Table of Contents
Introduction
The unveiling of the new education policy 2020 is going to have long-term effects on the higher education sector. The changes that have been brought about by the new education policy have directly targeted the higher education sector with the aim of harnessing the real potential of the sector. The endeavor to create a robust educational system and a pool of talent will have direct consequences on aktu colleges. The curriculum of such colleges has not been updated for a very long time now. The critics have gone to the extent of labeling the educational progress in notable colleges as a process of rationalization rather than modernization. The new educational policy not only sets proper plans for various changes in the higher education sector but also dwells upon a roadmap to achieve the said goals. Let us briefly examine the various changes that we are likely to witness in the higher education system in the next decade.
Changes in the educational curriculum
We are likely to witness a large number of changes taking place in the curriculum of the higher education sector. These changes would reflect the recent advancement in the academic domain and also impress upon the research and development related to that domain. It is an open fact that the education curriculum has not been updated for a very long time. On the other hand, the needs of the industry, businesses, and other organizations have changed drastically. This means that the mismatch between industrial domains and our educational curriculum is not very uncommon. However, this mismatch serves as an indicator of where we can focus our attention and also our energy.
The changes that we would see in the educational curriculum in the next decade would reflect the needs and requirements of the industrial sector. For instance, new courses related to business analytics and business intelligence are likely to be incorporated as elective subjects into the educational curriculum in order to make it more business-oriented in nature. Similarly, in order to cater to the technical needs of the industry, we are likely to witness subjects like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, data analytics, data mining, data structures, operation research, and cloud computing getting a new lease of life. The overall changes in the educational curriculum would reflect a choice-based credit system and cafeteria approach so that the overall educational framework becomes as flexible as possible.
Advancements in infrastructural facilities
The advancements in infrastructural facilities would not only be reflected in the form of laboratories but would also be seen in the form of new research centers coming up. New infrastructure facilities would provide the students with systematic tools and instruments that they can utilize for making notable innovations. This connotes that infrastructure facilities would translate into practical research. This would signify a shift from the previous educational methodologies and pedagogies that have focused on the theoretical learning framework. The advancement in infrastructure facilities would lead to conceiving smart buildings, smart materials, and smart devices that are aligned to the requirements of industry 4.0. In addition to this, such advancements would be driven by an underlying notion of sustainability which was completely missing in our previous infrastructure advancements and editions.
Development of new research frontiers
The higher education system in the country would be inclined towards new research frontiers in the times to come. These research frontiers would be seen in the form of incubation centers, innovation centers, and research hubs that would form a part and parcel of the higher education sector. The aim of new research frontiers would be the alignment and extension of higher education towards making the life of people comfortable and better. In addition to this, the development of new research frontiers would lead to an extension of research to the grassroots level in the form of a trickle-down effect.
Vocational training and skill development In the next decade, vocational training and skill development would become the areas of focus for the higher education sector. When we look at skill development, it would also involve training in new-age skills that are crucial for the students to enter the modern industry. For instance, digital skills like data mining and data visualization would give the students very wide career prospects and enable them to work with emerging businesses and startups. We conclude that training in modern digital skills would become the top priority of higher educational institutes in the next ten years.
