Communication skills now part of curriculum

Students of technical courses who are usually criticised for their lack of communication skills, will now study inter-personal and life skills as part of their curriculum.

Students of technical courses who are usually criticised for their lack of communication skills, will now study inter-personal and life skills as part of their curriculum.

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The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is creating a model curriculum for all its fields such as management, pharmacy, engineering, architecture and hotel management.

“The model curriculum will be ready by June. Technical education will now have a holistic approach, which will include pure sciences, applied sciences, social context, interpersonal and life skills,” said SS Mantha, officiating chairman, AICTE.

This curriculum revamp is part of the new AICTE reforms. There is currently a huge gap between industry requirement and curriculum. Training freshers comprises about 25% of a company’s expense.

AICTE and university officials met in Mumbai last month to discuss the engineering course revamp and how to integrate humanities into curriculum.

“During placements companies always say that students are technically sound but are low on interpersonal skills. A model curriculum will help standardise education across colleges,” said Seema Shah, principal, Vidyalankar Institute of Technology. “But the integration should not dilute the technical skills imparted to students.”

Students are glad that that the reforms will make the course more rounded.

“It would make the course more interesting and we will be more well-rounded individuals. Unlike management students, we are not taught any communication skills, which affects us during placements,” said Harish Malpani, an engineering student.