Kerala’s higher education sector will undergo a comprehensive revamp aimed at creating linkages with the global knowledge network, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday.
Speaking after distributing the Chief Minister’s Nava Kerala Post-Doctoral Fellowships, Mr. Vijayan said such linkages will facilitate valuable exchange of information. He underscored the need to further improve the quality of higher education institutions in the State and the academic standards of the student community.
Students from Kerala perform well in institutions within the country and abroad. The State government is focussing on creating an environment within the State so that they have similar opportunities here, he said. Reforms with this goal in mind will focus on creating linkages with the agricultural and industrial production sectors and increasing the enrollment ratio, he said.
Mr. Vijayan said the way forward should combine curriculum revision and reforms in instruction methods along with infrastructure development in the sector. Knowledge need not be viewed as a water-tight compartment, the Chief Minister said, adding that the government policy encourages areas of knowledge that are useful to society.
In all, 77 researchers have won this year’s Chief Minister’s Nava Kerala Post-Doctoral Fellowships. They will be eligible for ₹50,000 in the first year, and ₹1 lakh in the second. Minister for Higher Education R. Bindu presided.
