Education
Change in curriculum should not be about removing viable topics
Source: Education Times
Astha Hemant | Posted on Tuesday, September 21,2021 11:07
Keeping in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to make students future-ready, universities must keep updating their course curriculum periodically. The process needs to be well thought out and must involve all stakeholders to ensure that the new curriculum offers holistic and multi-disciplinary education.
Evolve current structure
BJ Rao, vice-chancellor, University of Hyderabad (UoH), says that in any educational institute, curriculum is the soul of the teaching-learning process. “It is not just about how, but also what we teach that matters. In the mission to evolve a new curricula, we have to figure out connecting links between existing courses so that students are able to imbibe skill-sets that will enable them to become future-ready,” he says.
PC Joshi, acting vice-chancellor, University of Delhi (DU) says knowledge keeps changing and thus syllabi needs to be updated accordingly. “As per the NEP guidelines, education is taking a multi-pronged approach, wherein it is both rooted in Indian traditions and is also globally sound. The addition of subjects or changes to the current course curriculum should also aim at the overall personality development of students,” he says.
Way forward
While defining the curriculum changes for first year students in 2022, DU has identified that those who take up the three years undergraduate course will be required to get 148 credits, while those in the four year undergraduate programme (FYUP) will need 196 credits to complete it. “We have also decided to do away with the BA, BCom and BSc programmes (pass courses) from the next year. The three-year UG programmes will now be honours courses,” adds Joshi.
DU has also made efforts to ascertain that NEP is adopted in a manner that does not disturb the university’s existing structures drastically. “In a bid to provide a choice based credit system (CBCS) to students, we will add various future-relevant subjects to our UG programmes, such as Indian Languages, Emotional Health, Well-being and Health, and Ethics,” tells Joshi.
Rao says that UoH has strong Chemistry and Life Sciences programmes. However, the university is yet to offer any courses that offer a combination of these two core subjects. “The idea should be to offer inter-disciplinary courses, which will require us to consolidate and generate interfaces that assist students in getting skill-sets apt for the current job market. The aim is to translate the current classroom content into one that can assist the society,” he says.
Rao is aiming to create a knowledge and innovation park for students. “One of the biggest issues with the current curriculum is that our students are afraid of making mistakes. I want to do away with the wall dividing hard science and non-science subjects so that students become innovators who are able to use their education for the betterment of the society,” he says.
Current roadblocks
For too long, academicians have restricted various stakeholders from playing a role in curriculum changes. This is the reason that almost all universities have a similar syllabus and why our graduates become victims of rote learning instead of being job-ready, says Rao. “I feel this is also the root cause of protests and objections whenever any university does decide to bring about a change in its current curriculum,” he tells.
Recently, DU made changes to its English Honours course, which led to both internal and external conflicts in the university. Sachin N, associate professor in English, Dyal Singh College, DU, says that changes are always welcome, if these are done in a proper manner. “There are certain staple topics that cannot and should not be removed from a subject, as these are the basics to more complex and innovative ideas,” he says.
“Literature should give freedom to students to study excellent authors. To do away with certain portions, without any reason regarding its viability as a literary piece, is doing injustice to students in the name of curriculum change,” he adds.
Joshi says that syllabi will need to change, as students should be job-ready if they decide to leave their course after the first year. “One of the biggest apprehensions with change in curriculum is that there will be course reduction, leading to decreased workload for teachers and gradual job-cuts. In fact, course committees in various departments are preparing a format wherein courses of core subjects will have additions to meet market requirements. Also, minor subject courses will also require teachers. Thus, teachers’ workload will increase with the change,” he says.
Coming out strong
Curriculum change is not an overnight process. “While introducing any changes in the core courses, any university must collect divergent suggestions from all its stakeholders, including students, teachers, administrators, spiritual leaders, technocrats, and policy makers. The best of them can then be converged into syllabi that is in the best interest of the students,” says Rao.
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Business
The Intersection of BNPL Providers and Financial Education: Why It Matters and How PLIM Finance Leads the Way
by Nada Ali Redha, Founder of PLIM Finance
In recent years, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platforms have skyrocketed in popularity, offering consumers an appealing alternative to traditional credit options. As these services become a significant part of the consumer finance landscape, it is crucial that BNPL providers not only offer flexible payment solutions but also play an active role in enhancing financial literacy.
At PLIM Finance, we believe that empowering consumers with financial education is as important as providing them with flexible payment options. The long-term success of the BNPL industry depends on responsible usage, transparency, and ensuring consumers fully understand how these services impact their financial lives. In this article, I want to explore why financial education should be at the heart of the BNPL sector, and how PLIM Finance is leading by example in this regard.
BNPL platforms allow consumers to break down purchases into smaller, more manageable instalments, offering a new level of financial flexibility. However, with great flexibility comes responsibility. A concern that has surfaced with the rapid growth of BNPL services is the potential for consumers to overextend themselves without fully understanding the implications of delayed payments.
This is where financial education becomes crucial. BNPL providers have a responsibility to ensure that users are not only aware of how these platforms work but are also making informed decisions about their personal finances. By prioritising education, BNPL companies can build consumer trust and help prevent the financial pitfalls that can arise from misuse.
Financial education plays an essential role in equipping individuals with the knowledge and tools they need to manage their finances responsibly. Without a solid understanding of the impact that BNPL services can have on one’s cash flow and debt, consumers may unintentionally make choices that hurt their financial well-being.
As BNPL platforms continue to evolve and gain widespread interest, we must be proactive in educating our users about responsible borrowing, budgeting, and financial planning. These services are not just about convenience; they are about enabling consumers to make better financial decisions.
At PLIM Finance, we view financial education as a fundamental part of our service offering. It’s not enough to simply provide the option to spread payments over time. We have to make sure our customers understand the broader context of their financial decisions, ensuring they have access to tools and resources that promote financial literacy.
BNPL providers are uniquely positioned to enhance financial education on a broad scale. With millions of users across various demographics, we have the potential to influence and guide consumers toward more responsible financial behaviour. Here are three critical ways in which BNPL providers can make a meaningful impact:
1. Providing Clear Information:
Transparency is key. Consumers need to know exactly what they are signing up for when using a BNPL service. This means offering clear, accessible information about the terms, fees, and consequences of using the service. At PLIM Finance, we ensure that all our users have a full understanding of their payment obligations before they commit to any treatment. This builds trust and helps consumers avoid unwanted surprises.
2. Promoting Responsible Usage:
It is essential for BNPL providers to encourage users to assess their financial situation before making a purchase. We must discourage over-borrowing by promoting responsible spending habits and ensuring consumers are aware of the risks of taking on too much debt. PLIM Finance does this by consistently reminding our customers of their financial obligations through a user-friendly dashboard that keeps them informed about upcoming payments and outstanding balances.
3. Creating Educational Content:
BNPL platforms should be proactive in creating educational resources such as workshops, webinars, and guides on budgeting, credit management, and debt awareness. These resources help users make more informed financial decisions. At PLIM Finance, we have developed a resource centre that provides our users with valuable insights into how our platform works, how it affects their expenses, and how they can better manage their finances overall.
At PLIM Finance, we are committed to not only offering a seamless BNPL experience but also ensuring that our customers have the knowledge and resources to use our platform responsibly. This commitment to financial education is evident in several initiatives that we have implemented to guide our users toward better financial management:
- Comprehensive Resource Centre
Our online resource centre is designed to provide users with all the information they need to understand how PLIM Finance works and how it can impact their overall financial situation. We explain the terms of our service, how payments are structured, and what happens if a payment is missed. This allows customers to make informed choices before committing to any treatments or services.
- Real-Time Notifications and Updates:
One of the most effective ways to ensure financial responsibility is by keeping customers informed about their financial obligations. Our platform’s dashboard is designed to provide real-time updates, reminding users of upcoming payments and balances. This proactive communication helps users stay on top of their finances and avoid unnecessary late fees or penalties.
- Payment Calculator:
Our payment calculator allows users to see a detailed breakdown of their instalment plans, including exact amounts and payment dates. This tool is essential for helping customers budget effectively and integrate their payments into their broader financial plan.
As BNPL continues to reshape the financial services landscape, the need for robust financial education will only grow. BNPL providers have a duty to prioritise transparency, responsibility, and education in their business models to ensure that consumers can make informed, sustainable financial decisions. At PLIM Finance, we believe that the future of BNPL lies in building trust with our customers, and that starts with education.
Financial literacy is not just a bonus- it is a necessity. By integrating educational resources, real-time tools, and transparent communication into our platform, we are ensuring that our customers are equipped to use our services responsibly and to their benefit. We should be reminded of the importance of making thoughtful, informed financial decisions, and BNPL providers like PLIM Finance are committed to leading the way in promoting financial education. The intersection of BNPL and financial literacy is where innovation and responsibility meet, and at PLIM Finance, we are proud to be at the forefront of this movement.
Business
How AI virtual assistants are transforming education and training
By Gregor Hofer, CEO and Co-founder at Rapport
What separates good doctors from excellent doctors, the type that might get five-star reviews if, like an Uber driver, their services were supported by a smartphone app?
Medical knowledge, expertise, and better outcomes are, of course, the most important factors. But – particularly when dealing with patients’ relatives, discussing risk assessment and imparting bad news – we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of bedside manner.
This might come naturally to some doctors but there are none for whom training isn’t useful, whether at medical school or on the job.
There will always be a place for real human interaction in this training, the type that involves role-play, with actors or colleagues playing out different scenarios that explore the most effective ways to handle difficult situations.
But what if this could be supplemented by more readily available and less resource-intensive experiences that simulate these training environments? And what if it could be applied across numerous sectors, industries and professions, of which there are a great many that could benefit from such an opportunity?
What might that mean for those instigating tricky conversations and, perhaps more importantly, those at the receiving end of them?
Advances in generative artificial intelligence – or GenAI – mean that these are no longer hypothetical questions.
There’s no limit to the type of person this technology could help, but we’ll review three – doctors, those working in corporate HR, and online students – to give a flavour of the benefits it brings.
Before we do, a quick word on how such applications work.
An overview of the technology
It all starts with data. With access to enough content, the type that you store and curate on your internal systems, large language models (LLMs) can be trained to find the most appropriate response to whatever user input they’re exposed to, whether in writing or spoken, and then you as a user can respond to that response, and so the cycle continues.
You’ll have experienced something similar using the likes of CharGPT, but because this is based on your own content, you’re more in control. (For simpler and more prescriptive scenarios, though, I’d add that with the best solutions, you can alternatively import predefined branching dialogue to keep your conversations on track.)
It doesn’t stop there, though; by tapping into a solution that’s supported by experts in linguistics and computer-aided animation, your colleagues can interact in real-time with avatars equipped with believable facial expressions, accurate lip-synching capabilities, natural gestures and the ability to detect emotions.
All of this adds to the user’s willing suspension of disbelief that they’re interacting with a real person, or AI avatar, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of their learning.
These innovations are reshaping how we approach learning and skill development in so many critical fields. We said we’d look at three. We’ll start by returning to medicine.
Medical training
AI assistants can supplement the way doctors are taught to break bad news to patients, one of the hardest things they’ll face in practice and, given its subjectivity, something that can’t easily be looked up in a textbook on anatomy or physiology.
As we said from the outset, this is easier for some doctors than others, but given the literal life-and-death nature of such conversations and the shattering impact that the death of a loved one can have on a relative, there’s always room to improve medics’ empathy and communication skills – which is exactly what this technology delivers.
By utilizing experiential AI tools, clinicians can better use their time, alleviate pressure, fatigue and burnout symptoms, and ultimately allow them to better serve their patients.
Corporate HR
In corporate HR, virtual assistants can significantly streamline and enhance the hiring and firing process, as well as any difficult conversation; whether it’s a tough review, a disciplinary hearing, letting down an employee about a promotion they’d applied for or any other scenario that might bring a bead of sweat to your forehead, it’s all about providing safe and cost-effective practice before doing it for real.
Tech research consulting firm Gartner recently found that more than three-quarters (76%) of HR leaders believe that if their organisation doesn’t adopt and implement AI solutions, such as generative AI, in the next 12 to 24 months, they’ll lag in organizational success compared to those that do, while 34% of HR leaders participating in their January benchmarking session said they were exploring potential use cases and opportunities when it came to generative AI.
If they do manage to adopt the right technology, the impact will be massive among those who deploy it wisely. After all, which company wouldn’t want to upskill its HR professionals in tangible soft skills such as empathy, communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution in a controlled setting?
Online education
AI-powered tools can hugely boost student engagement in remote learning environments, and the research suggests that it comes close to rivalling in-person experiences. When you consider the staff-to-student ratios common in most educational settings, this should be no surprise – think how many students can fit into a lecture hall (even if they don’t always turn up!).
But we’re not necessarily talking about formal education; this applies equally to any informal setting in which someone needs to improve their education in some way.
With this technology, you can invent new ways to educate your students – or staff – by transforming lessons into experiences, using interactive characters reflective of the subject. This means you can increase user satisfaction and performance without compromising on content.
Whatever the scenario and whatever the use case, the chances are that if you have the right content in sufficient quantities, you can tap it for interactions that would otherwise be lacking in uniqueness or prohibitively expensive.
With AI virtual assistants, everyone’s a winner.
Business
Dealing with Parental Leave: How Your Business Can Support Employees with Families
Looking after your staff is a fundamental part of running a successful business, ensuring staff turnover remains low and workers remain happily motivated. Workers now have more agency than ever when it comes to choosing their employer, in part thanks to the rise in remote working which means workers are no longer limited to looking for roles within their local area.
39% of UK workers now work at home within a given week and workers are beginning to demand more in terms of employee benefits, especially when it comes to welfare.
One of the areas where employees may focus is “family-friendly” working and benefits. But what does the law say about these contractual offerings? And how can your business benefit from having a comprehensive “family-friendly” benefits package? We spoke to the employment law specialists at Beecham Peacock to discover how your business can become more caring.
What does the law say about parental leave?
In the UK, women are able to take up to 52 weeks of maternity leave. The first 26 weeks of leave, which includes two weeks of compulsory leave (four weeks for factory workers), are known as ordinary maternity leave, while the final 26 weeks are known as additional maternity leave.
During maternity leave, a woman’s rights to pay rises, accrued holiday, and returning to work are protected by the law.
Eligible mothers-to-be are entitled to be paid statutory maternity pay for 39 weeks. This will depend on whether or not they satisfy service and earnings criteria. Otherwise, they may not be able to claim maternity allowance.
Statutory maternity pay equates to six weeks paid at a rate of 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax). For the remaining 33 weeks, the current rate of payment is £172.48 or 90% of their average weekly earnings – whichever is lower. This rate is reviewed annually.
There has been much discussion about the mandatory amount of maternity pay and whether it does enough to support women in the workplace – a recent study found statutory maternity pay is just 47% of the national living wage. To attract and retain women, businesses may wish to consider offering enhanced maternity pay and benefits packages.
For partners, leave entitlements are different. Statutory paternity and adoption leave entitles fathers/partners to take one or two weeks of paid paternity leave, paid at a rate of £172.48 or 90% of their average weekly earnings – whichever is lower. This rate is also reviewed annually.
When this leave is taken differs depending on whether paternity or adoption leave is being taken. Again, your business may wish to consider enhanced leave and pay packages.
For eligible parents, another option that is increasingly taken up is shared parental leave. Whilst the mother will always have to take two weeks of compulsory leave (four weeks for factory workers), the remaining 50 weeks (or 48 weeks for factory workers) can be taken by either parent.
This gives both parents flexibility and the opportunity to spend time with their child. Statutory parental leave pay is paid at the same rate as the latter part of statutory maternity or paternity pay, and can be paid for up to 37 weeks to eligible employees. Again, businesses may wish to consider offering enhanced parental leave pay to attract and retain employees.
What are the positives of greater employee benefits for parental leave?
Of course, there are extra costs associated with paying more than the statutory pay requirement. However, offering parental leave options and policies that go above and beyond the minimum requirements can benefit a business just as much as it benefits your employees. Such packages will enable business to attract and retain employees.
How to draft a comprehensive parental leave policy
Lisa Branker, Head of Employment Law at Beecham Peacock, advocates for a comprehensive leave policy that supports all of your employees. She comments:
“Entitlements and eligibility for parental leave, pay and benefits should be clearly contained in your business’ relevant policy. If your goal is to attract and retain your workforce through flexible and/or enhanced benefits packages then this information needs to be clearly set out and accessible. A clear policy makes employees aware of how much leave and pay they are entitled to, helps managers to respond to any queries, and allows your business to plan for and support working parents.”
“Pay and leave aren’t the only considerations – for example, your business may be able to offer a salary sacrifice scheme to make childcare arrangements. Other, non-financial support can also be a huge help for new parents or parents-to-be. Increasing the flexibility of working hours or offering a hybrid working scheme can give your colleagues the support they need to manage the transition into parenthood. These measures will enable you to motivate and retain your workforce, without creating an onerous financial burden.”
Every company is different – and there’s unlikely to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Think about which solution (or combination of solutions) is best-suited to your company before creating or amending a parental leave policy. If you’re considering creating or updating your policy, Beecham Peacock’s free policy reviews are a great starting point to check your offerings meet your business and legal needs.