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GIS and College Education in India -Considerations, Contingencies and Challenges
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In Delhi there are three universities where there is a scope for introduction of GIS exist at Undergraduate level - University of Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia and Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The present status illustrates that GIS is though a part of course curriculum in Geography at undergraduate level, it is totally theoretical. At present, in Delhi University, it is an optional paper in B.A.(Hons.) Geography, with less than 50 students offering it in three of the twelve colleges offering Geography ( 21 in Kirori Mal College and 22 together in Dayal Singh & Bhagat Singh College) . Its only in one college (KMC) where the course is being offered right from its inception (1990). Thus, indicative of the step-discipline treatment given to the subject. However new syllabus in Geography hopes to offer a partial solution. But its advent in other faculties is still non-existing and needs to be considered. In around fifty colleges there lies a scope for its expansion (Table 1). For all application related exercises in GIS, following centers of Delhi University offer a good premise.
- Centre for Science Education and Communication Center.
- Centre for Geo-resources .
- Centre for Inter Disciplinary Studies on Mountain & Hill Environment
- Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystem.
Table 1: Scope for Introducing GIS In Delhi Colleges
Contingencies
The second important issue that needs to be understood before introducing GIS in colleges is cost to be borne by an institute in its implementing. All these are dependent on the perspective that particular University and discipline upholds. There are different views regarding the importance of three essential element of GIS - data, operations and applications. The students of different disciplines may do better in one element than the other. Some disciplines like geography, geology, architecture are closer to data-centric perspective, as they prepare individual layers and/or assemble the comprehensive databases GIS needs. Other disciplines like computer science are operations-centric, because they lock in on refining and expanding the GIS toolbox of processing and display capabilities. Finally, other physical sciences and social sciences are applications-centric. For them the ominous details of spatial data and operations are impediments to problem solving. The tracking of "cause and effect" and reliance on empirical relationships are the main ingredients and they vary with disciplines. The idea that GIS modelling retains spatial specificity and responds to spatial autocorrelation of field data is a challenging one in each subject. Over the years there has been a transitional shift in the perspective from data and operation centric to application centric in GIS. A crucial component of this evolution is an effective mechanism to communicate model logic, as well as processing flow. All these carry costs and need to be handled effectively and differently.
The interaction emanated due to changes in the syllabus. Job specifications further add to the contigencies. This requires a training -either in house or outside. However, the college teaching has ignored a number of significant factors amongst which are:
- The coordination of course content;
- A strategy for incorporating new members of the department into teaching.
- The traditional demand for links between teaching and research
- The educational goal of colleges has been to produce graduates.
With reference to the first point there are difficulties to be overcome before academic content can be properly structured and teaching coordinated. For every small change permission from the university is mandatory. Syllabi revision is a long drawn procedure.
Table 2: Requisite Clearances before implementing new Syllabus
| Stage | Basic Requisites |
| First | Preparation & Presentation of Syllabus in respective department |
| Second | Clearance of Syllabus in respective faculty. |
| Third | Clearance from the Academic Council |
| Fourth | Ratification from the Executive Council. |
| Fifth | Implementation of Syllabus |
It is a 5- tier arrangement (Table2). Let me illustrate with an early experience in introduction of RS & GIS as a compulsory paper at undergraduate level in the Delhi University Geography Syllabus. The thought of introduction of GIS Course demanding infrastructure was enough for a debate among college and university teachers. After lot of deliberations in the Department of Geography, the syllabus was prepared in 1998-99. It got ratified in 2000 and being a final year paper the first batch to study the paper will be in 2003. Time lag between preparation and implementation of any new syllabus in this information age thus becomes a contingency of its own kind.