Kerala launches four-year undergraduate programmes in all universities

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister

Pinarayi Vijayan

on Monday officially launched four-year

undergraduate programmes

in all universities in the state and said it would bring landmark changes in the higher education sector, which has been witnessing greater changes all over the world. He said the conventional modes of learning have changed and the

higher education sector

is becoming an area of skill development, employment training and knowledge generation.

The undergraduate programmes and the courses in the state were revised in accordance with the changes happening in the higher education sector, which is enjoying top priority in the state, he said.
The CM said the new reforms would bring greater changes in the content and structure of the higher education sector of the state, which was once confined to learning from college campuses alone.
Under the new four-year undergraduate programmes, divergent areas, including online platforms, practical training, and field visits would get equal importance, he explained.

Vijayan inaugurated the new programme at a function held at the Government College for Women here.
“This is a time when our knowledge and employment sectors are witnessing greater changes. It will be reflected mostly in the higher education sector,” he said.
The Left veteran further explained that a dual-faced approach giving equal importance to knowledge generation and skill development would be the highlight of the revised course and curriculum.

He said one of the main features of the programmes was that the students could design their course and curriculum on their own.
The present changes were made in teaching, learning and evaluation. In the next stage, it should be the restructuring of the existing programme, he said.
Vijayan said that along with the curriculum revision and programme reformations, his government was giving equal importance to infrastructure development as well.
Freedom of students is the core aspect of educational reforms, he said.