New curriculum released for core diploma courses

CHENNAI: To match the latest industrial demands, the State government has released the new curriculum for five core diploma courses including civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering (EEE), and computer engineering for second and third-year polytechnic students on Monday.

As the colleges will be opening shortly, the new syllabus will be adopted from this academic year. Currently, there are 492 polytechnic colleges including 54 government institutions and 32 government-aided in the State with around 1.8 lakh students.

A senior official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE) told DT Next, “Polytechnic colleges contribute significantly by producing skilled technicians to support mass industrialisation. Our State economy is focusing on deep-tech and knowledge-based industries, rather than low-cost labour-intensive talent.” Pointing out that industry requirements had changed with advancements in technology especially in engineering and computation, he opined that there was a need for skill-based talent to bridge the industry-academia gap.

“The syllabus was reformed to nurture the next generation of highly competent individuals who can harness the power of technology, innovation, and enterprise to lead change, and deliver social and economic impact,” added the official. “Inputs from industries and State-owned Guidance Tamil Nadu have been taken while redesigning the curriculum. The focus is on improving the employability and entrepreneurship of students through skill-centric and industry-allied curricula and syllabi.”

He also said that the final curriculum and syllabi of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth semesters (mechanical, civil, EEE, and computer engineering) under New Regulation 2023 for diploma were uploaded on the website.

“A circular has been issued to all the principals, who were also requested to inform faculty members and students and display it on the notice board,” he stated.