Times of India dated May 03, 2006 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1514795.cms
Valuable lessons for budding professionals:
Priyanka Tiwari
[Wednesday, May 03, 2006 10:13:58 pm TIMES NEWS NETWORK]
The government proposal to introduce 'ethics education' in professional institutes has been received well by students as well as teachers.
For those who tried to bunk Moral Science classes in school because they were too boring, the idea of ethics education in higher education would hardly be inspiring.
But as it turns out, the Department of Secondary and Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource and Development has made up its mind to introduce ethical education in professional institutes, and has evoked a positive response from all quarters.
According to Keshav Desiraju, the joint secretary in the Department of Secondary and Higher Education in the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, one cannot underscore the significance of ethics in education enough. "We will discuss with institutes of higher education how a course in ethics education can be initiated," he adds.
Appreciating the ministry's consideration, Professor Prawal Sinha, dean of students affair at IIT-K says, "The value system for the younger generation is changing with time.
An educational institute has to be a torchbearer in showing the right path to students. Unless a course like ethics education is formally introduced in institutes at all levels, students would take the subject very lightly."
While ethics education is not a compulsory subject in management institutes, it is a part of management training. "Institutes have to abide by a set syllabi so one can't break the rule to mould things as per one's will.
Since the subject is not formally introduced we can't have separate classes or teachers for it. We do, however, undertake lectures on ethics," says Ameeta Shiroor, who is the deputy director at the Symbiosis Institute of Management, Pune.
"It is important to follow work ethics in whatever you do. Since the new breed of professionals would represent our country in different fields, it is necessary for them to realise how significant the role of ethics is in life and work.
For, internationally, nobody would hold our country in high regard if our representatives show themselves as lacking in their ethics and value systems," adds Shiroor.
Students have also taken well to the idea of ethics education. As Roopak Agarwal, third year B.Tech student at IT-BHU, stresses, "Principles are an integral part of our culture. They make you a better human being. Degrees are secondary."
Roopak goes a step further and suggests that a uniform must be introduced for students even in professional institutes and they must be made to recite Saraswati vandana in the morning everyday!
According to Arundhati Gupta studying in Mt Carmel College Bangalore, "Students pursuing higher education are more mature to comprehend the value system and follow it. So it's really important to have ethics education as a proper subject in professional colleges."
"This is the time when students learn to be responsible. Such education will equip them to fight against corruption, discrimination and environmental pollution," believes Saurav Aneja, 4th year chemical engineering student at IIT Kanpur.
kanpur.times@timesgroup.com