Karnataka State Government to enhance Education Institutions

Updated on: Friday, October 02, 2015

The coming academic year will see higher education institutions in Karnataka state government implement in phases several projects that are aimed at helping students and enhancing their efficiency and performance, as envisaged and mandated by the Karnataka state government.

The things these Karnataka state government institutions need to have in place are online exams, evaluation and question paper delivery, among others. Some of the other things include biometric attendance for both staff and students, improvement of teaching standards and student feedback system.

The Karnataka state government order dated July 4, 2015, (with immediate effect) mandates using information, communication and technology (ICT) for various projects.

For this purpose, the order, which is in TOI's possession says: "All institutions must create an IT cell with qualified people." There are over 30 such pro jects, including online facul ty timetable, grievance re dressal system, online UG admission, placement, online student scholarship system, facilities management system, and even disbursal of scholarships and other government scheme FUNDS. "They must train faculty and staffers of all institutions in hardware and software matters so everyone is computer-literate," the order says.

Confirming the move, higher education minister RV Deshpande told TOI the cabinet has also cleared the initiatives and that it's aimed at "enhancing the overall quality of higher education institutions in the state".

In the order, the Karnataka state government says: "ICT in education needs to be adopted in order to overcome the challenges and realize better access, inclusion and quality." ICT, the higher education department has argued, can help strengthen democratic and transparent values, enhance students' performance and reduce costs, while preparing students for a lifelong learning.

Higher education principal secretary Bharat Lal Meena told TOI: "Some institutions of Karnataka state government are already working towards implementing this and by the next academic year, we will see them becoming models.But our aim is to have all education institutions across the state implement this in a phased manner."

Ban on private software:

The Karnataka state government order says all state universities and aided colleges must refrain from using private software, and use only what the department has provided, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). "If some colleges have MoUs with private agencies, the software must be discontinued after the contract expires," the order says. The NIC software can be provided to private and deemed universities on request, it says.

Some vice-chancellors have raised questions, and say a disaster is waiting to happen as NIC does not have the required credentials, which was discovered through RTI. None of the V-Cs, however, wants to go on record.

Karnataka State Government to enhance Education Institutions

More Education news