The Telangana
Government wants to introduce part-time education opportunities for
under-graduate technology students which will equip them with additional skills
even while pursuing their degree courses.
The idea is to
offer certification and capsule courses in a variety of fields connected to
their core subjects so that students can gain employment while studying or at
least start earning immediately after their graduation.
This was stated
in the Perspective Plan of Technical Education in Telangana State (PPTE),
prepared by the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE). The same
was recommended to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) that
gives permission to new courses for technical institutes in the country.
Rural
background
The reason cited
was large number of students coming into technical education are from poor
socio economic background and also from rural areas where lack of learning
lifeskills for the new era is almost nil. “To support their family they need to
work as soon as they complete their course of study. To upgrade their
qualification while working, there is a need for part-time education
opportunity, as is offered at PG level,” TSCHE Chairman T. Papi Reddy said.
Professor Reddy
said such short-term courses existed earlier and the AICTE has now been
requested to re-introduce them. However, these courses should be in fields
where there is some demand. For example for students of CSE and IT, there are
opportunities at smaller level Graphic Design and Web Design or Information
Security and Ethical Hacking, Animation and Multimedia, Digital Marketing or
Networking.
Even if
engineering graduates don’t get campus placements immediately after their
courses, such short-term courses can give them employment for a certain period
even as they continue trying to get into good companies.
Temporary
placement
“Moreover, such
experience also helps them. Instead of students going to private institutes
AICTE should make it mandatory to offer courses for interested students even as
they concentrate on core subjects,” he said.
In fact, the
Perspective Plan has identified some key areas where Telangana in particular
may need trained professionals to exploit its resources.
The PPTE
suggested to the AICTE to sanction programmes in Mining, Granite, Textile,
Pharmacy, Automobile, Construction Technology based on new technologies and
needs of the industry keeping in view the 14 thrust areas it has identified in
the document.
These 14 thrust
areas identified include Life Sciences – including Bulk Drugs, Formulations,
Vaccines, Nutraceuticals, Biologicals; Incubation Centres, R&D facilities,
and Medical Equipment; IT Hardware including Bio-Medical devices, Electronics;
Precision Engineering, including Aviation, Aerospace, and Defence; Food
Processing and Nutrition Products including Dairy, Poultry, Meat, and
Fisheries; Textiles and Apparel, Leather and Leather value-added products like
Shoes, Purses; Gems and Jewellery, Renewable Energy and Solar Parks;
Mineral-based and Wood-based Industries among others.
Source:
