|
3.
EARLIER SUGGESTIONS AND PROGRAMMES FOR COORDINATED ACTION
In
the face of the deteriorating situation described in the previous
Section, there have been several carefully thought-out suggestions
for positive action made by responsible and concerned academic
groups in the country. Therefore, before going on to a discussion
of what the Academy can do, both on its own and in concert
with other bodies, it is useful to consider briefly some of
these suggestions, at least in outline, if only to demonstrate
that the desire to do something, and fairly specific proposals
for action, have not been wanting.
a)
Planning Commission Initiative [4]
A
Working Group to suggest ways and means of improving university
science education, especially at the undergraduate level,
was set up by the Planning Commission in 1989. This Group
prepared a detailed proposal, expressing the hope that the
action suggested would be taken starting August 1990. Though
this has not happened, the proposal itself is still worth
scrutiny. This proposal, or possibly some suitable variant
of it, would be a good starting point to reverse the many
undesirable trends in the present situation.
The
proposal involves working 'at three tiers, each aimed at a
particular segment of the student population. They may be
briefly described as follows:
Tier
I: This is aimed at the highly talented group of students,
the number per year being estimated at about 700 (i.e., 0.5%
of the total of about 1,50,000 students entering undergraduate
science courses each year)*. The proposal is to introduce
a very carefully planned five year Integrated M.Sc. programme
in a few institutions (structured like the family of I.I.T.'s).
They could be independent institutes, or alternatively the
UGC could choose a few Centres in existing institutions, say
3 Centres to cater to Physics and Chemistry, 2 to cater to
the Life Sciences, and 2 to the Mathematical Sciences. With
seven such Centres, each could admit 100 students per year
based on merit alone, through a common entrance test conducted
nationwide. The courses in Year I would be common to * These
and subsequent figures in this Section are estimates made
be, the Planning Commission Working Group, and refer to 1989.
all
streams, ensuring that the foundations of each major subject
are properly covered. Years 2 and 3 would be like a B.Sc.
(Honours) programme, involving one main subject leading up
to the M.Sc., and two subsidiary subjects. At the end of Year
3, a successful student could either leave with a B.Sc. (Honours)
degree, or proceed to M.Sc. Years 4 and 5 should bring the
student to the threshold of research.
Every
student should acquire basic levels of proficiency in mathematics,
computers and electronics; and the entire programme should
be challenging, and flexible enough to permit combinations
of subjects like physics and biology, mathematics and biology
etc. Students should be provided with reasonable scholarships
to finance their education and major agencies such as DAE,
ISRO and CSIR should be persuaded to assure career opportunities
to the most successful students coming out of this course.
Tier
II: This is aimed at the next segment of the undergraduate
science student group numbering about 24,000 per year (about
16% of the students entering each year). The purpose is to
raise the general level of undergraduate science teaching
at a large number of selected institutions spread all over
the country. The UGC may select 20 colleges each year over
a five year period - thus ultimately reaching a total of 100
colleges. Financial assistance should be provided to such
colleges to formulate and introduce 3 year B.Sc. degree courses
of high academic quality and content. Each college would admit
240 students per year, based on a locally conducted entrance
test. Year I of the course would have a curriculum common
to all students, while Years 2 and 3 would cover one main
and two subsidiary subjects. By 'the time 100 colleges introduce
such programmes, the annual admissions would reach 24,000.
Tier
III: Tiers I and II together would cater to almost 25,000
students, out of the total of 1,50,000 entering undergraduate
science each year. The remaining 1,25,000 (constituting, 84%
of the total) form such a large group that in order to improve
matters for them it becomes essential to go beyond conventional
systems and methods. Most of these students study in affiliated
colleges many of which have indifferent faculty and inadequate
infrastructure. To cope with the vast numbers involved, one
has to employ new methods of communication and distance education
such as video taping of lectures by outstanding teachers,
preparing entire courses of lectures on tape, periodic teacher
training programmes at nearby universities etc. The financial
estimates made in 1999 by the Working Group for a full five
year programme were as follows: Tier I - 25 crores, Tier 11
- 60 crores, Tier III - 30 crores.
b)
UGC Curriculum Development Centres Programme [6]
The
UGC set up these Centres in 1988 in various subjects, each
Centre being located at a University Department. Their terms
of reference included the assessment of the quality and content
of existing curricula in various universities, and evolving
new curricula at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels
in each subject in order to promote excellence in teaching
at these levels. As a result of the efforts of these Centres,
detailed curricula have in fact been evolved for the B.Sc.
(General) Course and for subject-specific B.Sc. and M.Sc.
(say, in physics) courses. This careful work can provide the
basis for updating and improvement by other bodies in coming
years.
c)
Quality University Education for Scientific Talent - the QUEST
Programme [7]
This
programme has been evolved by a group based at Panjab University,
Chandigarh, and is similar in spirit to the Tier I Integrated
M.Sc. programme described in subsection (a) above. The aim
here is to train and produce highly competent scientists who
are at the same time well rounded human beings. The courses
during the first three years would be common to all students
and would cover the basics of mathematics, physics, chemistry
and life sciences. Also included would be computer programming
and visualization, an introduction to earth sciences, and
experimental courses which emphasize planning and designing
of one's own experiments. After the common three year training,
opportunities would be provided to branch out in different
directions. At the end of the five year course, each student
should be highly competent in a "principal" subject and quite
well prepared in at least one other. By bringing home the
unifying conceptual foundations of science, and also providing
exposure to technology and problems of industry, each student
should be able to act as a spokesman for science in society
and have the self-confidence to attempt scientific solutions
to practical real-life or field problems.
d) The M.Sc. (Biotechnology) Programme of the Department
of Biotechnology (DBT)
The
pioneering efforts of DBT in promoting post-graduate education
and research have been fruitful in the life sciences area.
Special M.Sc. courses in biotechnology in a selected group
of institutions, with student scholarships provided by DBT
and selection via a national level test, have, in addition
to providing trained humanpower for the rapidly growing biotechnology
industry, raised the general level of biology education in
the country. A considerable amount of basic biochemistry and
molecular biology is being imparted in these courses.
Efforts
are also being made along similar lines by the Department
of Electronics and the Defence Research & Development
Organization in other subjects.
e)
Efforts of the National Board of Higher Mathematics [8]
The
National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM), which is funded
by the Department of Atomic Energy, has in the past taken
many innovative steps to make it possible to spot, train and
support talented students in mathematics. Apart from conducting
the Indian National Mathematics Olympiad and training teams
to participate in the International Mathematics Olympiad and
running the 'Nurture Programme' for students who have qualified
in the Indian National Olympiad and the Mathematics Training
& Talent Search Programme, the Board also offers scholarships
for post-graduate students tenable at various institutions
in the country.
f)
Initiatives of the Technology Information, Forecasting and
Assessment Council
As
mentioned in Section 2, no reliable estimates of the requirements
of trained scientific humanpower for various national tasks
seem to be currently available. The Technology Information,
Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), which functions
within DST, has recently taken up the task of assessing these
needs in some detail. Apart from the qualitative and quantitative
aspects of science education, an effort is being made to ascertain
the means to provide commensurate employment and career opportunities
to specially trained science graduates.
TIFAC
is working with agencies such as UGC, NCERT, the Department
of Education, IIT'S, IIM's and AICTE in tackling these questions.
g)
INSA Reports on the National Status in the Sciences (1994)
As
part of its Diamond Jubilee activities, the Indian National
Science Academy has recently commissioned special studies
on the status of education in the various sciences, viz.,
physics, chemistry, etc. These will also be submitted as national
status reports to such bodies as the International Unions
of Pure & Applied Physics and Pure & Applied Chemistry.
The document devoted to physics education [51, for instance,
examines the situation at the +2, undergraduate, post-graduate
and predoctoral stages, and makes several valuable suggestions
for improvement in the quality of education offered; it also
comments on the need for and growth in popular science exposition,
links with industry, efforts by voluntary bodies etc.
Apart
from the above, there have been State-level efforts at assessment
and improvement of university education. As an example, we
may mention the report of the Committee constituted by Mr.
C. Subramaniam when he was the Governor of Maharashtra, to
look at possible reforms in the universities in the State
[9].
Before
concluding this Section it must be acknowledged that the philosophical
underpinnings of many of the ideas above, and those of the
next Section, have been anticipated in two remarkable documents:
(i) the Report of the University Education Commission, December
1948 - August 1949 [10], and (ii) the Report of the Education
Commission, 1964-1966 [11], popularly known as the Radhakrishnan
Commission and the Kothari Commission after their respective
Chairmen. If (or perhaps, optimistically, we should say "when"!)
some of the suggestions in the present document are implemented,
it would be most instructive to examine these early and extremely
thorough reports in detail, both for the broad philosophy
of their approach to the role of education in our lives, and
for specific details concerning implementation of their recommendations.
|
