In a bid to make the State's polytechnic students industry-ready, the Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) has commenced the process of overhauling the curriculum. The new and improved syllabus will be implemented the next academic year, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.

"The framework will be ready by November end. By April next year, the content of the new syllabus will be prepared," said Laxmi Priya, DOTE director. A team comprising senior faculty from polytechnic colleges, DOTE officials, and industry experts in the respective fields of engineering are working on the new curriculum, said officials.

Along with the introduction of a choice-based credit system (CBCS), DOTE plans to add more elective courses to make the curriculum more flexible to suit the needs of students. "The students can choose and opt out of the varieties of elective courses. Along with increasing their employability factor, the flexibility will provide better exposure," said the director.

It may be noted that the CBCS had been introduced in engineering courses, the same had not been done for polytechnic courses in Tamil Nadu. The CBCS will also enable students to learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

The syllabus will see more sandwich-mode courses (periods of study interspersed with periods of work), to be introduced with support from companies. This will provide hands-on training, and enhance the placement opportunities, said a DOTE official.

As per the current practice, the syllabus of TN polytechnic colleges is revised every three years. However, the revision is limited only to additions of some new chapters on the latest technologies. This time, the curriculum is set to undergo a major revamp.

This also comes after Anna University — to which engineering colleges here are affiliated — revamped its syllabus, after two decades. The varsity had introduced its new curriculum this year.