3 years of NEP 2020; IIT Madras Director shares various initiatives like BS Degree, Dual Degree

The IIT Madras RICs cater to students of 8^th - 12^th , live online classes are conducted from evening 6 pm to 8 pm with 12,000 students taking these programmes.

The National Education Policy, NEP 2020, was announced three years back with an aim to restructure the school education and higher education in India. The NEP 2020 envisions a ‘Light and Tight’ single regulatory higher education system and one of the key recommendations of the NEP is multidisciplinary and flexible learning approach for higher education institutions.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras, IIT Madras is implementing key features of National Education Policy 2020. Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of the institute sharing various initiatives taken as per the NEP stated that programs like ‘IIT Madras for All’, BS Degree (Data Science) & Inter-Disciplinary Dual Degree (IDDD), Rural Interaction Center, Rural Technology Center & Centres that nurture student innovation like CFI are key features of IIT Madras’ NEP implementation.

Prof Kamakoti said that the unique aspects of these programs include multiple entry and exit options, providing for a change of discipline, and enabling Humanities specialization for Technical students.

IIT Madras is also registered on the Academic Bank of Credits Portal (https://www.abc.gov.in/) under the Central Higher Education Institution category. As many as 491 students of IIT Madras have registered in the same.

IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation through its partners has embarked on establishing Rural Interaction Centres (RICs) in villages which focuses on bringing the best teachers to rural students through technology.

The RICs cater to students of 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. The live online classes are conducted from evening 6 pm to 8 pm. Experienced teachers teach Science, English and Maths in the mother tongue. 89 villages are covered under this program in Tamil Nadu and 100 villages in Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh. As many as 12,000 students are taking these programs through these 189 Rural Centres.

Another key initiative under ‘IIT Madras for All’ is establishing of Rural Technology Centre in partnership with ASHA which takes computer science literacy to remote and rural Government School Students in Tamil Nadu. These Centres will spread the knowledge of technology and its benefits to rural areas of Tamil Nadu. The Rural Technology Centre offers courses to 9th to 12th standard students. The goal of these centres is to make the children comfortable with the use of technology by providing both digital literacy skills and computational thinking skills.

Prof. Kamakoti said, “The NEP emphasizes the need for educational institutions to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills among students. It recognizes the importance of promoting an entrepreneurial mindset and fostering innovation as key pillars of a well-rounded education.”

The institute has also launched a bachelors programme, BS (Data Science and Programming) as per the NEP 2020. There are four levels in the IIT Madras Degree program and to get the BS Degree in Data Science and Applications from IIT Madras, a learner has to successfully complete all four levels.

IIT Madras has also launched the Interdisciplinary Dual Degree (IDDD) programme in 2018 to keep up with the growing demands of technology and the industry. With the IDDD, students can master the newest areas and trends in tech by getting a combined Bachelor's degree and Master's degree. These courses belong to the IDDD family of five-year programmes of IIT Madras. The programmes are a collaborative effort that spans multiple departments within IIT Madras.

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