Grow your own fresh air by Rai Umraopati Ray

Educating India By Rai Umraopati Ray

One thousand Polytechnics and 374 degree colleges slated to open in 210 backward districts

Rai Umraopati Ray

Sending a strong signal that it means business, the Central Government has proposed to develop the skills of young students by opening up 1000 Polytechnic institutions and 374 degree colleges in 210 backward districts across the country with one third of the capital cost of such institutions being borne by them. Said R. P. Agrawal, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of HRD at the inauguration of a two day education fair in Delhi organised by ASSOCHAM, “The institutions and colleges will commence from 2009-10 for which the focused approach would be to impart skills as per the modern requirements of governments and industries.” However, he was quick to add that the remaining capital costs for the proposed institutions would jointly come from concerned states and the industries selected by them.
Agrawal added that the centre was going to spend a good deal of money in training and refreshing 10,000 science faculties and as many teachers in the social sciences group to update their knowledge this summer. “This is being done as most faculty has not been able to update their knowledge via their own means and are teaching students on prototype knowledge. So it is an initiative to upgrade teachers’ skills before they teach students,” said Agrawal.
Talking about the important issue of educational loans to students, the HRD Secretary said that nearly 16.5 lakh students have been extended education loans worth Rs. 27,500 crores for higher education through the Indian banking association. These loans have been extended to students studying in authorised institutions. He also pointed out that now no collateral is required in obtaining an education loan (for higher studies) of Rs. 4 lakh and that the parents of students applying for loans need not to stand guarantee for them.

The vocational path BY RAI UMRAOPATI RAY

A combination of hands-on training and faculty-led sessions prepares students for careers from day one

Rai Umraopati Ray

With the Board results out and thousands of students looking for suitable courses and colleges across the spectrum, vocational or professional courses are becoming more important and relevant today as they successfully interweave general education and work-oriented skills enabling students to get into careers without much ado. Realising this, several universities have introduced a number of vocational courses in their academic programmes and a sizable number of students are opting for them. For instance, Delhi University’s College of Vocational Studies (CVS), College of Arts and Commerce, Bhagini Nivedita and Janki Devi Vocational Centre and Vocational Academy are just some institutes that students can join.
Among the several courses offered are Industrial Relations and Personnel Management (IRPM), Travel and Tourism Management, Office Management and Secretarial Practice, Management and Marke-ting of Insurance, Material Mana-gement, Human Resource Mana-gement, Marketing Management and Retail Business. Most colleges offer 40-50 seats in vocational subjects. The minimum eligibility is a 10+2 or the equivalent.
Madras University is yet another example of an institution striving towards making vocational courses popular. The university’s 30 plus courses include Rainwater Harvesting, Cell Biology, Herbal Biotechnology and Functional Music. Similarly, Bangalore University — which is one of the largest varsities in India with more than 3,000 affiliated colleges — has given students a blend of pure and applied subject streams. Practical subjects give students hands-on training in industry, as do vocational, employment-oriented courses such as Sericulture, Industrial Chemistry, Environment and Water Management, Automobile Mainte-nance etc. Likewise, with St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru that offers Honours/ Diploma courses in a whole host of different streams which include Space Sciences, Econometrics, Peace Studies etc.
Says Srivatsan, Managing Director, Vocational Academy, “Vocational courses give students the skills to get or keep a job. These courses are aimed at providing trained manpower to various emerging service sectors in India.”
The professional nature of the courses can be gauged from the fact that the stress is on practical work and not on theory alone. For instance, in the Informatics package, a minimum of eight weeks on-the-job training, via project work in school or an organisation, is mandatory. Generally, these courses are devised by industry exper-ts and are taught in classes of a limited size — so that students gain the maximum benefit from personalised attention.
So, if you do not get a college or course of your choice, or if you want to be in a career stream right away, this is one way to go!