Union Budget 2011-12

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March 1, 2011

Education Overview

The Union Budget 2011 -12 saw high priority being given to secondary education keeping in mind India's demographic dividend and opportunity of seventy percent of the India's population being of working age by 2025. The allocation of higher education has been proposed for Rs 52,057 crore, an increase of 24 percent over the current year.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan project has been an important tool for promoting elementary education. The budget provides for more positive measures by proposing an allocation of Rs 21,00 crore, a 40percent increase from the previous year's allocation of ` 15,000 crore.

A modified scheme of 'Vocationalisation of Secondary Education', which has been a centrally sponsored scheme, will be put into operation from 2011-12 to perk up the employable skills of the youth

The budget saw renewed emphasis being given to the promotion of education among the backward section of the population. While post metric scholarships have already been available, there has been a welcome introduction of pre-matric scholarship scheme in the 2011-12 budget. The scholarship scheme has been introduced for disadvantaged students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes studying in ninth and tenth standard.

National Knowledge Network

The budget has proposed that the National Knowledge Network (NKN) will connect 1500 higher education and research institutes through an optical fibre backbone. 190 institutes will be linked through NKN in the present year. The proposal of connecting all 1500 institutions has been proposed to be done by March 2012, as the time for the creation of the core will extend till March 2011.

In order to promote innovations, the National Innovation Council under Sam Pitroda has been instituted to chalk out plans for promotion of innovations in India. Activities for setting up of the State Innovation Councils in every State and Sectoral Innovation Councils aligned to Central Ministries are also underway.

Skill Development

Emphasising on the success of the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) in achieving its target of the creation of skilled workforce, an additional Rs 500 crore has been allocated to NSDC for carrying forward its mandate of creating employable skills to the youth.

They speak on Budget 2011-12

An increase in the number of scholarships for SC/ST students is definitely in line with inclusive higher education and social mobility. Prime Minister's national skill mission is given ample priority. Minority education is also being advanced. As anticipated , overall it has been a good budget.

Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai
Vice Chancellor,
Indira Gandhi National Open University

Increased allocation in RTE is a good sign and states will be able to implement it more effectively

IGNOU Going Full-throttle in Tourism & Hospitality

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March 1, 2011

The IGNOU School of Tourism, Hospitality Services Management has come up with not only training people but also providing excellent placements in leading organisations in the country for aspirants in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector

The training cell of the School of Tourism, Hospitality Services Management (SOTHSM) of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at the Regional Centre Bhopal in collaboration with Tourism Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh is an initiative and way forward to develop and design vocational training programmes for human resource development in the tourism sector.

The Preparatory Steps

At the very basic level a detailed project report for training 320 students in housekeeping, front desk operations, food and beverage was prepared and submitted to Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation. Further to that the project was sanctioned under the scheme of Capacity building for service providers.

An MOU was signed between the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) and Indira Gandhi National Open University for the development of the certificate programme and diploma in Hotel operations on Monday 05th January 2009 by the registrar of the IGNOU and the Principal Secretary Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation in the presence of Hon. Vice Chancellor and State Tourism Minister.

The project allowed a detailed picture of the expenditure on faculty fees, food, tool kit, uniform, study material and administrative contingency. Nevertheless, the study material was prepared by a group of experts but was essentially approved by the Tourism department. The local needs of the hotel industry were ascertained and contents were tailored to meet its needs. This was critical to make the training employment oriented.

The Areas Of Training

The course was focused to customise it for an industry-specific and job-oriented programme. In consultation with the stakeholders the certificate courses were prepared in following three sectors:

Certificate in Front Office Operations (CFO)
Certificate in Housekeeping Operations (CHO)
Certificate in Food & Beverage Service Operations (CFBO)
Nine books were developed at the Regional Centre level in self instruction mode by the subject experts drawn from various institutions on;
Understanding Tourism
Functional communicative skills and personnel grooming
Destination Madhya Pradesh
Front office operations Part-1
Front Office operations Part-2 (Practical manual)
Housekeeping operations Part-1
Housekeeping operations Part-2 (Practical manual )
Food and beverage service operations Part-1
Food and beverage service operations Part-2 (Practical manual)

Special Features of the Project

The course was designed specifically to which includes 60 days of intensive class room sessions and intensive Practical Industrial training in core areas for 60 days in the finest hotel of the Madhya Pradesh.

Facilities extended to the students include, a low fee structure Rs.3000/- per student, free study material and training kits, lunch and refreshments during class room training, two sets of uniforms (including shoes), stipend Rs.1500/- every month during hotel internship.

In the admission process the eligibility criteria is 10+2 in any stream with a minimum 45% marks for Certificate in Front Office Operations (CFO) and Certificate in Food & Beverage Service Operations (CFBO) and 10th with a minimum 45% marks and the batch size- 40 trainees/batch /programme.

The Study Centres of the course are Madhya Pradesh Institute of Hospitality Training (MPIHT) Bhopal, for CFO and Institute of Hotel Management (IHM) Bhopal for CFBO and CHO.

Curriculum and Faculty

These certificate programmes are finely designed for a single stream to create an expertise in a specific stream which May help the student to focus for the selection of the functional area in the industry.

The faculty was identified from the Institute of Hotel Management (IHM), MPIHT, Frankfinn Finishing School and managers of reputed hotels.

SOTHSM finalised the time table, assigned classes to faculty and monitored the conducting of the contact sessions.

Preparation of assignments, guiding students for project work.

Log books for hotel training maintained by trainees and verified by manager/trainer.
Evaluation at the end of the classes.
Grading of students on the basis of their performance.
Certification by IGNOU R.C, Bhopal.
80% attendance in classroom and internship was mandatory.

Total number of students certified under Certificate in Front office Operations( CFO), Certificate in Housekeeping Operations (CHO) and Certificate in Food and beverage Service Operation(CFBO) is 87, 43 and 45. Of these according to the records maintained in the placement cell of IGNOU & MPIHT 80% of the students got job offers. These placements were effected in reputed companies like PVR, ITC Groups of Hotels, Barbeque nation and in reputed three star category hotels both inside and outside Madhya Pradesh.

These courses are designed with a multi-dimensional focus which generates the skilled personnel's for the growing tourism and hospitality sector of the state and facilitate the unemployed youth of the state to enhance their skill and avail the benefits of the jobs opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector in the state and other parts of the country.

This course not only provides the basic technical knowledge about the hotel industry, but also helps in the improvement of personality and communicative skills of the students, which help these students to enter the booming tourism sector.

Education for Employability through Sustainable Initiatives

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March 1, 2011

Employability has been one of the key problems plaguing the society across the developing countries. There is a strong need for developing a national academic framework that promotes 'education for employability'. The Planning Commission, Government of India has very aptly started the process of preparing an approach to the 12th Five Year Plan and Twelve Strategy Challenges have been identified to initiate these consultations- Enhancing the Capacity for Growth, Enhancing the Skills and Faster Generation of Employment, Managing the Environment, Markets for Efficiency and Inclusion, Decentralisation, Empowerment and Information, Technology and Innovation, Securing the Energy Future, Accelerated Development of Transport Infrastructure, Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth of Agriculture, Managing Urbanisation, Improved Access to Quality Education, and Better Preventive and Curative Health Care. A cursory look at the 12th Plan Strategic Challenges indicates the significant roles of education, skill and employability in all the sectors. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will participate proactively in this dialogue initiated by the Planning Commission to accelerate faster, more inclusive and sustainable growth.

The first four year period of the 11th Plan (aptly described as Education Plan) has witnessed unprecedented growth and consolidation in the activities of IGNOU. Some of the important achievements of IGNOU are establishing 11 more new schools, getting the best faculty, experienced consultants, full-time research and teaching assistants and developing relevant new programmes for these schools. The necessary inputs for these activities were given by National Knowledge Commission, Planning Commission and Parliamentary Committee on Higher Education.

This period has also been very fruitful for the University in its national and international networking for effective and optimal utilisation of intellectual capabilities and infrastructural facilities for providing knowledge and skills to vast number of people in a financially sustainable way.

The University has maintained its exacting standards as the premier national resource centre for open and distance learning and seamless provider of quality education, at par with other international institutions of higher learning. The University has also been unwavering in its commitment on access to education and equity in opportunities to women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, the rural population, remote areas, tribal regions, the differently-abled and the socially and economically weaker sections of society. The student enrolment in IGNOU has doubled in the past four years from 1.5 million to over 3 million, prompting the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to declare it as the largest, most diverse and inclusive institution of higher learning in the world in 2010. Partnering the Government in its various plan schemes and aligning and streamlining teaching and training activities with national priorities delineated by the Planning Commission in the 11th Plan helped the University to grow in the right perspective.

The special issue is an attempt to explore the employability needs of the new age economy. There is a strong need for a well coordinated and comprehensive approach substantially equipped with the proactive participation of the academic community, administrative authorities and statutory bodies along with the ministry to achieve the desired goal. We envision such a collaborative path in approaching the Twelfth Plan for Inclusive Education, Training and Capacity Building at all levels.

With Best Wishes…

International Conference on Digital Libraries and Knowledge Organisation

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March 1, 2011

Management Development Institute (MDI) in association with Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centres (IASLIC) and INDEST-AICTE Consortium, Ministry of HRD, Government of India had successfully organized the International Conference on Digital Libraries and Knowledge Organization (ICDK 2011) during 14 to 16 February 2011 at MDI Gurgaon. International organizations such as UNESCO, South Asian Studies Council of Yale University and Goethe-Institute (Max Mueller Bhavan) were also partners in organising this conference. The conference has brought together over 300 delegates from all parts of the world. Around 50 participants from outside India.

The galaxy of international experts and academicians from the domain of digital information systems and knowledge organization processes who attended the conference as speakers, pre-conference workshop resources persons include names like Prof. Gary Marchionini, Dean & Cary C. Boshamer Professor, School of Information & Library Science, North Carolina University; Prof. Fausto Giunchiglia, Department of Computer Science, University of Trento, Italy; Prof. Mitsuhiro ODA, Department of Education, Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan; Prof. ARD Prasad, Indian Statistical Institute Bangalore and Prof. John Rose of University of Waikato, New Zealand among others.

The conference was inaugurated by Prof Surendra Prasad, Director, Indian Institute of Technology at a function organized at Epicentre Auditorium, Apparel House, Gurgaon on Monday, 14th February 2011. Prof. V.K. Gupta, Director MDI welcomed the delegates. The conference had six pre-conference tutorials on cutting-edge digital library topics by international experts. There were 24 invited talks and over 90 research papers were presented during the conference. The main themes of the conference were: (1) Case studies of digital libraries and institutional repositories (2) Digital preservation strategies (3) Semantic web applications (4) Digital library support for e-learning (5) Knowledge management (6) Web 2.0/3.0 and social media application in information services (7) Knowledge representation models (8) Open access initiatives (9) Web retrieval tools and techniques among others.

The valedictory function was organized on Wednesday, 16th February 2011 at MDI campus. Prof. Mushirul Hasan, Director General of the National Archives of India delivered the valedictory address. Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director, INFLIBNET welcomed the delegates. Prof. V.K. Gupta, Director, MDI presided over the function.

Dr. Antony Jose of MDI was the Conference Chair of this three-day international conference.

As an outcome of the conference, two international journals (International Journal of Computer Applications and Emerald’s journal Program: Electronic Library & Information Systems) will bring out special issues with selected papers from the conference. Apart from that, Edited book(s) with reputed international publishers are also planned covering selective papers from the conference.

Education and Employability

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March 1, 2011

The key determinants for employability of an individual are moving self-sufficiently within the labour market through knowledge, skills and attitudes and the way they use these assets to present themselves to their employers. While some countries put emphasis on changing their education systems to be more employment-centric, in most parts of the world, education and employment are not in sync with each other.

The high growth sectors in India are currently facing acute shortage of employable graduates, thereby hampering fast paced advancement in these sectors. India has one of the highest graduate producers per year in the world. But, this does not equate to a high percentage of employable candidates. Young people in India make up 19 per cent of the population and despite growing demands for skilled employees the unemployment rate is at 50 percent for youth across the country.

A comparatively younger population can equally be a challenge as it can be an immense opportunity for any country. More than 70 per cent of Indians by 2025 will be of employable age. In this context, universalising access to secondary education, increasing the percentage of our scholars in higher education and providing skill training is necessary. India has historically created employment to the tune of 6.5 – 7 million per year, implying India can face significant challenges in employment creation – should growth derail even slightly. Unemployment among the educated youth occurs due to a disparity between the ambitions of graduates and associated employment opportunities accessible to them. In this background, the real challenge is about how we invest in education and ensure we create rich, employable talent that is globally useful. As per the industrial requirement, there is a huge gap between number of students graduating per year and the employment they get after completion of their course. The need was felt to redefine and restructure the entire education system to address this issue.

The budget 2011-12 has brought cheer to the education sector with a hike in the government spending, especially under Sarva Shikha Abhiyaan by upto 40 percent. Vocational education has duly received added impetus through the additional allocation made to the National Skills Development Council and efforts in vocationalisation of secondary education. Skilling the workforce is of urgent necessity in the current scenario. We hope that the current budget will promote further partnerships and initiatives for bridging the employability gap.

Automotive Industry Set for Global Competition

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March 1, 2011

The growth in Indian Automotive Industry has grown at a CAGR of over 14%. The size of the automotive sector in 2008-09 was estimated to be around `1,910 billion. It is expected that an additional 2- 2.5 million employment opportunities per annum will be created in the next decade

The liberalisation of the Indian industry saw significant growth in the Indian Automotive Industry. Today, the Indian Automotive Industry is a significant contributor to the Indian economy, contributing nearly 5% to the country's GDP and about 17-18% to the kitty of indirect taxes to the Government, while investment outlay stood over `83,500 crore in 2008-09.

The evolution translated into a clustered growth owing to high dependence of the industry on integrated supplier network. The nucleated growth further gained support from favourable policies of those particular States wanting to promote industrialisation in their respective regions. As a result, certain key centres of production with high concentration of Auto-Original Equipment Manufatures (OEMs) and Auto-component manufacturers emerged, namely Pune, Gurgaon, Chennai and Bangalore supported by upcoming smaller clusters like Pitampur and Pantnagar.

All this has been in keeping with the Government of India's Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006 – 2016 which envisaged that “India would emerge as the destination of choice in the world for the design and manufacture of automobiles and auto-components. The Output of the automotive sector would be US$ 145 billion contributing to more than 10% of India' GDP and providing employment to 25 million persons additionally by 2016.”

Generating Employment for the Youth

The Automobile segment, comprising of the OEMs, is at the topmost Tier of the Automotive Industry with a wide network of Tier I, II, III level suppliers supporting the OEMs for end product production. In terms of activity, manufacturing is the most key function in the Automobile segment, owing to nearly 60-70% of the manpower engaged in this activity at the manufacturer's end (direct employment). Indirect employment generated by this sector is considerable as personnel are employed in functions such as sales, finance, insurance, etc.

Further, the automotive landscape in India has several underlying support systems which, though not directly linked to the industry, are support areas or “enablers” of growth. Key enabler segments for the core segments of the Automotive Industry include auto insurance, financiers, mechanics, and auto dealers etc. The enabler segments are associated with providing indirect employment to personnel in the Auto Industry and employment in these industries constitutes about 60% to 70% of the total employment in the Automotive Industry in India.

The automotive industry, on account of its backward and forward linkages, is a significant generator of employment – both direct and indirect. It is estimated that the Indian Automotive Industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 13 million people.

Demand for minimally skilled people, which includes Industrial Training Institute (ITI) diploma holders and school educated workmen is expected to be around 12~15 lakh per annum; demand for manpower at the next level

Translation its Role and Scope in India

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March 1, 2011

Translation has helped knit India together as a nation throughout her history. Ideas and concepts like ‘Indian literature’,’Indian culture’,’Indian philosophy’ and ‘Indian knowledge systems’ would have been impossible in the absence of translations with their natural integrationist mission

By K Satchidanandan

The role of translation can hardly be over-emphasised in a multilingual country like India with 22 languages recognised in the eighth schedule of the constitution, 15 different scripts, hundreds of mother-tongues and thousands of dialects. One can very well say that India’s is a translating consciousness and the very circumstances of their real existence and the conditions of their every day communication have turned Indians bilingual if not multilingual. One can even add without exaggeration that India would not have been a nation without translation and we keep translating almost unconsciously from our mother-tongues when we converse with people who use a language different from ours.

Our first writers too were translators. Indian literature is founded on the free translations and adaptations of epics like RaMayana and Mahabharata. Upto the nineteenth century our literature consisted only of translations, adaptations, interpretations and retellings. Translations of literary works as well as knowledge-texts: discourses on medicine, astronomy, metallurgy, travel, ship-building, architecture, philosophy, religion and poetics from Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Persian and Arabic had kept our cultural scene vibrant and enriched our awareness of the world for long. Most of our ancient writers were multilingual: Kalidasa’s Shakuntala has Sanskrit and Prakrit; poets like Vidyapati, Kabir, Meerabai, Guru Nanak, Namdev and others each composed their songs and poems in more than one language.

Translation has helped knit India together as a nation throughout her history. It brought, and still brings languages closer to one another and introduces to one another diverse modes of imagination and perception and various regional cultures thus linking lands and communities together. Ideas and concepts like ‘Indian literature’, ‘Indian culture’, ‘Indian philosophy’ and ‘Indian knowledge systems’ would have been impossible in the absence of translations with their natural integrationist mission.

Translation also plays a role in extending the scope of language and reframing the boundaries of the sayable. New terms and coinages necessitated by translation create new vocabulary and contribute to greater expressibility. One thus learns not only to understand foreign literature and philosophy through the mother-tongue, but also to speak about modern knowledge, from quantum physics to nano-technology and computer-science to molecular biology in the regional language.

Translation strengthens democracy by establishing equality among different languages and questioning the hegemony of some over the others as it proves that all ideas and experiences can be expressed in all languages and they are exchangeable in spite of their uniqueness. It also enables the weaker sections of the society to be heard as they can speak in their own dialects or languages and then get translated into other languages that are more widely spoken and understood. Thus translation contributes to the empowerment of the marginalised or deprivileged sections like the poor, women, dalits, tribals, minorities, the disabled and others.

Translation also helps fight colonial prejudices. For example, by translating our works of literature and knowledge into English, we prove to the world that the coloniser is in no way superior to us as we too have a long history of great writing and research. The British had translated from India only what suited their taste; but now the empire is writing back , telling them what they have to read to understand our peoples and cultures, thus changing their old ‘orientalist’ conceptions of India.

No doubt translation also promotes the growth of indigenous literature and knowledge by bringing into our languages the great wealth of other literatures and cultures. By translating masterpieces from other Indian languages as also from foreign ones, we enrich our own literatures. Thus we also raise our writing standards: this happens especially when we translate great masters of world literature like Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Vyasa, Valmiki, Kalidasa and Bhasa or more contemporary writers from Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Kafka, Beckett, Lorca, Eliot and Thomas Mann to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Orhan Pamuk, J. M. Coetzee, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz and others. These exchanges also create new movements and trends.

We are living in an age of translations and the avenues for translators are constantly expanding. Some of these areas and vocations are indicated below:

Literary translation: There are many institutions here and abroad dedicated to literary translation. Translating foreign literature into Indian languages, Indian literature into foreign languages and Indian literature in one language into other Indian languages are all gainful activities in every sense. Sahitya Akademi, Ntional Book Trust, regional literary associations and publishing houses both in English and the languages are on the lookout for capable translators. There is a new interest in Indian literature abroad as the young non-resident Indians who do not know their languages are eager to read their literatures in translation in the languages they know and also as foreign readers are eager to know what is happening in Indian literature. The recent spate of literary festivals all over the world from Berlin to Jaipur and book fairs like the ones held annually at Frankfurt, Paris, London, Bologna, Abu Dhabi etc have contributed to this rising fascination.

The Government of India has also recently responded to this new interest by launching a new mission, Indian Literature Abroad (ILA). Big Indian publishing concerns like Penguin, Macmillan, Orient Longman, Oxford University Press, Harper-Collins, Hatchett etc as well as smaller houses are encouraging translations of literary and discursive works in a big way.

Our freedom struggle and later democratic struggles for change had received great impetus from the translations of the works of Victor Hugo, Tolstoy, Rousseau, Gandhi, Tagore, Emile Zola, Maupassant, Gorky, Premchand, Subramania Bharati

Knowledge Translation: The National Translation Mission, a brain-child of the National Knowledge Commission intends to translate textbooks and classical works in areas like sociology, history, geography, geology, medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics, linguistics and political science into the Indian languages in order to raise the standard of education done in mother tongues and to render accessible current and cutting-edge knowledge so far available only in English to the rural poor and the backward sections of the society. The Commission is looking for competent translators from English into all the Indian languages and there is evident scarcity in the area.

Media Translation: The print, electronic, visual and auditory media- newspapers, magazines, radio, television, cinema etc- need plenty of translators from one language into another. Many media houses publish papers and journals or run television channels in several languages at the same time and they need quick yet communicative translations of news, serials, film scripts and programmes. Dubbing and subtitling are other areas.

Reaching out to Peripheries

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March 1, 2011

IGNOU’s intervention in the form of the establishment of Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IIVET) could well be a benchmark for revival (indigenous knowledge) and survival (linking such knowledge with trades) of industry academia alliances

Vocational Education is oft talked about but the expression is replaced, at times euphemistically, by the terms Professional Education. ‘Vocational’ implies training for ‘petty’ manual skills: carpentry, weaving, food processing, work of a mechanic etc. Professional on the other hand signifies a more educational forwardness or cultural sophistication: Business Management, Computers or better still Information Technology.

The challenges in an Open University like ours are many and impinge upon the very mechanisms and methodologies of a Distance Education and Open University such as IGNOU. These are: technology aided instruction, the use of broadcasts, telecasts and the internet for delivery services. However, in vocational education and, training face to face mode of instruction and especially skill based activities have also to be emphasized.

Vocational education has to be viewed from different multi-layered practices. One is of course the hands on training component. The other is employment generation and sustainability, whether the training programmes or courses can lead to employment /self employment. If so there has to be follow up measures to see what the participants in a vocational training programme have achieved and whether there has been a progress in terms of employability and income generation. Also, whether any industry has employed any participant, especially when there has been in plant or in house training. Another perspective of VET is studying a course on vocational education in a college or a university with the hope that the certificate will lead to an acquisition of jobs. The industry-education alliance which is gradually becoming a force in the country, one reckons that this will play a significant role in the future, what with a Skills Development Council being set-up under the aegis of and with the active support of the CII, will also, I hope, shape future events in this regard.

Skill development is one of the components and outcome of VET but training programmes should also concentrate on unskilled workers thereby giving them an opportunity to learn and earn. The unorganised sector is also a catchment resource in areas such as retailing, marketing and micro businesses.

The history of VET is not very sanguine in India especially as EDPs and allied training programmes have not been followed up. Simply leaving a participant with a certificate to fend for himself/herself has added to the plethora of the unemployed. However, with the Govt. of India’s accent on the Public Private Partnership model, one can only hope that such tie-ups will give a prod to the conscience of the industry and corporate houses, especially with Corporate Social Responsibility being such a major issue of debate today internationally, notwithstanding the polemic on ethics and CSR.

Compared to the literacy of the country, the literacy of North East India is fairly better; thanks to the Mizoram boom and this could be a marginal advantage. Yet literacy levels for women are strikingly low in some states and it is here that vocational education training programmes can intervene as basic literacy programmes to earn livelihoods.

Livelihoods have also to do with living in good if not salutary conditions. Floods in Assam every year are cataclysmic but precious little is done to take long standing measures to combat this problem. Flood control management ─ how to live intelligently with floods, could well serve vocational and training needs of the common populace who finally bear the brunt of such disasters.

IIVET is initiating a two-month non-credit programme on Citizen Journalism and a certified Credit Programme on Folk Theatre and Performance of North East India

VET in the North East Region can be integrated into a whole, a complex process since we have to trace it to components of agriculture and the current despair of the educated unemployed or even the plumber or the technicians eking out a living. This is of course true of the entire country but in a Region where industrial development is in backwaters then education is strength with the presence of some very good academic institutions in the Region. These institutions should come forward in partnership whether they are general colleges or professional colleges to re-appraise vocational education in the context of the small industries and local habits mentioned above. More than having vocational education courses, short term training programmes will benefit the people keeping in mind the changing order of the ‘world’ market such as repair of mobiles and computer hardware.

IGNOU’s intervention into the area of VET in the form of the establishment of the IGNOU Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IIVET) could well be a benchmark for revival (indigenous knowledge) and survival (linking such knowledge with trades) as well as looking into contemporary realities and needs keeping in mind the training factor. The target group is the youth in particular and the public in general, taking also into cognizance rural women. And of course the oeuvre of distance education technology is always there as a ready support system.

Today the thinking of the younger generation is changing in an ethos which demands results and not only degrees. The degree bias in our educational systems is tapering, at least those in the areas of the Liberal Arts or the Sciences. That is not to say that these degrees are of minimal importance, they are not, neither they can be. But certain dual objectives that of keeping options open and exploring possibilities have entered the domains of our educational system. It is some kind of a systemic drive which declasses the hitherto hierarchical structure of education today. Young boys and girls given an opportunity will prefer to study short term Diplomas in addition to pursuing their traditional degrees. It is often been commented that the motivation here lies in the enticing job-market. The younger generation today is conscious of the realities at hand, the compulsions of being a dilettante in a world which is rushing rapidly towards a technological explosion. So taking advantage of such a situation there are a plethora of correspondence courses and ‘Educational Shops’ are sprouting in every direction. The danger here is of course the quality control as it is called.

There is also a need to train the trainers. India has very large untrained primary school teachers which is sad and does not augur too well for the educational future of the country. It is exactly keeping this in mind that the Indira Gandhi National Open University has initiated a Diploma in Primary Education/for primary school teachers at present. The functions of training the trainer, in turn generates a cybernetically related activity where the training process is ongoing.

The onus is on Universities, Open Universities and Industries. In fact the linkage between the Universities and the Industries should be one such area of emphasis where the two work at tandem: one for the knowledge part, the other for logistics, practicals and hands on training.

IGNOU Institute For Vocational Education & Training (IIVET) Shillong

The IGNOU Institute for Vocational Education & Training (IIVET), Shillong has made interventions in the following areas:

Adopting the Tele Centre model in collaboration with BASIX India (Livelihood Division, B-ABLE) in the Common Services Centres of Meghalaya. Right now a cluster of 50-60 CSCs have been taken up to train the youth in Computer Literacy and Personality Development.

Today the thinking of the younger generation is changing in an ethos which demands results and not only degrees

The IIVET has also collaborated with Central Institute of Plastic Engineering Technology (CIPET) in Guwahati to train young men and women in Machine Operator and Injection Moulding. More than 30 youth have been trained and placed in different parts of India in the plastic industry in the state of Haryana and Maharashtra.
IIVET is also collaborating with Rustomjee Academy for Global Career Mumbai to train school drop outs in Carpentry Shuttering. Around 35 youth from the states of Meghalaya and Manipur have been given free training and some of them are on the verge of coming back so that they are employed or self employed. IIVET has undertaken a one year certificate programme on Valuation in Real Estate Management (CVREM) in collaboration with Institute of Estate Managers & Appraisers Kolkata. Considering a vast demand for the Valuation and Real Estate industries this programme has been taken up. Fourteen students from different parts of the country employed or self employed have been registered. This began in July 2010 and will end in July 2011. It is being implemented through Distance Education mode and on line teaching.

IIVET has signed an MOU with the State Institute of Capacity Building Government of Sikkim, in the areas of certification for trades such as Hospitality, Animal Husbandry, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, Cultural and Traditions Crafts, Paper Bags, Paper Binding, Electrical Repair, and Foreign Languages (Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan etc), Tourist Guide, Eco-Village, Cooking and Catering, Cultural Tourism; House Keeping, Front Office Management and Food and Beverages. IIVET is also collaborating with Institute of Hotel Management, Sikkim for certification in hospitality related courses of a vocational nature. The students will also be certified in the Prior Knowledge scheme of IGNOU. The Indian Welding Society and IIVET have achieved a recent tied up in the profession of Welding. In September 2010 a three day training programme was held for practicing welders who were trained in the latest methods of welding technology. They were also certified under the Prior Knowledge concept of IGNOU. More training programmes are to be held.

IIVET has established vocational training in Nagaland in collaboration with Nagaland Gandhi Ashram and Regional Institute of e-Learning & Information Technology (RIELIT) (A Unit of DOEACC) Government of India, Department of Information Technology in Chuchuyimlang in the Mokochung district of Nagaland. Right now a two month training on Computer Hardware is being organised which is residential. IIVET has also initiated an MSW Programme of IGNOU in Chuchuyimlang through the aegis of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Education and Development IGNOU. There are about twenty students enrolled from different parts of North East India.

IIVET has also taken up the role of promoting indigenous crafts such as Kouna and Chungtham crafts of Manipur made out of Water Reeds. A two month training programme to this effect has been conducted in the year 2010 from September to November in collaboration with Kasturba Gandhi Institute for Development, Imphal.

Vocational Education and Training has to be understood at various levels right from Technical Vocational Education to Soft Skills, to Computer Literacy, to Communication Skills, to Aesthetic Skills and Indigenous Practices such as Weaving etc. Only then can we understand the various multi layer dimensions of Vocational Education & Training, keeping in mind the different target groups of our societies enunciated by the National Skills Mission Report. These mainly being: school and college drop-outs, domestic workers, street children, and the educated unemployed. Certification and Assessment is and will continue to remain one of our top priorities.

IGNOU&rsquo:s Finishing School Employability Initiative

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digitalLEARNING Network

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March 1, 2011

The shortage of skilled labour and employable talent pool led to IGNOU's Finishing School Initiative where attempts have been made to address the issue by collaborating with country's best training partners

Aglobally acclaimed fact today is that scientific and technological capability of human resources is the major source of strength for all round economic growth and nation building. Consequently, success of an industry would depend on the quality of its work force. Currently, though India is brimming with employment opportunities across industry domains and verticals, there is a tremendous shortage in terms of skilled manpower. It is also euphoric about its demographic dividend since its working-age population (15-59 years) largely consists of youth (15-34 years) who can contribute as potential economic drivers of our country. As per an ILO report, in the next 20 years, only 19 percent Indians will be above 65yrs compared to 39 percent in the US, 53 percent in Germany and 67 percent in Japan with an estimated manpower increase of 135 million by 2050, according to United Nations; India will enjoy this demographic sweet spot only up to 2035. Hence converting this demographic dividend into a development dividend is inevitable and possible only by linking education to employability, aptly supported by 270 million appropriate jobs and placement opportunities.

India's rich demographic dividend is as much an opportunity as it is a challenge. By 2026, our country is estimated to harbor a working population of 800 million youth of which, only 30-35 percent is expected to be employed by the agriculture sector with the remaining to be absorbed by other emerging market driven sectors. The direction and pace at which education and formal skills training is imparted to our growing young population, will define whether it is an opportunity or a bane. In other words, 'Education for Employability' will be the key indicator and growth enabler.

Indian economy is going through a growth spurt with several sectors posting large manpower requirements at entry-level and lateral-levels. Supply of employable human resources to certain high growth sectors such as IT, Banking, Finance and Insurance sectors is happening at a much slower rate resulting in demand-supply challenges to meet recruitment targets due to mismatch between skills acquired by job aspirants and skills required in that sector.

While domain-specific employable skills require continuous upgrading, they differ across industries. Generic employable skills on the other hand are though common to all industries, require continuous practice and refinement.

One of the major objectives of higher educational institutes of today is therefore to provide learners an enabling environment to mature and transit from learning to workplace scenarios. In other words, education must make available an ecosystem that offers ample opportunities for its learners to practice and transform themselves by translating their knowledge into skills and competencies as per industry demands and expectations. A recent survey among students has shown that 75 percent of students study for employment (that is learning is for earning) without being aware of their aptitude and the need to be skilled in generic and domain specific skills. English communication skills and soft skills for workplace integration are critical yet lacking in most students. Efforts are being made by 17 different government departments and agencies to address this issue in accordance with PM's National Skills Mission that mandates 500 million skilled labors by 2022 through convergence of education world with the job world.

IGNOU is nurturing a talent pool of three million learners, a significant contribution to our workforce. In tune with widely accepted fact that current education system is incapable of equipping its learners with generic skills, IGNOU decided to achieve the 'Dearing Objective' of exposing our learners to key transferable skills during the course of their academic association with us to become a part of the knowledge society and Lifelong Learning.

IGNOU believes that students who understand the difference between Employment and employability have the best chance to succeed in life particularly at their workplace. Lifetime employability means possessing domain knowledge along with soft skills emphasising on an attitude that seeks continuous improvement in personal performance for all round productivity. Companies are ready to dole out performance- linked monitory incentives to a workforce that has a quest for continuous improvement of their skill sets. This scenario coupled with shortage of skilled labor and employable talent pool led to IGNOU's Finishing School Initiative where attempts have been made to address the issue by collaborating with country's best training partners to impart industry endorsed employable skills to our graduating students. The partnership has resulted in adopting a bouquet of eight programmes under the Finishing School Initiative.

Recruiters and employers assess the employable skills of each job aspirant against a template set by the industry, with stated competencies/performance indicators for various job profiles

Out of these eight, two programs offer employable skills in the IT Domain, one in BPO Skills and the remaining five are Generic, Professional and Soft Skills for all types of work places be it Corporate Office, Back office or Customer Facing set ups. The delivery mode is flexible and modular, in- sync with the philosophy of ODL system, but unlike it in terms of transaction of teaching learning process since it is offered in a blended manner with Face to Face (ILT), Print and Computer based. (On-Line).The programs are standalone backed with 100 percent Placement Assistance and can be pursued along with regular under graduate and post Graduate programs. Placement opportunities are available to students who have completed their graduation or any higher degree as per eligibility criteria. Besides instructor-led programmes from NIIT, Finishing School programmes are offered through virtual as well as mobile platforms too.

“The IGNOU-VMock online platform enables candidates to practice for job interviews and improve via feedback. The virtual platform strategy enables learners to know themselves, create their own video persona, answer career specific mock questions and take feedback from friends, alumni and IGNOU mentors already available on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks. It is a boon for all job seekers since it effectively takes care of their last-mile to employability”

To sharpen interview skills with effective spoken English communication skills through mobile technology enabled platform we have collaborated with HK Webguru that has pioneered the use of mobile phone and land phone as a medium for live instructor led training for employability enhancement and career counseling. This innovation allows us to cater to the training needs of learners across the country irrespective of their location as long as they have access to a phone. Today the penetration of phone in the country has crossed 50 percent which means that 500 million Indians have easy access to a phone. A vast majority of them use mobile phones as mobile phones have become extremely affordable with India having one of the lowest call charges worldwide and the largest variety of low cost handsets.

Therefore with this understanding of employability and industry demands, IGNOU has made a foray into the country's skills scenario with its Finishing School Initiative where all programmes are designed to improve English language skills, handle job interview with ease coupled with essentials like business etiquette, importance of core corporate values and handling conflict to be offered through intensively planned delivery modes of short durations to enable its learner population get transformed into job ready candidates for varied industry sectors.

Employability Skills and Vocational Education

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By

digitalLEARNING Network

-

March 1, 2011

India’s transition to a knowledge-based economy requires a new generation of educated and skilled people. The competitive edge will be determined by its people’s ability to create, share, and use knowledge effectively. India requires a knowledge economy to develop workers – knowledge workers and knowledge technologists – who are flexible, analytical and will be the driving force for innovation and growth

It is a well known fact that technical education plays a vital role in human resource development of the country by creating skilled manpower, enhancing industrial productivity and improving the quality of life. To achieve the goals of a knowledge economy, India needs a flexible education system: basic education to provide the foundation for learning; secondary and tertiary education to develop core capabilities and core technical skills; and further means of achieving lifelong learning. This should facilitate quality learning.

With more than 8000 institutes in the degree sector, 2500 in the polytechnic sector, and more than 1.9 million seats at the entry level in the degree stream, 0.5 million in the polytechnic stream, we have one of the largest technical education systems in the world. A host of ITI’s in every State also cater to vocational education and skill building.

Reforming the Education System

Today, a student who wishes to get into a technical education programme can do so. A few problems like finding the finances can be facilitated through a good student loan model. The Government’s model of providing the same through setting up of a finance corporation is laudable in this context.

However the near total inclusivity has also put undue and tremendous pressure on the system to respond to the new expectations like finding a suitable placement for almost 1 million youngsters graduating from our Institutes every year currently and growing to 2.0 million in three years to come. It would also be worthwhile here to note that a student with 50% minimum eligibility at the qualifying examination also gets into this system along with the student at the top of the ladder. A normalisation of the process caters to common denominator and hence a fall in standards.

Our examination systems being what it is will also cater to common denominator that only aids in propagating more mediocrity in a system that is already mediocre.

Hence we have a system that is extremely difficult to be high on quality metrics. The industry would obviously employ the best of the lot. In the absence of an industry profile, the available job market in absolute numbers, and the available graduates, the mapping would always be incongruous.

New institutes, programmes and new courses are all based on perception and whims of a few entrepreneurs, who prefer to set up institutes in the areas they choose with scant regard to the demographic needs. The affiliating universities and the State Governments do not help the cause by not preparing the perspective plans for the regions in their jurisdiction. This results in a highly skewed growth of technical education with no bearing on either industry needs or that of the country’s needs.

The net result of the above understanding is that there are a large number of graduates who are unemployable. Are there enough jobs for every one graduating before raising the bogie of un-employability is a million dollar question which no one wants to answer?

Though many institutes provide quality education comparable to the best in the world, many of our institutes are now fully short of facilities at all levels, be it in infrastructural or faculty both in required numbers and quality.

Need for Skilled Manpower

Two greatest concerns of employers today are finding good workers and training them. The difference between the skills needed on the job and those possessed by applicants, sometimes called the skills-gap, is of real concern to human resource managers and business owners looking to hire competent employees. While employers would prefer to hire people who are trained and ready to go to work, they are usually willing to provide the specialised, job-specific training necessary for those lacking such skills.

Most discussions concerning today’s workforce eventually turn to employability skills. Finding workers who have employability or job readiness skills that help them fit into and remain in the work environment is a real problem. Employers need reliable, responsible workers who can solve problems and who have the social skills and attitudes to work together with other workers.

Employability skills are those basic skills necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on a job. These are the skills, attitudes and actions that enable workers to get along with their fellow workers and supervisors and to make sound, critical decisions. Unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types, business sizes, and job levels from the entry-level worker to the senior-most position.

Finishing schools are generally expected to build greater self

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