Transforming higher education

The author of the article, “transforming higher education “ in the Hindu has suggested that, the , “the time saved i n regular classes in the institutions can be compensated   for the development t of skills ---- values “ to help the students in enriching their lives. All of  us who have spent 3-6 years in college have the memories of the  academic discussions  initiated by excellent teachers,  opportunities  thrown at us to develop  our academic and non academic  skills through lot of extracurricular  activities  . These skills developed through attending colleges have developed our personality and character and helped  in shaping  the values of our lives  through exposure to different types of experiences and regular and direct  interactions  with various types of fellow students and  teachers  .  The purpose of higher education is not to create robots to fulfill the needs  of the corporate sector.  Even they emphasis on soft skills  than on theoretical knowledge.   On line teaching can be suitable only during crises like the present situation,. It can never replace  physical classes of colleges and never will  be suitable to nation   with higher level of  income inequity and urban and rural divide . We  need mass education and development of skills through college campuses than class education through online education. This can be a additional method   and not  a substitute for regular physical learning process if we have to reap the benefits of demographic dividends. .