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Need for Liberal Arts Education In India

Need for Liberal Arts Education In India

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Jun 17, 2024 11:13 AM IST | #B.A.

Liberal arts education offers a range of exposure by combining different subjects and disciplines. This holistic and multidisciplinary approach to teaching has been part of the Indian education system since ancient times in universities like ‘Nalanda’ and ‘Takshashila’. However, with the rise of scientific and technological fields, the focus on liberal arts education declined.

Need for Liberal Arts Education In India
Need for Liberal Arts Education In India

But as they say, History repeats itself, and the need for a well-rounded education can be seen again in the country. While a specialised degree is valuable, it limits students' exposure to diverse fields. This focus on a single subject can lead to mental strain and halt the development of critical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills.

Also Read: Future of Liberal Arts

To address this issue and equip students with essential skills like creativity, innovation, teamwork, and communication; the New Education Policy (NEP) emphasises the importance of liberal arts education. In the following section, we will look into the specific reasons why a liberal arts education is crucial in India's educational landscape.

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Also Read: Top Liberal Arts Specialisation in India

Need for Liberal Arts Education in India

The Indian education system lacks a well-rounded and holistic education approach. Liberal arts degrees address this issue and come with a multidisciplinary method of learning. Read on to know why India needs more education like liberal arts.

Multidisciplinary Approach: For decades, Indian education has been rigid with limited scope for interdisciplinary study, especially in higher education. A long-felt need existed for an educational approach that allowed students to explore subjects from multiple disciplines together.

Liberal arts education fulfils this need perfectly and combines the study of multiple disciplines in a single degree. Integrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) with arts and humanities subjects is the foundational principle of liberal arts education.

Also Read: How Liberal Arts Can Help in Today's Job Market?

Flexibility: The previous education system had very limited flexibility and the same topics were offered over a long time. There was for sure a need to change the way education was provided. NEP has focused on this issue by introducing flexible learning options, not only in subject selection but also in course duration, learning mode, and even inter-institutional transfers.

With the implementation of NEP, liberal arts education can be pursued with any course of a student’s interest. It also offers multiple exit points, such as certification if students exit in one year, a diploma on the completion of two years, and a degree after three years of study. The flexibility of moving across institutions is also a salient feature of NEP and liberal arts.

Also Read: Career Opportunities After Pursuing Liberal Arts

Social Skills: Another major need for liberal arts education was to provide students with social skills along with technical training. A report published by the Sapien Labs Centre for the Human Brain and Mind in 2023 showed that more than 50 per cent of the youth in India have poor mental health.

Because of the increase in the number of suicides committed by students over the decade and the decline in the moral well-being of students, there was a need for such education. In liberal arts, students are also taught to enhance their thinking, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and confidence to overcome any situation in their personal and professional lives.

Low Enrolment in Humanities: With the high value of scientific and technology subjects in this digital era, colleges witnessed less enrolment in humanities and social sciences subjects. So, there was a need to change the traditional learning routes and hence many educational institutions have come with liberal arts degrees.

Colleges have started providing humanities courses along with technical subjects. For example, a liberal arts degree by combining computer science and history in a single degree.

Also Read: Liberal Education as per NEP 2020

Technical Literacy: We can not deny the fact that having technical skills is important for every student regardless of their academic background. Presently, there is absolutely no focus on providing basic technical literacy to students with humanities and social sciences students.

But, liberal arts degrees bridge the gap by combining technical education with humanities subjects. This allows students with backgrounds in humanities to pursue careers in technical fields.

Consider a liberal arts degree that integrates computer science with history or philosophy. Such a degree equips graduates with a unique combination of technical and social science knowledge which is uncommon in regular/specialised degrees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why is liberal education important?

Because of its broad-based learning method and focus on equipping students with both soft and hard skills, liberal education is important.

2. What are the benefits of studying liberal arts?

Flexibility of learning and interpersonal skills in addition to technical knowledge is the major benefit of studying liberal arts.

3. What does "NEP" stand for?

NEP's full form is the National Education Policy. It is a new educational policy that came into existence on 29 July 2020 by the Union Cabinet of India.

4. What is the need for a liberal arts education In India?

Liberal arts come with a multidisciplinary learning approach, flexibility, interpersonal skills, and technical literacy which is why it is needed in the Indian education system.

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Questions related to B.A.

Have a question related to B.A. ?

Hello aspirant,

The expected cutoff rank for DU BA LLB of every category is,

General: 1000- 1500

EWS: 4000-4500

SC/ST: 10,000

For more information, click on the link given below,

https://law.careers360.com/articles/du-5-year-llb-admission-2025-check-eligibility-and-expected-cut-offs

Best of luck for your future




Hello Manobi

Generally, all stream students are allowed to do MCA but there is a catch.

If you had mathematics at your 10+2 level (i.e. 12th class), it will be easier for you to do MCA as most universities/colleges require you to have Mathematics in 12th.

But even if you didn't had Mathematics, you still have some options left in Private colleges.

Therefore, you could do MCA.

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Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!

Hello aspirant,

There are several colleges offering online course of BA in Punjabi. Some of these colleges are,

  1. Guru Nanak Dev University
  2. Punjab University
  3. Lovely Professional University
  4. Parul University
  5. Desh Bhagat University
  6. Amity University
  7. Kurukshetra University

You can visit any of these college's website and apply for the admission. I hope this helps you.

Regards

Hello Aspirant,

Getting 303/750 in CUET with obc category is tough to getting admission in Allahabad University . the past obc cutoff for ba is around 330+ . this year the expected cutoff is  gone far too 420+ . You can still apply through the Samarth Portal and wait for lower rounds, but chances are low.

hope you find your answer.

Hello Aspirant,

getting 193/500 in CUET with obc category is tough to getting admission in BA+B.ed at CUSB . the previous cutoff is 290+  in 2024 . your score is below the range , still complete counselling steps and check all rounds .  You may consider other central or state universities with lower cut-offs.


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