New Delhi: Indian higher education is finally taking a major leap to the next level! Pursuing an ancient history course from Jawaharlal Nehru University while studying at Indian Institute of Technology will be a dream-come-true! India is planning to set up the world’s first meta-university by July 2012. As an initiative to allow students, who are desirous to take up more than one programme at a time from different universities, the meta-varsity will offer the best higher education at par with the prestigious worldwide institutions.
In a recently held “Learn Today” conference at Vasant Valley School, New Delhi, Dinesh Singh, Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor, said that universities are planning to team up for a pilot project, in order to build the first Meta University. To deliver this innovative education experience, four universities have given their consent, namely, Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Indian Institute of Delhi (IIT-D), added Singh.
In addition to the establishment of a unique educational system, Singh further clarified that the universities aim at creating such a programme which will compliment the strength of each university, without overlooking the strong points of any one. While IIT is renowned for housing a strong technical background, JMI boasts of an eminent faculty in media. To add on, ambitious and popular courses in a plethora of fields are offered by both DU and JNU.
Singh, while delivering the lecture on “Education in 21st Century”, further informed that this proposal will allow students to study different courses offered by these institutions at one place. He added that the students can study the course options by enrolling in any university. By creating this hybrid model of education, India seeks to stand head-to-head with some of the leading and most esteemed educational institutions in the industry, he told.
To make learning creative and beneficial, students should be encouraged to experience real-life situations rather than being confined to the walls of a classroom and imbibe the lecturers delivered by professors, Singh said. At the Meta University, students would be provided with the opportunity of graduating with a “skills certificate diploma”, and if willing to complete the degree course, they can return back and re-qualify for the same, thereby obtaining both a diploma and degree, at the same time, he concluded.
