Editor’s note: This is part of a lecture series on “Understanding Biology” that Prof. Kambadur Muralidhar, a renowned scientist and teacher, gave at the University of Hyderabad in 2017. He has kindly shared the entire series with Club SciWri, and we are presenting these to you in parts.
There should ideally be a two-way interaction between the academic world and the rest of the society.
The academic world consists of teachers, students, scientists, communicators, administrators, technical, and non-technical supportive staff. Although a part of the general society, the academic world is isolated from it in certain ways. There should ideally be a two-way interaction between the academic world and the rest of the society. One should not forget that ‘Learning’ is the most important of all activities of the academic world, and indeed it should be ‘the activity’ of choice.
In the western education system, Science is organized in three phases that is School, Undergraduate (UG) and Post-Graduate (PG) phases. These phases form not only a linear sequence but also a hierarchical sequence. Post-graduate level of education follows undergraduate level, which in turn follows school level education. Each level is subdivided into year-based or semester-based sub levels. India has inherited the university system of education as a result of the colonial rule. Currently in India, 12 years of schooling is followed by three years of UG education, which is followed by two or three years of PG education. Post PG, some students choose to spend another 4-5 years to complete PhD level educational/research training. Unfortunately, in common parlance the years of training are referred to as levels of ‘teaching’ and not as levels of ‘learning’. There are different combinations of these levels, in terms of number of years spent, in different parts of the world including within India.
The issues to be discussed are many and among those include options of vocationalization at every level. There are two mutually exclusive products of this educational system. One is an employee or a professional who carries out jobs assigned to him/her, and the other who works in pursuit of the ‘Truth’ and in the process creates new knowledge. The latter is sometimes identified wrongly as either a teacher or a scientist. Teaching and research have to be pursued together by the same person.
How should we organize this science education in general, and biology education in particular, given the current system, which is largely a colonial legacy?
The profound question is how to effectively transact human knowledge so as to enable the learner to gain wisdom and/or employability? As far as Biology is concerned, it should be part of Science & Technology at the School level. Science & technology should be a part of general education, which enables understanding human life, human relations, and relation of Man with the Environment. We somehow have to achieve both individual emancipation (the ultimate goal of education) and also participation in national development. Till the end of school phase, Natural Science should be taught as a single discipline. The structure and function of Nature as an integrated system should be understood. At the UG level Biology should be taught as an integrated science discipline. Sufficient practical knowledge of Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics should be imparted. They should be presented as tools, techniques and sometimes as language but not as separate disciplines. Therefore, integrated Biology would mean:
- Integration of Botany, Zoology and Microbiology
- Integration of structural biology (classical and modern) with functional biology that is physiology and behavior
- Integration of morphological and molecular languages
- Integration of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry within Biology
- Integration of Humanities and Social Sciences within Biology
How to achieve this at the School and UG levels? We could substitute the word Science for Biology in so far as school education is concerned. The school education should be imparted in two phases. Phase 1 should be education about human relations, language and literature, society, general education, personal and public hygiene, nutrition and environmental health, love for biodiversity, values in life for instance. The next phase should deal with Natural Science & Technology as a single discipline. Of the five elements of integration listed above, school and UG level of education should differ only in the relative emphasis on the fifth element vis-à-vis the first four elements. At the school stage all the listed elements should refer to Science as a whole, while at UG level Biology must be presented as a unitary discipline. One can think similarly of Physics , Chemistry or Mathematics.
How to achieve the slated aims of UG level education in Biology? The curriculum should list course titles and content in such a way that Botany and Zoology are not demarcated. There should not be a clear distinction between Chemistry, Physics, Cell Biology or Biochemistry. These words, which represent earlier knowledge domains or even perhaps departmental names, have created boundary walls within the single discipline of Biology. In summary, there should be no specializations within Biology at UG level. At the PG level one can specialize to a much greater extent. In the American system for example, PG courses are part of PhD coursework, and students take few lectures on highly specialized topics. In India, however, as a consequence of the teaching at UG level not being standardized, a Masters degree usually becomes necessary before one starts PhD. Even Integrated Masters-PhD programs have not been very successful in India.
To achieve these objectives we have to change the structure of education. One can think of 11+4+5 years of education for school, UG and PhD degree level education. However, necessary standards for each of these degrees or levels should be clearly and thoughtfully delineated and set. An analysis [1.] of current structures of UG Biology education in India shows a vast diversity however, lacking any articulated philosophy.
Suggested Reading Material:
- Muralidhar, K., and K. Tripathy (2009) Changing profile of undergraduate level science teaching in India with special reference to Biology
Current Science Vol97 (8), 1123-1126. - Kambadur Muralidhar (2008) Biology as an integrating natural science domain, A proposal for BSc (H) in Integrated Biology Resonance, 13, (3), 272-276.
- Kambadur Muralidhar et al (2001) UGC Curriculum Development Committee Report for Zoology/Biology.
- Gita Bali (2015) Recommendations of the committee set up by Karnataka Government on UG Educati
- Indian Academy of Sciences (2012) Post school education
- Kambadur Muralidhar and Srivastava, PK. (2006) Integrative Biology at Undergraduate Level of Science Education. In “Integrative Biology” S.C. Lakhotia, INSA Publications, New Delhi, pp.53-56.
Author
Prof. Kambadur Muralidhar is an Indian biologist, known for his work in biochemistry, endocrinology and reproductive biology. He taught at Delhi University for over thirty years, and was Head of its Department of Zoology. Currently, he is Jawaharlal Nehru Chair Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences, India. He is also highly regarded as a teacher and educator, and has contributed to biology education at both high school and college levels.
Editors
Arunima Singh, PhD and Roopsha Sengupta, PhD edited the article.
Arunima obtained her PhD from the University of Georgia, and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the New York University. A computational structural biologist by training, she enjoys traveling, reading, and the process of mastering new cuisines in her spare time. Her motivation to move to New York was to be a part of this rich scientific, cultural, and social hub.
Roopsha did her PhD in the Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna and postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge UK, specializing in the field of Epigenetics. Besides science and words, she enjoys spending time with children, doodling, and singing.
Artist
Ipsa provided the cover image. She is a post-doctoral fellow at Instem, Bangalore. She tries to communicate science through visual arts as a medium. Collecting graphic books, tree trash, and reading brain pickings is few of her favourites. Follow and purchase her artwork at Ipsawonders (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). She will be happy to hear praises and non-praises at ipsajain.31@gmail.com.
Other images in the blog courtesy Pixabay.
Blog design: Arunima Singh
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