IndiaSkills Venturing into Vocational Training : Harish Menon, IndiaSkills

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March 1, 2011

IndiaSkills, a joint venture in vocational training formed between a leading training and education service provider in India (Manipal Education) and one of the world’s largest provider of work-related qualifications, assessment and certification. City and Guilds has been specifically created to make an impact on India’s vocational training sector. Sheena Joseph, in conversation with Harish Menon, CEO of IndiaSkills, finds out more about the venture

Could you provide us with a background of why the venture was conceptualised?

IndiaSkills is a joint venture in vocational training formed between City and Guilds. It has been specifically created to make an impact on India’s vocational training scenario by upgrading the quality of vocational skills training and benefitting the future of both the individual and the industry. It seeks to bridge the employbality gap across various sectors.

How have the training centres been distributed in India? Can the students avail distance learning facilities as well?

We have 50 vocational training centres in all four regions (North, South, East and West) providing skills training and are expanding our network to 500 centres over the next five years. On-hands traning is a key part in any high quality skilling course and we place a strong emphasis on our practical training sessions. We have also worked with our distance education partners SMU DE to launch a Pro-Degree programme in distance mode which gives job ready graduation in terms of B Com degrees with skills courses built into the same in each semester. This is available in Financial Planning and Supply Chain streams. Students taking our vocational courses at our centers are always better positioned to further their learning through signing up for distance learning programs once they start earning and working.

How is the content for the curriculum developed? Are the certifications recognised by any professional body?

Developed with industry inputs, our courses are innovatively designed to suit the specific job requirements of the industry and our curriculum reflects the requirement of all connected stakeholders – industry, learners and government. All learner support material is developed by IndiaSkills’ Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) who have a high degree of industry exposure either in terms of training, consulting or actual employment. All stages of qualification and learning content development are monitored and approved using the principles and processes of City and Guilds and Manipal Education. This is supported by a robust quality system that ensures vocational training centres have the required infrastructure as well as certified trainers and robust processes resulting in high quality delivery of the qualifications. The best-in-class assessment methodology, perfected over 130 years by City and Guilds to achieve a comprehensive competency based system, certifies that the learner is job ready and productive.

How has IndiaSkills contributed towards skilling the Indian youth in Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI) sector?

We have developed a specific course for students and BFSI industry employees to enhance their skills and better their career options. It covers essential subjects like Financial Planning, Financial Market, and Depositories and Key Depository Services, Banking and Banking Products, Insurance and Insurance Products, Mutual Funds and Relationship Management. The unit on insurance gives the student in-depth knowledge on the insurance industry and products while the relationship management unit imparts key grooming, selling and customer service skills. The course module is delivered by experienced trainers through a combination of classroom lectures and practical training sessions that ensures the candidate is “ready-to-work” right on successful completion.

The student who successfully completes the course will have a sound knowledge of the financial system, products and services available in banking and insurance principles. The industry experienced trainers also gives practical training for students in relationship and marketing skills

Telecentre Initiative of IGNOU Empowering Regional Youth through ICT : Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor,Indira Gandhi National Open University, India

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March 1, 2011

Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), in conversation with Dr Rajeshree Dutta Kumar and Ankita Verma, speaks about the Telecentre initiative at IGNOU and its potential impact.

What was the idea behind the decision of bringing in the entire telecentre initiative to IGNOU?

For the grassroot development, Information Communication Technology is going to make a great impact. The National e-Governance Plan is strengthening the grassroot level organisations and technology is the major thrust for it. Department of IT (GoI) is also planning IT Literacy Mission. A committee has been constituted to define what IT literacy is and how ordinary people can become IT literate so that they can avail primarily government to citizen services, and also, how these rural centres can be equipped with broadband connectivity and radio services in the future. Government to citizen services is happening to some extent in a fractured way. Once IT kiosk centres come into place in each and every village of the country, there can also be units for promoting education, knowledge and skills. That led us to the collaboration with the International Telecentre Academy and develop programme for Telecentre Management. For this we had meetings with various telecentre movements which were supported by IDRC.

So with the help of international expert committee we have developed a curriculum for training the telecentre managers who are grassroot level workers and who may not have formal qualification. They may be school dropouts, social activists, representatives of certain civil society organizations or NGOs. Looking at the diversity of such people who could be the potential managers of these telecentres, they would work with the agricultural workers, local traders, and different grassroot level professions in the villages.

We have developed content based on 4 modules with the help of expert committee. We have developed this into our curriculum. These 4 modules look at various issues related to education, healthcare, traditional knowledge system and awareness about the use of technology. Anybody can avail it. For those who do not have formal education of 10th or 12th level we are also providing a bridge course for them.

How do you ensure a concrete shift from informal to formal education through this initiatives?

After receiving a certificate one can get a diploma and then university degree depending upon their capability/worth. This also depends on the mandate of university as we are providing opportunities for large number of school dropouts, college dropouts and people without a formal qualification. Then may be 10% of them can obtain higher qualifications. Thus, we will give opportunities to the people at the base of the pyramid to come up to the top.

What is your opinion about telecentres and how do you see India’s position in the entire telecentre movement in South Asia?

In the name of telecentre movement, there are several organisations like Village Knowledge Centres supported by ISRO, Gyan Abhiyan of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). The purpose is of every movement is the same. There are few organisations providing such capabilities in the different regions. But IGNOU’s telecentres initiative is first of its kind in the country. Under our telecentre management, Common Service Centres and Village Knowledge Centres are there. Community colleges also provide these telecentre management courses. We are expecting that in all 230,000 blocks in the country at least one telecentre manager can be formally hired. These are all village level knowledge workers.

Prof M S Swaminathan’s Rural Virtual Academy is also trying to identify rural academy students. They are making the knowledge workers and ultimately they can also get formal qualifications through this route.

Can you elaborate little more on the global focus of this initiatives?

This is for providing coordination for all activities. This telecentre programme that we are offering is not only invented for our country but it is meant

for other countries as well. We have signed MoUs with several universities and telecentre academies. Therefore, the content which we have developed is generic in nature. It is 80% common for all developing countries and rest 20% other countries can contextualize and develop according to their requirements.

Will you use the same model as you have for community colleges?

We will not use the same model. Telecentre management is more focused. We can take the example of broadband connectivity and IT kiosks. The government to citizen services is already there like Panchayati Raj functionary’s capacity building, information about Right to Education Act, National Skills Mission. Another area which we have focused on under telecentre management is how this particular activity of capacity building at block/grassroot level can contribute to the skill development. So the types of skill that is required for the youth in the next 10 years and how these skills are to be transferred, needs to be globally competent and acceptable. National Skills Mission objectives are also being propagated through these tele-knowledge centres. According to National Skills Mission initiative, around 500 million youths are to be provided with the necessary skills by 2022.

We are expecting that in all 230,000 blocks in the country, at least one telecentre manager can be formally hired

What is the role that telecentre.org is playing here?

Telecentre have given some logistic support for preparing the contents. So the content development as well as the preparation of modules has been supported by IDRC. Rest of the activities of IGNOU is just like any other grassroot level programme.

11th FYP is coming to an end and 12th plan is getting rolled out. So what are the plans as far as telecentres are concerned and have you set any goals/targets for next few years?

Telecentres are definitely complementary or augmenting to the 12th plan objectives. The major objective of 12th plan will be to connect education with employable skills. Through telecentres we will be providing modular skills to the people. We are also trying to provide, even those who are in the conventional system of education, some sort of specific skill into them. So there will be some sort of merger of fundamental knowledge and the ability to enhance the skills. Then there will be technology integration into all these activities. We are expecting to train around 5000 people as telecentre managers this year.

Bombay HC seeks reply on VC appointments

Higher Education

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March 1, 2011

The Bombay high court has asked the chancellor of universities of Maharashtra (Governor), the state government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to file their reply to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the recent appointments of all vice-chancellors in the state. The division bench of justice DD Sinha and justice AP Bhangale of the Nagpur bench has also directed the 11 universities in the state, including Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Nashik, and Aurangabad, to file their replies within four weeks. Earlier, Sunil Mishra, faculty, Central India Institute of Mass Communication, Nagpur, has filed a PIL seeking scrutiny of the appointments of vice-chancellors in various state universities. Mishra argued that the state government has not followed the UGC guidelines in the selecting the vice chancellors. He has pointed out that as oppose to the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 guidelines the state government amended the VC selection criteria in 2009. The concept of keeping a central body on the selection panel is completely removed.

24% hike in budgetary allocation for education

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March 1, 2011

The Education sector has got a 24 per cent hike in budgetary allocation for the next fiscal at Rs 52,057 crore to take forward ambitious programmes like universalising secondary education and increasing enrolment ratio in higher education. Budget has also given sops to SC and ST students with the announcement of introduction of a scholarship scheme for them at the pre-matric level. “I propose an allocation of Rs 52,057 crore, which is an increase of 24 per cent over the current year,” said the Finance Minister while presenting the Budget. A whopping sum of Rs 21,000 crore will be allocated for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan which is 40 per cent higher than the Rs 15,000 crore allocated in 2010-11 Budget. He also said a revised Centrally Sponsored Scheme “Vocationalisation of Secondary Education” will be implemented from 2011-12 to improve the employability of our youth. The Government has already set up a Group of Ministers to recommend a National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework and preparation of a roadmap for its implementation. The GoM will submit its report by July 31, 2011. Finance Minister said that the ambitious National Knowledge Network (NKN) will link 1,500 Institutes of Higher Learning and Research through an optical fibre backbone by 2012. During the current year, 190 institutes will be connected to this network. In a move to help upgrade certain institutes, Mukherjee said Rs 50 crore will be granted each to upcoming centres of Aligarh Muslim University at Murshidabad in West Bengal and Malappuram in Kerala. Rs 100 crore was alloted as one-time grant to Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University at Pookode. He also said that Rs 200 crore will be given as one time grant to IIT, Kharagpur and Rs 20 crore for IIM, Kolkata, to set up its financial research and trading laboratory.

Five regional centres of the National School of Drama to be set up

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March 1, 2011

Minister of Culture and Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja has said that on the basis of the recommendations of the Broad Based Committee of the National School of Drama (NSD), it has been proposed to open 5 Regional Schools/Centres of the National School of Drama across the country. The five locations identified for the setting up of these Schools/Centres are Bengaluru (upgradation of existing Regional Resource Centre), Kolkata, Maharashtra/Goa, Jammu & Kashmir and the North East. There is no proposal to set up any such centre in Tamil Nadu. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today she said that the Bengaluru Centre of National School of Drama has already been made operational on an ad hoc basis. The remaining centres can come up only after suitable accommodation for setting up the centres is made available, by the concerned state governments.

IGNOU hosts seminar on Caste and Census

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March 1, 2011

The Indira Gandhi National Open University's (IGNOUs) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Chair (BRAC) on Social Change and Development hosted a seminar on Caste and the Census. The two day conference covered the history of the theme, the pros and cons of including and not including caste in the census, methods that can be used and have been used which affect this social reality. “Caste remains a pervasive reality of Indian society, yet the Government has not gathered systematic data in the Census on this since independence. In order to formulate policies and programmes to move towards a casteless society, information about its characteristics, changing forms, inter-caste marriages and the degree to which it may be lessening is necessary. Yet this has not been done previously since independence, out of an unrealistic fear and self-interested argument that “talking about caste” increases casteism,” said Dr. Gail Omvedt, BRAC Professor at IGNOU. “In fact, this primary response of the Indian elite that caste hardly exists, or is withering away, has handicapped us tremendously in dealing with the actual problem. Even today this problem is not solved. The Government has finally agreed to include an enumeration of caste, but has segregated this from the regular Census in a way which will not provide the required information. Because of this illusory move forward, the BRAC for Social Change and Development has decided to hold a seminar on Caste and the Census,” she added. The seminar had Dr. Parvin Sinclair, Pro VC, IGNOU, Dr. Vimal Thorat, Convenor, BRAC, IGNOU, Prof. Gail Omvedt BRAC, IGNOU in the inaugural session.

25 Indian VCs for Canada education summit

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March 1, 2011

Twenty-five Indian vice-chancellors will participate in the Canada-India Education Summit to be held at Ottawa's Carleton University as part of the Year of India in Canada. The two-day education summit will be held on May 16 and 17. A statement on Monday said Carleton University will host the summit in collaboration with the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada), the Indian high commission and the Association of Colleges and Universities of Canada (AUCC). The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute promotes academic activities and exchanges between the two countries. As part of the summit, roundtables will be held on “student and faculty exchanges, joint programmes and degrees, twinning arrangements, credit transfers, accreditation issues, mutual recognition of degrees, co-tutelle (joint supervision) possibilities for doctoral students, application of technology in education – especially distance learning – and public and private ventures in education,” said the statement by Carleton University. A delegation of 25 vice-chancellors from Indian universities will join their Canadian counterparts to deepen bilateral educational ties which got a big boost with the November visit to India by a delegation of the Association of Colleges and Universities of Canada (AUCC). Prof Sunaina Singh, president of the Shastri Institute, said the summit will build upon the the higher education agreement signed by the prime ministers of the two countries in June last year. Carleton University president Roseann Runte, who has just returned from India, said the education summit will part of the scheduled activities of the Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy at Carleton and of the Year of India.” Carleton is the only university in the world to have a full-fledged India-centric Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy to raise awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy, and develop initiatives to build a better understanding of both countries.

India raises education, health spending

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March 1, 2011

The government will spend a staggering Rs.52,057 crore (Rs.520 billion/$11.5 billion) on education and Rs.26,760 crore (Rs.267 billion/$ 6 billion) on health in the year 2011-12 to ensure “inclusive growth” for all, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced on Monday. “The country has carried for long enough the burden of hunger and malnutrition,” Mukherjee said while presenting his third consecutive budget in the Lok Sabha. Calling education as the tool of empowerment to reap the benefit of India's demographic dividend of a young population, Mukherjee announced a hike of 24 percent in the budget spending for education. “For education, I propose an allocation of Rs.52,057 crore, with an increase of 24 percent over the current year,” Mukherjee said. “Our demographic dividend, a relatively younger population compared to developed countries, is as much of an opportunity as it is a challenge. Over 70 percent of India will be of working age by 2025. In this context universalizing access to secondary education, increasing percentage of our scholars in higher education and providing skills training is necessary,” he said. The allocation for health sector was also increased by 20 percent at Rs.26,760 crore. Calling Rashtriya Swasthya Beema Yojana “an effective instrument for providing health cover to marginal workers”, the finance minister announced extending its ambit to unorganized labor working in hazardous mining and associated industries. Service taxes on air conditioned hospitals with bed capacity over 25 however attracted strong reactions from the private sector. “The budget has levied service tax on hospitals and diagnostic service providers and with this the end user, the patients, will end up paying much more than earlier. This is detrimental to the concept of preventive healthcare and early diagnosis which is pivotal to address the mounting burden of chronic diseases,” said Prathap Reddy, chairman of the Apollo group of hospitals. Chairman & MD, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences N. K. Pandey said, “Union budget 2011 did was somewhat of a disappointment for the healthcare sector. The incentives for Hospitals in districts and towns were missing.” A lack of emphasis on child care in the health budget was highlighted as a shortcoming by some NGOs. “The total health budget has increased by 21 percent. But the budget for the National Rural Health Mission has only increased by 15.5 percent. Given the nearly double digit inflation, this is a nominal increase for a flagship programme that was conceptualized to help India meet the Millennium Development Goals on reducing maternal and child mortality,” Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children said. The hike in education budget was meanwhile welcomed as allocation for both school and higher education increased. “The hike in the allocation under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan by 40 percent and the revised Vocationalization of Secondary Education scheme are steps in the right direction,” V.K. Gupta, director of Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon, said. All India Management Association president Gautam Thapar said, “The announcement of support for 'vocationalization' of the secondary education to make Indian youth more employable is very commendable.” Describing education as a means of empowerment, the finance minister also announced a scheme for scholarship for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in Class 9 and 10. “Empowerment flows from education. While the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students have access to post-matric (Class 10) scholarship, there was so far a lack of pre-matric scholarship scheme,” Mukherjee said.

Sibal calls for attention on adolescents

Higher Education

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March 1, 2011

Adolescents in the country need immediate attention in terms of their educational needs, Human Resource Development Minster Kapil Sibal said here on Tuesday. “Education is the key to address the problems that our adolescents are facing. Schools play the most crucial role to address these problems, hence teachers are central in reaching out to children,” Sibal said. The minister was addressing the South Asian regional conference on learning and developmental needs of out-of-school adolescents. The event was organized in the capital by Plan India and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO). “For out-of-school children, it is important that the teacher training includes mapping of problems of adolescents and addressing them,” added Sibal. Sibal linked technology with the educational needs of children in urban as well as rural areas. “Communication technology will play a big role now as panchayats and schools will be connected with fibre optics. The focus should be on empowering girls, especially because they are excluded at various levels. Education should be able to give them the ability to make choices,” Sibal, also the communications minister, said. The three-day conference that commenced Tuesday will see participation from seven South Asian countries – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. “Our aim is to discuss the needs of the adolescents as they are the most difficult group to reach out. Out-of-school adolescents are mostly school drop-outs involved in labour work. They need educational, financial, and health support for holistic development,” said Bhagyashri Dengle, executive director of Plan India, a voluntary organisation. “We will discuss successful models for development to formulate recommendations that will be presented to the planning commission,” added Dengle. South Asian countries, including India, have more than 45 percent of population in the age group of 15-35 years.

Students tense as CBSE exams begin

K-12

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March 1, 2011

Doing their last minute revision, anxious students were seen making their way to examination centres across the capital on Tuesday for the start of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations. Over 1.8 million students are sitting for the board examinations across the country and abroad. This year, 1,061,566 students of Class 10 will appear for Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) under the CBSE. As many as 769,929 students will appear for Class 12 board exams. While some Class 12 students appeared for the Physics examination, the Class 10 students appeared for language examination. “I am really tense although I am confident with the topics,” said Aman Mohla, a Class 12 student outside a south Delhi examination centre. “Right now I am having butterflies in my stomach. I guess I will feel confident only after seeing the question paper,” he added. A total of 454,131 boys and 315,798 girls will appear in Class 12 board exams, while the Class 10 exam would be taken by 632,726 boys and 428,840 girls. Parents and teachers accompanying the students tried to calm the jitters and offered some last minute tips. “My son has studied well but was nervous since yesterday (Monday). I have asked him not to worry about marks but try his best,” said Manish Singh, mother of class 12 student. Some residential schools held prayer meetings for students appearing for the board exams. “Before the start of the exams, we hold a prayer meeting in the school and students chant the 'Saraswati Mantra',” said a psychologist-cum-counselor with a residential school in south Delhi. “The teachers also give a pep talk to students to help them overcome stress before the examination,” he added.

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