"Improving educational standards hinges on enhancing teacher quality"

at a time when the world is recognizing india's significant strides in education, it is the focus on quality that sets it apart from its peers and counterparts.dr. abhay jere, vice chairman, aicte shared his deep insights in an exclusive interview with 'dinamalar' daily on various means to improve the educational standards across the nation both on the teaching side as well as on students side.the all india council for technical education (aicte), headquartered in new delhi, is tasked with accrediting and advising institutions that offer technical courses across the country. what is the significance of the 'smart india hackathon' organized by aicte each year? what is the contribution of tamil nadu students?the 'smart india hackathon' aims to unearth the talent of young indian students and encourage them to devise solutions to societal problems. it is the world's largest innovation competition, fostering curiosity and a problem-solving mindset among students. last year, the competition addressed over 300 issues from 26 ministries. this year, we anticipate participation from ministries such as railways, defense, and home affairs, seeking solutions through this platform. tamil nadu students have been particularly active in this competition, which has run for the past seven years, leveraging student creativity for national development. their solutions are consistently impressive, and i expect even greater participation and innovation from them in this year's event, which will be announced soon.what initiatives has aicte undertaken to ensure quality higher education in the country?aicte is continuously implementing various initiatives to enhance higher education quality. traditionally overseeing engineering and management institutions, aicte now also includes bba and bca courses. model syllabi have been created to improve these courses' quality. initiatives include developing new curricula, training teachers, awarding scholarships, and encouraging institutions to host seminars. notably, 'teacher training' is a key focus, as quality education hinges on quality teaching. this year alone, over 500 teacher development trainings have been conducted.how do you respond to claims that educational institutes offer outdated curricula that don't meet current industry needs?the accusation that curricula are outdated and not industry-relevant will no longer hold. curricula are continually updated to reflect each field's advancements. teachers receive two weeks of advanced training in emerging fields, and all students receive special training in 'international human dignity' to become good global citizens. additionally, quality improvement certificate programs are available for teachers. training in modern technologies like data science, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning is provided at institutes like iit and c-dac, lasting up to six months. these efforts ensure that curricula are exemplary and meet current and future demands, with continuous improvements underway.what are aicte's new initiatives?recently, aicte has emphasized innovation and entrepreneurship. we aim for all higher education institutions to function as 'idea hubs' fostering innovative thinking, with active entrepreneurship centers (e-cells). to support this, 30 'innovation centers' have been established, acting as nexus points between industry and higher education institutions for technology sharing. new inventions will also receive ip registration, and all necessary support will be provided to budding entrepreneurs to realize their innovative ideas.