Tomorrow today; 2010 - unesdoc - Unesco

Image: FLAMEFLAME offers as many as 80 courses to less than 160 studentshas been made possible by affording faculty flexibility in designingtheir courses and encouraging a participatory pedagogy. In curricularterms, the plan of study has also been designed to account forindividual need through affording liberal choice. Over the first twoyears of a student’s undergraduate career, they receive instructionin rhetoric, logic and ethics and two courses in language. All othersubjects are divided across the five universes: humanities, socialsciences, sciences, fine and performing arts and global studies. Toensure a fair representation across the spread of 80 courses in thesefive universes, students make their own choices of subjects at basicor intermediate levels (100 or 200) over their first two years, withthe structure guaranteeing exposure to at least three disciplines ineach universe. At the beginning of the third year, they elect theirmajor, and/or a minor. As with all majors, a minimum of 60 credits(approximately 20 courses) is required for graduation, and througheach term, this translates to approximately five courses a trimester.Even with constraints of size, from the FLAME School of LiberalEducation, subjects currently offered at major level include culturalstudies, economics, environmental studies, international studies,literature, mathematics, physics, psychology and south Asianstudies, alongside traditional offerings in business and communication.The design of the programme focuses on foundationaldepth and so stimulates interest in interdisciplinary majors such asinternational and environmental studies. It is interesting that eventhough India is the only country where the highest court of the landhas mandated the study of environmental education at all levels,the possibility to pursue such interests is currently limited by lackof capacity at the post-secondary school level. This should promptimminent reflection on the need for new majors, programmes ofstudy and interdisciplinary majors as an adequate response to thedynamic nature of the creation and distribution of knowledge inour time. As an introduction to the possibilities of research even atundergraduate level, the Centre for South Asia at FLAME organizesseveral talks, screenings and symposia to familiarize students withthe idea that the study of one’s own context can be embarked on ininnovative ways. Research opportunities, at every age, are certainlycritical to genuine learning. It is this insight of recognizinglearning as a dynamic process that drives the needfor a return to liberal education in India.Additionally, the recognition that learning occurs in variedways should also inform the crafting of new pedagogies tomaximize learning at all levels. While affluent students in therich learning environments of private schools are certainlybenefiting from pedagogical experimentation, at the collegelevel very little has been attempted in the arts and sciences.At FLAME, the Discover India programme seeks to grantexperiential learning its due, by affording students ten days offield work and research, where they select their own researchsites and are responsible for producing original insights intoIndia’s heritage. So far, whether it’s the study of traditionalmedicinal systems that have remained hidden from theEnglish mainstream, or ethnographic work on marginalrefugee communities, the value of the interactive aspects ofthis education is significant. The output of this student-drivenresearch adds to generating models of sustainable and cooperativedevelopment.If this model works at a typically collegiate scale ofunder 400 students and 45 faculty, the FLAME experimentcan easily be replicated across India. It is vital thatmore and more programmes be designed along theselines for students in the Indian education system so as toafford them a chance to discover their true passion formeaningful and sustainable careers, while also addingto the country’s human resources. Some 21 universitiesexisted in India’s professional training in 1947 and thiscontinued with post-independence India’s focus on engineering,technology, management and medicine. Nowthat the FLAME experiment in liberalizing Indian educationis seen to be working, attention can be focused onthe tougher question of how to achieve quality in educationand attain indigenous and sustainable models ofeducation.[ 182 ]