5 education trends to look forward in 2024.

1. Global Collaboration and Exchange Programs: Despite the government’s efforts to encourage foreign universities to set up campuses in India, which is a medium to long term prospect. In the shorter term, there is likely to be a push towards collaboration and exchange programs with foreign institutions with credit transfers for courses completed in India and the terminal part of the education can be done abroad leading to a joint or terminal degree from the foreign university.
2. Digital Integration and E-Learning Platforms: The government’s push for digital literacy, parity for online education with offline, greater availability of smartphones will be a game changer in 2024. Expect the government to double down on efforts to create e learning platforms with interoperability features like other digital public infrastructure and encourage prominent government funded institutions to create and disseminate content.
3. Focus On Vernacular Technical Education: We expect major government initiatives to encourage higher and technical education through vernacular medium. Gross Enrollment Ratio can be increased only if higher education can be conducted in vernacular languages where there is a paucity of content. So, to put the horse before the cart, I expect major government funded initiatives for vernacular content creation.
4. Skill Based Curricular Reforms: Skill development is the need of the day across all sectors as employer requirements are changing dramatically. For the better known and equipped educational institutions, curricular changes that encourage critical thinking, problem solving abilities will be the call of the hour. From the government’s perspective, more funding for specific skill building in the form of ITI like institutions for coding, software development to generate employment in Tier II and III cities and the rural hinterland is likely to be a priority.
5. Generative AI And Pedagogical Innovations: Generative AI cannot be avoided as it is here to stay. Dynamic institutions will take the lead in reforming their teaching and testing pedagogy as quickly as possible to incorporate the benefits of AI based tools. Students have been using it already and now it will be the turn of the educators to catch up. This is going to be a multistage process in the short term. Better equipped schools will adapt faster while large public universities with many affiliated colleges of varying standards of competency will find it a slower and more difficult journey.

Attributable to Sanjoy Sircar, Professor and Program Director, PGPM, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai.