July 24, 2023, West Bengal, India: Under the aegis of commemorating the 3rd Anniversary of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, IIT Kharagpur conducted a Press Conference on NEP 2020 on 24.07.2023 (Monday) at 11:00 am in Netaji Auditorium of the Institute. The press conference was chaired by Prof. V K Tewari, Director; Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director; Prof. M Ramgopal, Dean, FoEA and Shri Amit Jain, Registrar, IIT Kharagpur along with the senior Deans and Head of the Departments on the Strategic Implementation Initiatives on NEP 2020 undertaken at IIT Kharagpur.
IIT Kharagpur has reviewed and updated it curricula for UG Programmes for both the UG and the PG Programmes. During these revisions NEP 2020 has been kept in view and its visions incorporated into the programmes as appropriate in the context of the highly reputed technical and science education programmes of IIT Kharagpur. Some of the major strategic initiatives already undertaken by IIT Kharagpur, in the light of NEP 2020 has been a multidisciplinary research intensive university offering Science, Technology, Management and Law programmes. It is now initiating a new dimension of its multidisciplinarity by starting the MBBS programme in medicine at the B C Roy Institute of Medical Science and Technology. Education System in IIT Kharagpur always emphasised learning of humanities and other disciplines through electives. In the recent UG and PG curricula the choice of electives have been broadened enabling students to choose subjects from all over the institute. Further a new class of programmes called Interdisciplinary Dual Degree Programmes have been introduced in which a student can do a B. Tech and an M. Tech programme.
The UG programmes of IIT Kharagpur had 8 weeks of summer internship. This internship can now be extended to 8 months of research or industry internship for a student. Internship has also been proposed into the PG programme now. The Bachelor’s programme in Technology was already of 4 years. Now all Bachelor’s programmes in Science have also been converted to 4 year’s BS programmes. IIT Kharagpur has set up an International Student Office and is making all efforts to increase the admission of international students in its programmes. Each department will make strategic departmental Development Plans. On the basis of which department/centre/school will develop initiatives, assess their own progress, and reach the goals set therein, which could then become the basis for further funding from the Institute. To study Indian Languages, Art and Culture and quality research in the fields and its integration with engineering, science, humanity and social sciences research, the institute has also set up a Centre of Indian Knowledge System from which such initiative could be started for the interested students with support from the Ministry of Education.
The new 5 year BS-MS programmes offer options for an exit at the end of 4 years. It has also been recognised that students who have to leave for various personal reasons prematurely, from a UG programme after completing a substantial amount of credits shall benefit from an exit option that recognize the competencies gained by the student. Some other possible exit options are in discussion. Entry to UG and PG programmes at the IITs are through rigorous national level tests. It is generally felt that these need to be preserved to retain the standards of the IIT degrees. However, even with these there could be options for entry.
An Academic Bank of Credit shall be established which would digitally store the academic credits earned from various recognized Higher education Intuitions (HEIs) so that the degrees from an HEI can be awarded taking into account credits earned which would be undertaken under the national initiatives by the Ministry. IIT Kharagpur has contributed extensively to NPTEL which is now accepted for earning credits by several institutions of India which are also available globally. In the pandemic, IIT Kharagpur has conducted on-line classes for its own programmes extensively. IIT Kharagpur already has several initiatives for helping out economically deprived students at the national level under a Ministry of Education initiative.
Creation of an autonomous body National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration and appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education will be undertaken in the context of the NPTEL programmes and the Swayam platform established under NMEICT. All programmes, courses, curricula, and pedagogy across subjects, including those in-class, online, and in ODL modes as well as student support aims to achieve global standards of quality including its standardization and certification. Mechanism of the course/studies review in the department/centre/school on a regular basis by involving external and internal stakeholders/experts such as Industry, Alumni, Faculty, students, Academia, etc. are being strengthened through programmes like SPARK and GIAN. The new curricula emphasise on involvement of the Industry through projects and course participation.
On the lines of Strategic Implementation Initiatives of IIT Kharagpur on NEP 2020, Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “NEP 2020’s inclusion in the academic curriculum will generate more employment based on the entrepreneurship model of being an employer than an employee. With the multiple entry/exit policy, any student can take a break from their respective courses to gain industry experience and come back to continue his academic curriculum. Another facet that enhances the flexibility of NEP 2020 is the Short Term Certification Courses for developing Short-term and Long-term Training Programs to provide skilling, re-skilling and upskilling opportunities. Learning Science in your own language removes the barrier of language bias and creates inclusivity between culture and technology. This adds value to the Indian education system to improve the universalization of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.”