ABSTRACT

The Role of Higher Professional Educational Institutions in Inculcating Values

Higher professional education system in India has grown remarkably in the later half of the 20 th century and
the growth momentum has only been accelerated as we moved to the twenty-first century. It has become
one of the largest systems of its kind in the world. However, the eroding values and ethics in higher is a
major issue of concern. The educational institutions offering higher professional education must recognize
this fact and identify their role in inculcating values and ethics as a part of the curriculum to ensure
sustainability of a healthy higher education system in the long run.
Values and ethics are the foundation of sustainability. The center of this sustainability is the development
of knowledge that leads to a higher quality of mind and being.
This paper discusses the importance of values and ethics, its impact and the educational institutions’ role in
inculcating these in the faculty and subsequently in students. Further, the prevalent pedagogy in institutions
of higher education has been analyzed, their effectiveness has been evaluated and the required changes
have been suggested. It includes the need to promote:
• interdisciplinary and holistic learning rather than subject-based learning;
• values-based learning;
• critical thinking rather than memorizing;

• multi-method approaches – word, art, drama, debate, etc.;

• participatory decision-making;

• locally relevant information, rather than international case studies

The study discusses how the traditional focus of higher education on epistemology – what a student comes
to know – is not enough when considering the development of dispositions such as sustainability and ethics
and emphasizes the need of the ontological dimension – who a student is and who they are becoming. The
Institutions offering higher professional education must understand this role and urgently.

Shesadev Nayak,
DEAN, Delhi Institute of Higher Education (a constituent Institute of JIMS – JaganNath Institute of
Management Sciences),
Sector-3, Rohini,
Delhi – 110 085.

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