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3// Creating an Inclusive Environment

1// College: Pathways of Possibility

Reena Gupta, Director, Office of Learning Support, on how Ashoka aids students with disabilities

2// Why “Liberal” is a good word for Business

Ali Imran, Vice President, External Engagement writes on why companies should hire Liberal Arts graduates

Saikat Majumdar, Professor of English & Creative Writing critiques India’s higher education system

3/18Vol.10

Education must be more than mere consumption of knowledgeIn his new book, College: Pathways of Possibility, Saikat Majumdar (SM), Professor of English & Creative Writing, critiques India’s higher education system. In an interview with Anjum Hasan (AH) for The Hindu, he explains how a broader Liberal Arts and Sciences education could greatly enliven the college experience and make it more relevant to further study or work.

samvadS a m v a d i n S a n s k r i t m e a n s d i a l o g u e

T H E N E W S L E T T E R F R O M A S H O K A U N I V E R S I T Y

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Cont’d. from previous pg

AH: College is an impassioned plea for a more expansive and creative approach to undergraduate education. In India, we either have a general education disconnected from both life and the job market, or a highly specialised professional education presented by the IITs and IIMs. What needs to change?

SM: The existing BA/BSc system in the large public universities is largely the legacy of a colonial system, designed by the British to train and certify government employees. College proposes a shift away from this understanding of education merely as the consumption of existing knowledge verifiable through examinations. It has three main elements: a shift from the complete preoccupation with the consumption of knowledge to its production in the form of research; the cultivation of at least one discipline as different as possible from one’s primary specialisation — what I call “contra-disciplinarity”; and finally, an expansive general education that combines some exposure to a range of disciplinary methodologies with deep specialisation in one subject. Many things might follow such an expansive edifice of undergraduate education — academic research in a particular discipline, further specialised training for a particular profession, or even a direct entry into the job market.

AH: You question the ‘coverage model’ traditionally followed in Indian universities — the focus on covering the history of a subject rather than understanding what you call its soul. This is a very enlightening distinction but for the study of a subject like literature, don’t you need both — that is, to internalise the poem as a work of art in language, as well as understand the circumstances and politics of its production?

SM: By the ‘coverage model’, I mean the compulsion to cover the entire canon of the discipline. Reducing this would allow time and energy for a more creative exploration of its key nodes and features. To let go a bit, focus on a few key things rather than to cover “everything”– this is a principle of intelligent selection rather than the prioritisation of the micro over the macro. To understand

“The existing system in the public universities is largely the legacy of a colonial system. I propose a shift away from this education merely as the consumption of existing knowledge verifiable through examinations.”

a literary text, both are equally important: close reading of its features and distant reading of its larger historical matrix. Combining the two is more important than ever to understand key epistemic moments in history. For example, the modern understanding of individual authorship in the 18th century. My sense is that the existing literary curricula in many Indian universities seek to provide an equal and “factual” coverage of the entire canon, rather than a selective and strategic emphasis on its key structures and transformation.

AH: More and more Indian universities are becoming settings for acute political polarisation, which among other things could also be an expression of disenchantment with the very idea of a general higher education. It seems unable to address the questions of the present. Would you agree?

SM: Absolutely, and with great regret. But in this, the universities symptomise a larger, acute, and painful polarisation in Indian society and politics, at large; perhaps, in the world at large — the left and right, liberal and conservative, local and global — whatever we choose to call them. This polarisation grows bloodier and more violent every day.

An excellent university system, including the pioneering system of Liberal Arts education, has not prevented this polarisation in the US; and according to some rural right-wingers, it has rather aggravated it.

AH: You say to the ambitious young person in 21st century India, “If you are attracted to different disciplines, don’t choose between them. Go for them both.” Where could they go, within the country, to fulfil an aspiration of this sort?

SM: Potentially anywhere. Back in college at the University of Calcutta, an English honours classmate of mine had mathematics as a “pass” subject. It is not so much the system but the mindset that prevents it. We already have the scaffolding of a Liberal Arts-Science system in our public universities, but not its real spirit. Even the IITs make something of a bid for the humanities and the social sciences, as MIT has done so beautifully. New universities like Ashoka provide a more encouraging environment to pursue contra-disciplinarity. But more than anything else, it is the attitude that needs to change.

“Today universities symptomise a larger, acute, and painful polarisation in Indian society and politics, at large. This polarisation grows more violent every day.”

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The speed of change in business is unprecedented today. CEOs are constantly confronted with frequent market disruptions due to shifting consumer habits, the entry of new competitors and dramatic new technologies. Hence, it is not surprising that even the most successful CEOs are always searching for ways to make their organisations future-ready. This future-readiness is not just about investments, technologies or product lines, but also about the kind of people they need to recruit.

Accompanying this churn, the job market is also changing at a hectic pace, and today’s graduates may have 10 different jobs by the age of 40. In other words, they must prepare for jobs that do not yet exist and be ready to solve problems of which no one is aware yet. For instance, who would have thought, even five years ago, that a social media expert would be such a sought-after job?

It is in this context that a liberal, interdisciplinary education acquires greater importance than ever before.

Current educational paradigms, starting from school and continuing into higher education (especially engineering and management), encourage students to learn how to do well in an examination without necessarily getting into the depth of the subject. Further, students are led to believe that there is usually only one correct answer to any question. Lastly, most of these students are not equipped with the actual skills required for the modern workplace, which are not the same as technical skills (even though technical skills are a great start).

A Liberal Arts and Sciences education imparts skills such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, written and oral communication, teamwork and innovation. It provides a grounding in many different subjects and encourages students to find unexplored connections between them, leading to innovative outcomes. It trains them to do their

own in-depth thinking after understanding an issue from different viewpoints. It orients them towards asking the right questions instead of seeking obvious answers. It combines the qualitative with the quantitative, recognising that any business has a human context apart from a technical or financial one. Most importantly, it teaches students how to learn, preparing them for a future in which knowledge and work will both evolve continuously.

A Liberal Arts and Sciences background is what unites some of the world’s best-known business leaders including Howard Schultz of Starbucks, Jack Ma of Alibaba, Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase, A.G. Lafley of P&G, Brian Chesky of Airbnb, Stephen Schwarzman of the Blackstone Group and Michael Eisner of Disney (who made the company hugely profitable despite being an English and theatre major). In fact, studies have shown that one-third of all Fortune 500 CEOs have a degree in liberal education. Even Elon Musk, today’s breakaway business leader, studied physics and economics at the undergraduate level. In recent years, liberal education majors have founded some of the best-known global brands including Wikipedia, PayPal, YouTube and Flickr.

Steve Jobs, perhaps the most storied CEO ever, briefy studied calligraphy at Reed College, Oregon (which he leveraged superbly to create Apple’s unique identity). He had this to say about interdisciplinary thinking: “It’s in Apple’s DNA that technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with Liberal Arts, married with the Humanities, that yields the results that make our hearts sing.”

Research carried out by DDI International surveying 15,000 professionals from 300 organisations, 20 industries and 18 countries has shown that graduates with a liberal education were in the top quadrant along with business graduates for leadership skills, and performed strongly on results orientation and entrepreneurship.

In sum, given that management is both an art and a science, there is no one better equipped to do it than someone who understands both arts and sciences!

And that’s why “Liberal” is a good word for business.

Why “Liberal” is a good word for business

“Research has shown that graduates with a liberal education were in the top quadrant along with business graduates for leadership skills. They also performed strongly on results orientation and entrepreneurship.”

Ali Imran is Vice President, External Engagement

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Creating an inclusive environment in higher educationReena Gupta is Director, Office of Learning Support

In India, inclusive education within higher education is almost non-existent. There are very few options for students with specific learning needs after they complete school. This prompted Ashoka University to open its doors to all learners who aspire for a Liberal Arts and Sciences education. The University believes that students with disabilities should not be at a disadvantage in either admission or in the learning process. And so, a dedicated Office of Learning Support (OLS) was established in July 2016.

The OLS is responsible for planning an intervention schedule for every student with a disability. This includes arranging for various assistive technologies, collaborating with faculty and centres within Ashoka, and liaising with outside agencies to extend the best possible help to these students. The OLS

“The OLS works closely with various stakeholders including faculty, the library team and the various offices and centres to manage academics as well as the social and emotional aspects of the student’s life.”

has been supporting students with visual impairments, hearing impairments, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, attention deficit disorders and those with significant English language difficulties.

Once the student is on board, the office conducts formal or informal assessments based on which an intervention plan is charted out. This includes reasonable adjustments to be made in the learning and thinking processes of the student. This process can be better explained through three case studies – Shakul, a third-year undergraduate (UG) student who is most likely the first visually impaired student to do a mathematics major in India; Kunwar, a first-year UG with full hearing loss, pursuing his dream of joining the civil services; and Mukesh, a first-year UG who has significant English language-related difficulties but has strong mathematical abilities.

Shakul is an extremely bright student who made it to IIT but chose Ashoka instead. He believed that the University would be able to provide him with all the support he required to get by. He needs software tools that can read mathematical equations. Recording the lectures, converting his books into LaTeX, preparing tactile graphs, manual intervention for proof reading converted texts, and modified assignments are some examples of support provided to Shakul. He graduates in 2018 and is planning to go to the US for further studies.

Kunwar is a keen photographer who is deeply interested in filmmaking, photography and modelling. He largely communicates through lip reading. He struggles with long texts and passages and is not comfortable with mathematics or sciences. Ashoka’s curriculum involves several discussions and presentations, which limits Kunwar’s participation in the classroom as he cannot comply with verbal discussions. The OLS works closely with his professors and teaching assistants to help Kunwar maximise his learning. Tutors from the Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC) spend one-on-one time with him and provide simplified notes to keep Kunwar abreast of his curriculum. Understanding that he has a special learning ability, we are in the process of incorporating more visual learning methods and working with his professors to allow Kunwar to submit his assignments in a format he is more comfortable with.

Mukesh, an ESL (English as second language) student, struggled in the first semester with the Foundation Courses which required heavy reading and written assignments. The OLS worked closely with the CWC and his ESL instructor to make the curriculum easier on him. Helping him with readings and daily life skills such as writing emails are a few examples of the support provided to Mukesh. Remedial help, such as activities to improve grammar skills, vocabulary, reading comprehension, oral language and written expression, was also provided.

Working with students with disabilities has been equally fruitful and rewarding for the OLS. In 2017, three students graduated with good grades. Going forward, the office plans to collaborate with Ashoka’s partner universities as well as other universities such as IIM Bangalore and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences to share best practices for creating an inclusive environment in higher education.

For further information, contact Nandini Vaish: nandini.vaish@ashoka.edu.in