New Delhi : Indira Gandhi National Open University and Indian Army today (Friday, September 4, 2009) signed a memorandum of understanding to start 47 Community Colleges at Regimental Army Training Academies, which will be turned into Army-IGNOU Community Colleges. These colleges collectively will be called Gyan Deep.
The MoU seeks to confer educational certification to soldiers within the parameters of IGNOU system, and recognise the “in-service” training imparted on them at the Army Training Academies. A 5-member Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) representing IGNOU and the Indian Army will be formed to put in place a structured curriculum for a two-year (four semesters, 64 credits) Associate Degree and well-defined guidelines for in-service soldiers to enhance their education and upgrade skills.
According to the MoU, a soldier, desirous to enhance his educational standard, will take admission to a Community College in his/her training academy and will pursue the course according to his/her time and pace. After completion of two years, s/he will be entitled for an Associate Degree. If the candidate wants to pursue higher education after acquiring the Associate Degree, s/he will be given lateral entry to the third year of the three-year degree course for graduation. The certificate will empower him/her to get the second career after retirement from the Army. The MoU envisages that the training modules for the Associate Degree will be designed and provided by the Army and IGNOU academics, while the certification will be done by IGNOU. The joint development of the training modules for the degrees will be need-based and decided by the JCC, which will also look into award of credits and other related matters. A liaison cell for the Army will be set up in IGNOU headquarters.
It is a historic MoU in the lexicon of the Indian Army, as, for the first time a strong step has been taken forward to utilise services of about 50,000 soldiers, who retire every year – an asset of disciplined, hardy, trained, intelligent human capital -- in the nation building processes. The degrees acquired through the community colleges will empower them enough to secure a second career in a vocation.
A community college is an alternative system of education which aims to empower individuals through appropriate skills development. The educational programmes in these colleges are tailor-made to the local needs and state-based requirements. The programmes are generally acceptable to workers in the target communities. The training and education in the community colleges help students get gainful employment, as the programmes are designed in collaboration with the local industry and communities.
Community colleges are wonderful opportunities for the school drop-outs, lateral entrants into the higher education and those in the workforce who find entry in the formal system rigid. The soldiers, who gather immense real-life experience, undergo hardiest training and have wonderful tenacity to brave tough situations for long hours find getting a job very difficult, as they don’t generally have formal academic qualification. The certificates gathered through the community colleges will ensure them the need-based skills development training.
Otherwise also the community colleges will provide the fastest option for a student who wants a career-oriented qualification and may not even require a three-year degree. For example, a student, who takes one-year diploma of 32 credits as a pharmacy technician or a 16-credit certificate in insurance in a community college, may take education in other course from IGNOU’s 310 programmes. His or her credits will be transferred to speed up his or her education and degree on successful clearance.
For Army personnel, the community colleges are of high relevance. The Indian Army recruits personnel with three broad categories of educational qualification – below 12 class, class 12 pass and graduates and above. After retiring at a young age of 45, they often come across stiff competition in the job-market due to lack of a formal degree.
Touching upon this, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Deepak Kapoor said, “We are moving toward a future of real-life high technology, knowledge and competitive opportunities. We need a very high order of trained, professional and competent Army. The soldiers are expected to be the role models to the society. As we need a very young Army, we take them even before they are 10 plus or 10+2. For 20 or 25 years they give the best time of their youth and at 38-40 they have to retire to serve themselves and the society. We need to exploit their discipline, capabilities to work hard and training. That is why there are demands of ex-service personnel in enterprises, industries and security. A formal degree such as this opportunity offered by IGNOU will enhance both their education and capacities for better second career.”
Welcoming the MoU, Adjutant General Lt Gen Mukesh Sabharwal termed the new move as “a fusion of visions of COAS and IGNOU VC Prof Pillai who had the nation at their heart.”
Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai, IGNOU VC, referred to the national skills level of workforce. “It is about 5%, according to an ILO study, as against 80% and above in South Korea and other advanced countries. It is an initiative for certification of skills, knowledge and training. This will create a revolutionary education system in the country in the areas of capacity-building, skills upgradation and vertical mobility. IGNOU has a lot of skills and skills development materials which it will make available to the Army. A person recruited by the Army gets real-life experience in training, knowledge and skills. Their entry into the Community College system will not only increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of the country to education and higher education, it will also enhance the Gross Graduation Ratio (GGR). This is a major revolution. The universities and the Higher Education institutions of this country should take this model. This MoU will also ensure optimal utilisation of intellectual and infrastructural opportunities of the country. The move will also evolve sound moral and character of the individuals”, he said.
Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr Latha Pillai, reminded the audience that the community colleges are the best linkages between the left-out and the higher education. IGNOU and the Army have potentials to make the Community College Movement successful, she said, adding, “After all, the community colleges are of the communities, for the communities and by the communities.”
In his vote of thanks, Director-General (Manpower Planning & Personnel Services) Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi said, “Nothing empowers a soldier more than knowledge. The degrees will stem the loss of the immense experience of the human resource, retiring from the Army, every year.”
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