Delhi : Colleges under Delhi University are offering six skill-based undergraduate courses, which give students the flexibility to opt out after completing the first or the second year with diploma and advance diploma degrees respectively.
Students will also be allowed to rejoin the courses and complete their degree. The Bachelor of Vocational Degree (B Voc) programme is currently being offered at three DU colleges.
These courses have been developed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) as per the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) formulated by the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship, emphasizing skill-based education, in consultation with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Jesus and Mary College offers two courses – retail management and IT, and health care management.
At Kalindi College, students can choose between two courses – printing technology and web designing. Similarly, at Ramanujan College, there are two B.Voc courses – banking operations and software development.
“Students can come back to complete the course even if they leave after the first or the second year. They can complete the degree later if they want to. The idea is to give students flexibility if they want to take a break from studies and work. Each course has 50 seats,” said Pankaj Kumar, nodal officer, Kalindi College. Students from all streams can apply for the course, although some of the courses require a student to have studied Mathematics in class 12. Applicants have to fill the central registration form, while admission will be carried out on a cut-off basis.
Kumar said the courses are designed in a way to give students academic as well as practical knowledge of the industry.
“The curriculum in each semester of the programme would be a suitable mix of the general education components (GEC) and skill education components (SEC) in a fixed ratio of 40:60,” a university official said.
The official also informed that the objective is to provide a judicious mix of skills relating to a profession and the appropriate content for general education. This would make students ready for jobs at each exit point of the programme.
Nikhil Rajput, nodal officer, Ramanujan College said the students are examined both by the university as well as industry experts.
“As 60% of the course is skill oriented, students are examined by the Sector Skill Council (SSC); Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI) companies and the National Association of Software and Services (NASSCOM). The university conducts exam for the remaining 40% of the syllabus,” he said.
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