British Council, TSCHE begin curriculum reform pilot in Higher Education Institutions

Hyderabad: The British Council and Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) begin curriculum reform pilot in the Higher Education Institutions in Telangana to elevate the standards of education of HEIs in the State.

The initiative was meant for achieving the State's and the New Education Policy-2020's internationalisation agenda. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Telangana and the Welsh government in November 2020. The MoU facilitates the development of collaborative and mutually beneficial programmes in Telangana and contributes to increased research and social linkages in the field of Higher Education between the two entities.

As part of the same, a curriculum reform pilot at Telangana universities has been proposed. Accordingly, the Universities of Bangor and Aberystwyth from Wales will work in partnership with Osmania and Kakatiya Universities from the State of Telangana. This will enable Indian universities to enhance their curriculum of Arts and Commerce subjects aligning to industry standards thus enhancing employability of the youth in the state of Telangana.

Over three years, the curriculum reform pilot will be extended to over 1,000 colleges positively impacting more than 800,000 learners.

Further, the British Council and Global Wales – a partnership between Universities Wales, the Welsh Government, British Council Wales, and the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) – have established a new scholarship programme exclusively for students from Telangana to study at Welsh universities in 2021.

The programme will offer 16 scholarships worth GBP 5,000 each given to the brightest and best students from Telangana universities to study for a PG one-year master's degree at the Universities in Wales.

Each scholarship worth £5000 will contribute towards tuition fees for a one-year postgraduate course at a participating university, for the academic year from September/October 2021-22.

Prof. T Papi Reddy, Chairman of Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), said, "It is our vision for the state of Telangana to be at the vanguard of knowledge and we are certain that our partnership with the government of Wales will help us realise our goal. The state of Telangana welcomes the new scholarship scheme that complements our own scholarship initiatives for our youth."

Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British Council, said, "We are committed to working together closely for the internationalisation of higher education in the state. It is an honour to partner with such a progressive government that is committed to the future of its youth.

The Arts and Commerce curriculum reform pilot in top universities of the state is bound to create greater opportunities for the educators and learners across the state and we look forward to a seamless implementation."

Professor Iwan Davies, Chair of Global Wales, added, "Our universities are open, and very much looking forward to welcoming students from Telangana. We look forward to continuing working in partnership with colleagues at the TSCHE and British Council India to build long-lasting links that will be of mutual benefit to both Telangana and Wales."