In a Symposium organised by Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce today Rev. Fr. Dr. J.Felix Raj, S.J., Principal, St. Xavier’s College, highlighted the differences in occupational structure in India where more than 60p.c. people are employed in agriculture and feeding the nation compared to 4 or 5p.c. in the developed countries. While analysing the India’s present economic and educational scenario, he said that out of 100 students that joins the primary education only 15 are participating in the higher education process and only 8 are becoming Graduate. He emphasized on the need of innovative ways of teaching and learning coupled with academic auditing for improvement and reforms in the higher education system. He felt focus of higher education should be to produce not managers but entrepreneurs particularly in an economy like India where service sector plays the dominant role in the GDP basket.
Prof. Ashoke Ranjan Thakur, Vice Chancellor , West Bengal State University emphasized on the development of skill__sets and focused on ‘out of the box’ teaching approach as in the current technological development the students have better access to the information and knowledge through internet and other media and teachers should act as a facilitator. He also insisted on close co-operation between industry and academia for bringing out industry__ ready students.
Shri Sudesh Sonthalia, President, Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce said that India would face a talent gap of more than 5 million people by 2012 as per a recent report. He mentioned that as per another report by ‘Aspiring Minds’, for over 40,000 engineering and MCA final year students in 12 states across the country, majority of whom are not employable and hardly 18p.c. could be offered jobs after 3-6 months of in-house training provided by the employer. He felt that the present system of higher education seems to be characterised by out-dated syllabi, in-adequate faculty, low-quality education, and above all frequent disruption of teaching environment in Schools & Colleges.
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