The state government will establish a monitoring committee, consisting of vice-chancellors, as part of the initiation of four-year undergraduate (UG) programmes scheduled to commence in universities and colleges in the state from next year.
This decision was made during the first governing body meeting of the Higher Education Council, which was recently reconstituted. The meeting also resolved to urge the state government to introduce legislation aimed at regulating educational consultancies, following a directive from the court. A draft of the legislation will be submitted to the government, said the authorities.
The recommendations related to this initiative were approved by the governing body, and these recommendations were formulated by a committee chaired by Saji Gopinath, the inaugural Vice Chancellor of the newly established Digital University Kerala.
Additionally, the council discussed and endorsed the report regarding the implementation of the four-year undergraduate programmes. During the meeting, Minister for Higher Education R Bindu unveiled a book on the course content of the foundation programme, presenting a copy to Dr M V Narayanan, the Vice Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit. The book was prepared by Thara Mohanan and KP Mohanan.
The meeting also announced the launch of the ‘Study in Kerala’ programme, aiming to transform Kerala into a hub of higher education. The recent trend of students migrating to other states and abroad has become a contentious issue, prompting authorities to initiate this programme. An international higher education conference is also in the plans. Furthermore, an online digital repository will be established with the collaboration of universities. The meeting also approved the formation of a committee, led by former Pro-Chancellor of the Singapore National University, Mohan B. Menon, to devise the curriculum for the four-year BEd programme