Page 32 - EW July 2021 final

Expert Comment

Ill-advised changes in

engineering education

R. NATARAJAN

N ITS APPROVAL PROCESS HANDBOOK 2021-22 By falling in line with NEP 2020 and
released in early March, the Delhi-based All India particularly its advocacy of multi-disci-
Council for Technical Education (AICTE), established
Iin 1987 by Parliament to licence and supervise all plinary education, AICTE has diluted the
technical education institutions countrywide, has made
class XII physics and mathematics optional subjects for importance of physics and maths, the
admission into undergraduate engineering courses. The building blocks of engineering education
rationale of this revolutionary departure from conven-
tional wisdom and universal practice, is that it is in con-
sonance with the objectives of the new National Educa- Organisation (DRDO) and currently a full-time member
tion Policy (NEP) 2020. of Niti Aayog, the Central government public policy think-
For the past several decades, admission into India’s tank. According to Saraswat this proposal will prove to
3,415 engineering colleges including the globally famous be “disastrous” and “further deteriorate” standards of
IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) was dependent on engineering education.
class XII students’ aggregate scores in physics, math- Bridge courses are by definition remedial programmes
ematics and either chemistry, biotechnology/biology or and it’s highly unlikely that in a short duration of three-
an elective technical vocation subject with PCM (physics, four weeks, a student will become sufficiently competent
chemistry and maths) being the most common combina- in mathematics and physics to avail the full benefit of a
tion. four-year engineering undergrad programme. Admittedly
Under the changed rules, maths and physics are in the US and some Western countries, undergrad engi-
listed among 12 optional subjects — physics, mathemat- neering programmes offer flexibility to students to choose
ics, chemistry, computer science, electronics, informa- from a wide range of electives. But the Indian economy
tion technology, biology, informatics practice, technical is at a stage when depth in core traditional engineering
vocational subject, agriculture, biotechnology, engineer- subjects is more important for engineers than knowledge
ing graphics, business studies, entrepreneurship — from of liberal and fine arts.
t is submitted that by falling in line with the objectives
which class XII students can choose any three. The Iof NEP 2020 and particularly its advocacy of multi-
rationale for this change advanced by Dr. Anil Sahas-
rabuddhe, chairman of AICTE, is that NEP 2020 encour- disciplinary undergrad education, AICTE has diluted
the importance of vital subjects and disciplines in favour
ages multi-disciplinary undergraduate education. “After
15 years of school education, an undergrad engineering of multi- and inter-disciplinary studies, and liberal arts
student can go for undergrad studies across disciplines… over rigorous STEM education. For instance, NEP 2020
A new window has been created where students who have recommends that the IITs should be transformed into
not taken physics and maths in school can enter engineer- multi-disciplinary universities ignoring the reality that
ing education,” says Sahasrabuddhe. most IITs are already multi-disciplinary institutions
Following criticism of this radical departure from with faculties of the humanities and social sciences,
convention and past practice, AICTE spokespersons have economics, languages, etc. NEP 2020 also downplays the
suggested bridge courses for students who have not writ- importance of specialised higher education institutions —
ten physics and maths exams in class XII, thereby tacitly technical, medical, legal universities — overlooking that
acknowledging that deep knowledge of these subjects is specialisation confers depth, while generalisation leads to
critical for the study of engineering in higher education. breadth without depth.
There were good reasons why physics and maths were Moreover, NEP 2020 is too India-centric and ignores
made compulsory courses within the undergrad cur- global standards and trends. There are some systemic
riculum and others were offered as co-curricular courses flaws too, such as prescribing accreditation as the basis
and extra-curricular experiences. The plain truth widely for regulation. Accreditation is awarded after two batches
acknowledged for decades is that physics and maths are have graduated, demonstrating the qualitative perfor-
the building blocks of all engineering and technology mance of academic systems and processes of higher
study programmes. That’s why best universities world- education institutions. In sum, AICTE’s anxiety to make
wide mandate the study of physics and mathematics for substantive changes in time-tested curriculums, systems
four or more semesters and also offer them as electives. and processes to realise the objectives of NEP 2020 is ill-
These subjects cannot be mastered through self-learning advised and deserves further debate.
or bridge courses.
This assertion is endorsed by Dr.V.K.Saraswat, former (Dr. R. Natarajan is former director of IIT-Madras and former chairman of
director-general of the Defence Research & Development All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE))

32 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2021