Professor Kumar Suresh is the Professor and Head of the Department of Educational Administration at the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. He holds an M.Phil in Sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University and Ph.D. in Federal Studies from the Centre for Federal Studies, New Delhi. He also has a Diploma with “Suma cum Laud” (High Distinction) in federalism, decentralization, and conflict transformation from the Institute of Federalism, University of Fribourg, Switzerland. In recognition of his academic credentials demonstrated through research, publications, and academic-administrative acumen he has been appointed as Honorary Professor in the Department of Education, Central University of Kerala. He has also served as Registrar(I/c). NIEPA for more than two years.

He has also been selected for a fully funded Academic Leadership Development Program (LEAP) of the Ministry of Education (2020) organized in collaboration with Harvard University, USA. He is a member of the Asia-Pacific Network of Researchers of UNESCO and Africa- Asia Development (AAD) Research Network of Institutions He also served as a member of different expert committees of the University Grant Commission UGC and ICSSR. He has also visited different countries in international collaborative programs which include Switzerland (Fribourg University), Canada (McGill University), Serbia (University of Belgrade), Sri Lanka (Forum of Federation and Burgoff Foundation), Nepal (GTZ and Forum of Federation), and Thailand (Bangkok UNESCO’s Branch Office) and research collaborative program of the ICSSR, India National Research Council, Thailand at Chiangmai. His area of specialization and research interest include educational administration and management, educational federalism, decentralization and multi-level governance of the education system; policy process and governance; multiculturalism, inclusive policies, and diversity management, etc.

National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration

Being the Head of your Department, what are your roles and responsibilities towards the students?

Head of the department is one of the statutory positions in the university system. I am heading the department of educational administration. As the head of the department, I have multiple roles and responsibilities as academic administrator as well as teacher. Our main aim is to provide academic ecosystem for student in teaching- learning process and guidance to the students to pursue the course in educational planning and administration in a way that is friendly and student’ centric. As head of the department, I try my level best to create such environment. I also believe in mentoring our students to work as a team and promote peer culture in the department. Attempts are made towards providing an environment wherein a student can discuss any issue relating to policy planning and administration with the teachers, and if there is any type of difficulty in understanding the topic or any support is needed we try our level best to resolve it.

How does the program that you deliver ensure that students are prepared for the challenges of the future?

Unlike in any other universities or colleges, we offer specialized courses in NIEPA. Since the courses are not generic but highly specialized ones, these offer greater opportunities for employable students.The graduation outcomes is very positive. Employability of graduated students is almost 100 %. This is precisely because we provide specialized knowledge and training in the fields of educational planning and administration. In administration we provide how schools and institutions of higher administration are governed, what are the issues, and the challenges they face, how those issued could be addressed etc.. So, students who are pursuing this course in our department acquire the much needed knowledge and expertise in the field. We offer practical insights towards implementation with theoretical understanding to the students which can be learned over the course of time.

How do you prepare yourself for effectively delivering the program to the students?

We have an advantage as we are closely working with the institutions of higher education. Teachers in most of the cases of university, generally base themselves on textbooks and reference material but we add value in terms of giving exposure to empirical situations and enable them to understand as to how things work in the education system and institution. We have practical experiences combined together with theoretical and conceptual understanding. This is the richness of our faculty members and institution which makes us different from other competitors. And this is one of the reasons NIEPA is considered to be one of the most premier institutions in the area of educational planning and administration. 

Check National Institute Of Educational Planning And Administration - [NIEPA], New Delhi - Course & Fees Details

How do you help your student cope with the competition being so high in the outside world?

As it is a specialized course, we prepare our students and keep them updated with all the developments in the specialised area of knowledge in governance and administration. We do organize various workshops and training programs. Through these, the students gain more exposure and specialized knowledge. We also provide practical knowledge to them. For instance, we train them on how to pursue well informed research, write academic papers and organize programs and link to the international arena. This is the reason they get job opportunity and placements in this world of high competition. 

What are the challenges you faced/ are facing to uplift the quality of education in your department?

Quality of education is, of course, an issue of concern in India which needs multilevel and multiple interventions. If we talk about quality education in my department, I do not find much problem. Being a national-level institution closely working with the Ministry of Education and other premier institutions in the country, we try our level best to ensure quality at all levels. We believe NIEPA as the epitome of quality and competence in the area of educational planning and administration. Therefore, we do not find any issue related to the quality ,but if in case there is anything that needs to be added we always try to address them and keep ourselves updated in the realms of knowledge.

What do you see as the department’s/ college’s greatest strengths and how it can be enhanced?

We can play an important role in mentoring to the institutions of higher education. We not only mentor students but also the institutions and colleges of higher education. For example- every year we organize numerous programs for institutional leaders. We help in this endeavour by reaching out to other institutions across the states and regions. I would like to mention that we have also organized a specialised program from January to March this year for the Principals of colleges from Andhra Pradesh.165 principals from different colleges from the state were provided training. 

What are the benefits and career options after pursuing this course?

This is a very specialized course. New developments along liberal reforms in education have opened up new opportunities as well as challenges. The new developments require new skills and new form of administering institutions. pursuing career in this area offers opportunities for the students. The new liberal reforms have impacted not only the public and the government institutions but also private sector. A huge number of private institutes are coming up. As per the statistics, you will notice continuous increase enrollment as well as increase in the number of private schools and colleges. To cater to this increasing number of students we need more institutions. These increasing institutions would require a more specialised workforce for managing such institutions . The student graduating from NIEPA can prove themselves as assets for the institutions for better governance and management. In view of this, the students of NIEPA in general and students of our department in particular get better employment opportunities. Many of our students have joined many international agencies like the UN, UNDP, UNESCO, other national and international NGOs besides getting opportunity as faculty member and researcher in the institutions of higher education. Therefore, I would like to state that there are greater career opportunities available after pursuing a course in Educational Administration.

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What are the key methods or approaches used in the course you are currently offering?

It is seen that in most of the institutions traditional and pedagogical approaches are adopted by the teachers but we at NIEPA adopt innovative pedagogical approaches. In fact you will find a paradigmatic shift from a traditional mode to a more innovative way of teaching and learning. There are many different ways of providing innovative learning like lecture cum discussion wherein we provide opportunities for the student to come up with their own understanding. We act as enablers to provide the students with sufficient space for them to think, interrogate and explore. We are available for them any time they need us. In sum, our approach help the students in their holistic learning and developments.