Introduce job-oriented courses for degree students: CM YS Jagan

Vijayawada: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy stressed the need to integrate certified job-oriented online vertical courses like risk analysis, risk management, banking and real estate administration with main stream curriculum for improving the skills of degree students and enabling them to choose self-employed professions.

During a review meeting on Higher Education held here on Thursday, the Chief Minister directed the officials to acquaint themselves with various courses being imparted to students in well known educational institutions abroad and implement the same curriculum in our educational institutions.

Such curriculum should be integrated with the syllabus by June next, he suggested, adding that officials should also have a tie-up with national institutions like National Stock Exchange (NSE) to develop the students as self-employed professionals in various sectors.

He suggested that steps should be taken to fill the vacant posts in the department by clearing legal hurdles by June in view of the green signal given by the government. Officials should become more active to meet the pace of reforms being introduced in the department.

Every higher education institution should strive to achieve NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) accreditation in the next three years by improving standards in teaching and other areas to get eligibility step by step every year, outlined the Chief Minister, asserting categorically that recognition of institutions which fail in this respect should be cancelled.

Pointing out that a uniform policy is needed in according recognition to various colleges, he said that the Skill University should take the responsibility of designing curriculum in coordination with the IT Department to meet the operational demands of various industries in every district. Students should become proficient in courses such as coding, cloud computing and software development to meet the growing demands.

As the government is establishing skill development centres in all 175 constituencies, students should be trained to overcome the scarcity of experts in the fields of solar panel making, repairing of solar motors and maintenance of solar parks and the same courses should be introduced by June next. Besides, strengthening the Academic Staff Colleges in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati to improve the standards of teaching staff, another such college should be established in central Andhra region, directed the Chief Minister. He further said that officials should work towards achieving sustainable goals in educational sector as the government is implementing fee reimbursement scheme at higher level and Amma Vodi at lower level to reduce the dropout rate in the State. Officials should explore the possibility of establishing a recruitment board to fill vacancies in universities while filling up vacant posts in IIITs as soon as possible, he suggested.

Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary Dr K S Jawahar Reddy, Advisor to Government (Education) A Sambasiva Reddy, Principal Secretary (Higher Education) J Syamala Rao, RGUKT Chancellor Prof KC Reddy, Commissioner of College Education P Bhaskar, Higher Education Council Chairman Prof K Hemachandra Reddy and others were present.