With the National Education Policy (NEP)’s thrust on Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities or MERUs to create model institutions on par with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) has listed five universities in the State to be upgraded into MERUs in the first phase.
They are Andhra University, Sri Venkateswara University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU)-Kakinada, JNTU-Anantapur, and Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT).
“These institutions will be groomed in a manner that they will aim to attain highest global standards in quality education. The focus will be on research and innovation,” says K. Rama Mohan Rao, Vice-Chairman, APSCHE.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Rao said, “We have asked the universities to constitute committees to plan strategies to introduce policies that will usher in broad-based, multi-disciplinary, holistic education with flexible curriculum, and creative combination of subjects.”
Mr. Rama Mohan Rao said, as part of the new scheme of things, even leading engineering institutions such as the IITs would move towards multidisciplinary education with more arts and humanities.
To take forward the new approach, the council recently conducted workshops attended by representatives of the five universities, giving them tips on preparation of a strategic plan.
Flexible curriculum
In the second phase, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, and Sri Krishnadevaraya University in Anantapur district would be upgraded into MERUs, and in the third phase, the remaining universities in the State would be groomed to join the league of MERUs.
The draft plans prepared by the internal committees of the universities would be referred to a panel of experts before they were placed before the council.
“We expect the plans to be ready by January and it may take three months to concretise the process,” said Mr. Rao.
