My take on this has been that higher education should be for a selected number.Let me put that in perspective: in India students migrate from school to PU to graduation with out acquiring any skills that will help them lead a life of a productive citizen.And this number is after the multi millions who drop out of school or are out of school .
Why do the lucky ones migrate mindlessly from one level to another because of two absolutely ridiculous reasons:.Industries demand for higher education where the skill is needed and not the knowledge and a very age bound system.
Industry takes in Graduates and Post graduates for a job that requires a middle schooling. And that happens because we raise false hopes in first generation learners-that if they become a UG or a PG they can just go up the social ladder without an issue;when the reality is the system is heavily loaded against them-English for one;lack of in depth knowledge or skill because the institution did not invest in them and innumerable other issues based on equity
Second: our upper limit for any program be it the IAS or medicine or engineering is 25-28 years.No other developed country closes its door of higher education like we do- and that in a country plagued by poverty.a late realiser is doomed for ever.I know of a guy who did engineering,then his masters in business and realised he wanted to be a doctor.He did his medicine and is now a doctor somewhere in his late thirties.That in the US.Imagine in India .So the scramble ,so much to the detriment of growth in this country.
Where is the time for apprenticeship?
So employability in Higher education becomes a necessity.If after 16/17 years of studying one is unfit for a job thats a lot of national resources wasted.Thats inviting a society to live a life of crime
If higher education is only for Academics and for certain jobs-but all others are skilled at the school level enough to earn a livelihood and be productive we wont have to be speaking on employability.Should someone in a job realise he/she is cut out to be a space scientist-when they are 40-give them the opportunity to go to college and study.Keep the doors of higher education institutions open to all ,of all ages, anytime anywhere .We need to-as a basic right.As the RTI says.
Gowri
ELM, Azim Premji Foundation
"The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car... a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little." ~ Ben Sweetland
President, CORE Foundation
President,Chilume
Mentor—MTC Global Student Chapter
You're never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.
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~Richard Bach
On Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 11:11 PM, padma misra <misrapadma@gmail.com> wrote:
I would like to draw attention to the maslows need hierarchy.
When lower needs are fulfilled..then only higher needs come into play.
Thanks and regards
Dr. Padma misra
On 25 Sep 2014 22:25, "bala bhaskaran" <bala.bhaskaran@gmail.com> wrote:--Dear All,--The heightened focus on employability in higher education shows high level of misconceptions and confusions.Employability is essential and necessary. The fact that this is not inculcated is a tragedy. But the solution is not to replace the objectives of higher education with those of employability. This is the source of all misconceptions.1.All professional courses (medicine, engineering, architecture, accounting, finance,law etc) demand a high level of exposure to the practical field. This is achieved in the academic programs through prolonged internships. In many places this aspect has been forgotten and this is a source of the problem of poor of employability.2. There are many other courses like BA, BSc, BCom etc where large no. of students are enrolled. (Much more than in professional courses). Here there is no organised internship; lately there is neither any serious emphasis on academic rigour. Where will these guys find employment? They will eventually find employment somewhere but totally different from the area of their education. We need to address the disconnect here. Can we bring about a career focus before entering the degree programs?a. In Germany there is a system of young people going through apprenticeship before they join college. After this apprenticeshipmany of the students stay on in employment because the compensation is good and they are not keen on any higher studies.Only those really interested in higher studies come to the Universities.b. We could look at this system implement it on experimental basis in parts thereby reducing the pressure on the institutions of higher learning by reducing the uninterested students in the class room.c. Today we have large number of uninterested students at the PG level also. This phenomenon we see at the MBA class-room. Many students are enrolling only to enhance their job prospects. This has affected the class room processes and the final output.3.In our context, in the name of universal/mass education we are enrolling all those opt for the course and end up diluting the programs because many of the students enrolled are in no way equipped to cope with the program's rigour. We need to offer education to every one who needs it and who deserve it. We should get away from mass education.Mass does get educated ; only individuals get educated.We have created the Frankenstein over the years. Now we have to either live with it or take courage to re-work the system.Warm regardsProf Bala BhaskaranOn Thu, Sep 25, 2014 at 10:27 AM, Varun Arya <aryav@sancharnet.in> wrote:Bholanath, very well said indeed. I am fully aligned to what you have said. Education is a noble cause for the individuals, families, societies and the nations. Period.--
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At 06:58 25-09-2014, you wrote:
Narrow definitions of employability that focus on short-term goals, individual benefits and education as a private good, undermine the key role that higher education plays in the democratic development of society. Misconceptions about employability hinder the development of academic values in higher education and are a threat because they encourage increased commodification and privatisation within the system.
These latter two concepts are quite similar and both of them show the instrumentalisation and changing perception of education – its transformation into a purely economic factor and a resource for prosperity.
Commodification refers to the increasingly commercialised way in which higher education is being dealt with, while privatisation refers to a tendency of higher education institutions to take on operational norms associated with private enterprises.
The consequences of these threats are an elitist approach to higher education, reflected in cuts to national education budgets, the introduction of tuition fees, and more limited access to higher education. Students are also turned into consumers or sometimes even a product.
Students are not users of the system, nor are they consumers. They are active partners who contribute to the reform and development of higher education with their knowledge, experience and expertise.
Moreover, together with other partners they create the common ground for discussions and encourage an objective approach to higher education as a tool for social development.
Request views…………….
Educate, Empower, Elevate
Prof. Bholanath Dutta
Founder, Convener & President
MTC Global & Knowledge Cafe
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