TN Arts & Science colleges to have revamped syllabus

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government is all set to revamp the common syllabus of students studying in Arts and Science colleges following engineering and polytechnic courses. The new syllabus was already introduced even for vocational courses.

The Higher Education Department’s move came against the backdrop of several suggestions from academicians that the existing curriculum in Arts and Science courses is outdated and is not on par with the requirements of the industries.

A senior official from the Higher Education Department told DT Next that the curriculum pattern was not changed for several years for both Arts and Science courses and students who pursued these courses are facing difficulties with job opportunities not only in the state but also in other regions.

“Though the gross enrolment ratio of the state has increased to 51.4% as against the national average of 27.1%, the gap between students seeking employment and available job opportunities has increased since the syllabus has become outdated,” he said.

Stating that a high-level committee comprising educationists and experts have been constituted to revamp the syllabus for Arts and Science courses in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), the official said, during the first phase, the syllabus will be amended for the first year and second-year students.

He added that a draft syllabus would be released soon to seek further feedback and suggestions from the educationists and the public. “After considering the genuine feedback, the draft syllabus would be further altered before submitting the final report to the government.”

Claiming that after changing the curriculum for final year students, more job opportunities will be available for the students in the state, he said priority will be given to the practicals in Science streams.

Pointing out that the state government has granted permission to start 10 new government Arts and Science colleges in 2022-2023 at the cost of Rs 25 crore in various districts, the official said those colleges will begin with the new curriculum.