ISB signs MoU with TS govt to analyse higher education evaluation systems

Hyderabad: The Indian School of Business (ISB) inked an MoU with the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) and Commissionerate of Collegiate Education, Telangana (CCETS) on Friday to study and recommend holistic and robust assessment and evaluation systems in Telangana's higher education. This, in turn, is expected to pave way for the introduction of next-generation assessment and evaluation systems.

The MoU was inked by Prof. Madan Pillutla, dean of ISB; Navin Mittal, IAS, commissioner of collegiate education (CCE), government of Telangana; and Prof. R.Limbadri, chairman of Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) at a programme organised on the ISB campus.

Redefining educational evaluation parameters

As part of the MoU, all aspects of higher education assessment and evaluation will be covered. The current system of end-term examinations and internal examinations will be analysed in detail and a new framework will be proposed. Further, ISB will determine the knowledge and skills that need to be assessed by forecasting future market requirements. The study will include more than 1,000 degree colleges in Telangana with a specific in-depth focus on six select degree colleges incorporating combinations of urban, rural, government, aided, and non-aided colleges in the state.

Navin Mittal, commissioner of CCE, said, "Telangana is always at the forefront in ushering innovative and futuristic changes in the academic set-up and today's MoU with ISB will add new momentum in redefining the educational and assessment/evaluation parameters in the state."

Prof. R.Limbadri said the need of the hour is to relook at the present examination and evaluation system. "Students are getting good marks but there is a dearth of research grants, and employability challenges persist. We would like to assess the ability for critical thinking and problem-solving among the students, but we are currently testing only their memory. The ISB's study should help to re-evaluate the curriculum, ingrain domain knowledge, and bring change to the existing teaching and learning methodology. Ultimately, we want to make our students employable and knowledgeable."

Prof. Chandrashekar Sripada, Professor of Practice, Organizational Behaviour and Strategic Human Capital, ISB, is the principal investigator for this study. He said, "In the current fast-evolving global scenarios, a robust and holistic assessment mechanism will equip the students to work towards gaining new skills that would be critical for their career progression. We are sure today's MoU will go a long way in adding more value to the students. Also, by conducting this comprehensive study, we will come up with specific recommendations to strengthen the assessment and evaluation frameworks that would help improve the quality of higher education in Telangana."