai.
  • Organize courses designed by Industry (for example – hospital management, waste remediation and pollution control, drug design and development) to meet their requirements. Such courses would require a mechanism for strong interaction between faculty and specified industries.
  • Plan and promote compulsory long term (one semester) internship in industry as part of the credit requirements.
  • University faculty may be appointed formally on government entrepreneurship boards.
  • Retaining researchers of the highest distinction in the University.
  • Increasing of University Fellowships.

Access

  • Establishment of new engineering college one in each of 22 districts of the 32 districts which do not have Government engineering colleges.
  • Expanding of intake capacity of existing universities, colleges and constituent colleges. Starting Evening and week end colleges will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio.
  • Open degree system to be encouraged and enhanced so as to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio.
  • Rural students to be attracted through the Distance Education Mode thereby increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio.
  • There is a great need for providing broad band connectivity to all students along with low priced computer accessibility.
  • Continued establishment of infrastructure will increase the GER substantially. Providing funds for infrastructure development and ICT integration in the existing government colleges and constituent colleges of Universities.
  • Establishing more number of community colleges will increase the GER in the State.
  • Free education to students to increase the GER.
  • Improvement of infrastructural facilities necessary to facilitate innovation in universities and colleges.
  • Equity
  • Emphasis has to be made for including the marginalized stakeholders into the main stream community for a balanced human development.
  • Availability of easier and cheaper bank-loans to the needy students
  • Compulsory elementary education that will strengthen democratic fabric has to be qualitative for first generation learners.
  • Quality
  • There is a need for more merit-based scholarship schemes to the students.
  • Use of smart classrooms, smart whiteboard, LCD projector, Video Conferencing/Internet connectivity, Laptops will facilitate better learning and easy access of the information.
  • Particularly to enhance the quality of the Distance and Open University systems of Education the Technology will play a crucial role.
  • Integration of research and publication and disseminate the knowledge through Information and Communication Technology.
  • Collaborative arrangements with advanced institutions abroad in promoting Internet-based educational programmes in highly specialized areas.
  • Quality of self-learning materials (SIMS) is the most important aspect in the teaching learning process. Self-learning materials could be in the form of printed materials, CD-ROMs, audio, video, DVDs, Web based materials etc. Being a flexible system generally there is minimum and maximum period during which a learner is supposed to complete the programme of study.
  • The quality of faculty members needs to be addressed by proper focus on faculty development initiatives at all levels – Central, State and Institution level.
  • The teachers shall be properly trained and counseled on this issue to improve the quality of higher education learners.
  • Training institutions specifically for educational institutions need to be set up. New methods and modes of teaching are to be adopted to increase GER.
  • Good salary packages and benefits to the faculty so that good brains can be attracted to this profession.
  • An Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution should offer programmes as per the objectives o the University/Institution.
  • Proper student support service is performed practically.
  • All this would be possible only when the planners, policy makers, faculty members, other part-time and full time staff including technical and administrative personnel, individually and collectively keep themselves updated with necessary information and knowledge, about the general happenings within these systems and outside of the systems on the general as well as specific developments in the field of distance education.
  • Communication skill training should start at the school level itself. Students should be enabled, at least from higher secondary level to acquire proficiency in presentation and writing skills. In both English and local languages.
  • Courses and curriculum offered by the Universities and Professional colleges must be need based, attractive and in diverse fields.
  • Organize diverse programmes to motivate students for skill development and to innovate.
  • Provide incentives to teachers and researchers for patents filed.
  • Set up innovation awards for scientists, technologists, researchers and others for the specific innovations made and publicize such awards to motivate the others in turn.
  • Universities to showcase the available talents on a regular basis.
  • Students must have communication skills and general life skills to interact with society and general public. This would include knowledge of their general civic rights and duties, awareness of public and private services and how to use them.
  • Improve the quality of practical training at the colleges and universities.
  • Identify the marketable innovative ideas, processes, products and prototype and formation of multi-disciplinary teams.
  • Organize short-term entrepreneurship training courses in areas like mushroom culture.
  • Create a market or cooperative for products and services in the field of traditional knowledge.
  • Create or establish ‘consortia’ / ‘clusters’ in diverse fields of science, technology and communication, in an effort to bring individuals, researchers, experts and institutions together in a specified area or field.
  • The Governor-Chancellor to convene the meeting of the Vice Chancellors at regular intervals to oversee that the efforts taken is implemented effectively.
  • Universities to submit joint research proposals to National and International funding agencies.
  • Universities to submit joint research proposals to National and International funding agencies.
  • Promote among universities the University-Industry Interface through direct Faculty-Industry interactions (rather than through training students) and establish a committee to take necessary steps in this regard.
  • Establish a Centre for Excellence in Auto and Automotive Technology.
  • Establish a Centre for Excellence in Nano technology
  • Establish a Centre for Excellence in Solar and clean technology.
  • Establish a Centre for Excellence in bio-technology.
  • Since there is enormous unidentified potential for developing industries, Universities (or Government) may appoint expert technology and business development consultants to study University research, development and training processes and identify industrial potential.
  • Identifying best-performing research in the university.
  • Instituting Awards for publications in SCI journals.
  • Empowerment of members of the faculties through ICT tools.
  • Exploring research funding policies compounded with the desire to achieve domestic and international recognition.
  • ICT based quality education as learning technology.
  • Encouraging interactions between students and entrepreneurs to develop critical thinking.
  • Providing quality training to trainers.
  • Evolving market-relevant/need-based educational programmes.
  • Career Guidance and Counselling to advice students on employment opportunities and career paths.
  • Revamping the curriculum periodically suited to job requirement.
  • Developing lifelong learning policies.
  • Sports in the educational institutions to be part of core-curriculum instead of extra-curriculum for physical fitness/recreation than for competition.
  • Encouraging yoga education.
  • Developing technical, vocation education and training.
  • Capacity building.
  • Making appointment of Physical Education Teacher compulsory in schools/colleges.
  • Promotion of entrepreneurship education for self-employment.
  • Improving the educational infrastructure.
  • Promoting Regional Centres of Excellence in Higher Education.
  • Focusing on Science and Technology innovation.
  • To have built-in impact evaluation component to ensure that they are result-based focusing on quality and learning outcomes.
  • Strengthening knowledge and understanding of disaster management.
  • Making mandatory assessment and accreditation of institutions
  • Providing employment through creation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for regionally balanced economic and social development.
  • Research
  • All the Universities in Tamilnadu to indicate their strength in research in specified areas as well as the infrastructural facilities available with them in a proforma along with their future requirements to promote joint research among individuals and institutions.
  • Promote the trasnslational research potential like the Techno-entrepreneur Promotion Programme (TePP).
  • Set up institutional support for ‘incubator schemes’ at every University to promote entrepreneurial skill among motivated young graduates.
  • Providing seed-grant to select candidates, based on specific criteria, for start-ups.
  • Increase the intake of Ph.D. candidates with potential to innovate.
  • Organize a series of awareness programme on the importance and relevance of patent, patent application and benefits of such patents.
  • Facilitate/promote Memorandum of understanding among all the Universities in Tamilnadu to further promote joint research, training as well as sharing the available research facilities.
  • Institutionalized patent protection for traditional knowledge, both for products and services.
  • Create and assist access to global market for such products and services.
  • Create an exclusive corpus for Research and Development in every University.
  • Establish an International Centre Research Facilitation and training.
  • Enhancing Research Profile of the University by Setting up research centres of excellence, creating Annual research activity report mechanism, Setting up research database and setting up Institutional research plans.
  • Publishing research reports, discussion papers, monographs, conference proceedings, data set.
  • Exchange good Research practices across different universities in Tamilnadu.
  • Increasing volumes of research of data/information produced by researchers and of data/information to which researchers need access.
  • More research degree program.
  • Finding the resources from within the university to build research expertise.
  • Assisting faculty to apply for research grants from central agencies.
  • Recognizing leading research laboratories as Research centres.
  • Organizing Capacity building for research scholars in Research Components.
  • Providing of a platform for Maximum utilization for following resources
  • Websites and home pages
  • Gateways and portals
  • Full text Databases
  • Scholarly Publications
  • Search Engines
  • Discussion Groups and open software applications
  • Courseware
  • Research repositories
  • Web content
  • N list, Infblinet and infonet.
  • Increasing substantially the Long-term trends in the external financing of academic research.
  • Providing the academic and administrative services and facilities needed to facilitate research excellence and knowledge transfer.
  • Taking care of Government policies as the institutional visions of research and development.
  • Facilitating with Interdisciplinary academic clusters.
  • Exploring the possibility for Publication of industrial-academic cooperative research.
  • Sharing the expertise with growing universities or institutions aspiring to gain research recognition.
  • Encouraging quantum of inter-disciplinary researches.
  • Pooling of resources by different institutions.
  • Tying up with institutions of National importance.
  • Increased access to open and public data for provision of public services.
  • Education and skills training using ICT.
  • Mobile applications for education.
  • Emphasizing ownership of intellectual property in R & D.
  • Strengthening the commitments of R & D for more patent licensing.
  • Creating of synergies in innovative programmes.
  • Collaborating with high research profile Partners.
  • Addressing the most intellectually exciting scientific and technological questions.
  • Linking funding to University Research Performance (URP) in other countries.
  • Incorporating International Research practices.
  • Promoting Research Consultancy with global importance.
  • Exchanging good research practices across the Globe
  • Increasing number of patents.
  • Increasing bandwidth demands bring a pressing need for better utilization of bandwidth through efficient spectrum allocation.
  • Developing large networked systems, machine-to-machine communication, cloud computing, wireless networks and smart networks.
  • Researching through mobile network system.
  • Providing a tablet pc to all the faculty members.
  • Developing quality e-content generation on different components of research.
  • Concentrating researches on GIS, e-Waste management and ground water management.
  • Establishing Green computing and green device designs.

P.Private Sector Participation

The State has been encouraging private sector participation to ensure its holistic development. Some of the initiatives taken in this regard are listed below:

  • Government should offer tax concessions/fiscal incentives for setting up campuses of higher education by private/corporate sectors.
  • Apart from private-sector support, the provisions relating to Foreign Direct Investment should also be eased.
  • Big corporate houses should take the lead in setting up endowments for supporting higher education institutions.
  • Organize Industry – University joint ‘Short Term Certificate Courses’ in special areas of industrial and business importance.
  • Organize a series of workshops with business houses and industry leaders in seeking technology transfer for converting patent into products or services.
  • To initiate process of identification of experts in diverse fields of industry, business and government and empanel them as co-guides to supervise Ph.D. candidates and research projects.
  • Government to convene a meeting of all stakeholders( Universities, business houses, industry, their associations) for providing a platform to kick-start the process of bringing University-Industry interface.
  • Organize summer internship programmes in which students spend a month in an industry or industry related institutions.
  • Establish a Cell with an expert Liaison Officer, preferably with an industry or business background, to study industry requirements and report to the University Authorities on a regular basis. This will give inputs to Universities to modify courses in tune with industry requirements.
  • To include representatives of industry, business, trade and government in Board of Studies, University bodies and Committees and to initiate necessary amendments wherever necessary.
  • The Government to create ‘single window clearances’ for promoting the university-industry interface.
  • To establish University-Industry partnership to solve the problems of the state and the nation like the mosquito vector control, Carbon-di-oxide sensors to check microbial contamination in processed food, bio-therapeutics, converting waste into bio-energy and the like.
  • As part of Corporate Social Responsibility, the Industry should contribute to a maximum extent of the potential for the benefit of research activities and the Government to be requested to take necessary action in this regard.
  • Promoting Industrial support of academic research
  • Encouraging collaboration, regionally, nationally and internationally and effective partnerships with other research institutions, research agencies, funding bodies/sponsors and benefactors.
  • Collaboration with industries for promotion of sports in the form of sponsorships / endowments in the educational institutions.

Q.Detailed component- wise allocations

Component 1and 2

New Universities by Up gradation of existing autonomous colleges

Conversion of Colleges to Cluster Universities

The 12 state universities located in various districts are functioning with the objective of imparting higher education to students of all walks of life and also providing accessibility by virtue of it being positioned in strategic locations across the State. These Universities have a reasonable number of affiliated colleges. Considering the fact that increase in the number of colleges would only burden the University and reduce it to an administrative and exam conducting unit, more colleges have been granted autonomy, to resolve this challenge. In Tamilnadu, 25 colleges are enjoying autonomous status. These colleges function independently and behave like free Universities. The Government autonomous colleges function very effectively and enjoy their autonomy as much as the private autonomous colleges. The 81 Government colleges are located to offer maximum accessibility to students and these cover all the geographical gaps. The 21 New Model colleges have been established in regions identified as backward areas. Whenever, the Government starts a new college, it is very keen to establish them in backward areas. This stance taken by the State Government ensures that the University functions as an efficient institutional structure and focuses on creativity in teaching, learning, curriculum development and research. Further, quality enhancement and accountability are assured because of the autonomous status given to colleges and therefore the burden of the Universities is considerably reduced. The universities which offer distance education have a separate directorate to look into the administration and effective functioning of this wing. Consequently, the academics in the University are more focused on promoting teaching and research. Therefore, Tamilnadu has decided against the creation of more universities, and the conversion of colleges to cluster universities but, would rather expend their energies and focus on routing mediocrity and enriching education with a view to achieving excellence.