| | 8 May 2020HIGHERReviewIN MY VIEWToday, India has 37 million students across 1000 univer-sities served by 1.5 million teachers. This could be the population of a small country, and if given the right di-rection, it can change the future of India!With the start of the new decade, 2020 has brought in some very positive changes to the education sector as well. The union budget of 2020 for instance, has earmarked Rs 99,300 crore for the education sector in 2020-21, followed by an investment of Rs. 3,000 crores for skill development. Apart from this, the FM has also suggested a new education policy that will be designed to create better employability for Indian youth. The important plan for 2020 has been not only financial sup-port but realizing that the Indian education system needs to be VISION 2020 FOR THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTORDr. H. Vinod Bhat, Vice Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)employability focused. To achieve this, technology and its adoption will play an unprecedented role in 2020 and beyond.Making Education Resonate with Employment The first disconnect between classroom teaching and job skills-based education is fast being eliminated, by the best-known institutions in India taking a stand on the need to make education practical. There are sever-al tie-ups with global institutions and universities that strengthen our abilities to do so. The policy structure is also changing to ensure that the budget 2020 has made the provision for this by way of sourcing foreign direct investment and external borrowing provid-ed for about 150 institutions, enabling them to start apprenticeship embedded degree/diploma courses by March 2021.In 2020, technology will be the single biggest en-abler for making education in India relevant and easily accessible for students across the country. With 560 million internet users (more than the population of USA), online education seems to be the best way for-ward in India. The government will support the top 100 ranking institutions in the country to start a de-gree level full-fledged online education programmed for students. This will soon pervade technology and management education as well. With better connec-tivity and 5G available, online education will be more pervasive than ever before. Technology to the ForeDigital transformation of the education sector has as-sured Digitization of books, single platform data and assessments and of course, ubiquitous connectivity. These pillars of this new paradigm are all set to change the way Indian youth study!One new trend that will emerge is the increase in skill centered courses over generic ones. With new technologies and newer management skills needed, there will be an increasing number of graduates who will be looking for higher education for added skills. Our institutions need to be ready with courses that provide executive growth as well as industrial skills for the modern enterprise. Universities and institu-tions are planning to create and deliver new modules with updated offerings for modern enterprise needs.
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