THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Dec 7: A set of guidelines for the introduction of short-term skill development courses in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) was approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Thursday. The guidelines include details about the course fee structure, target audience, focus areas, and private industry involvement.
During the meeting today, UGC approved the 14-point document.
3-6 months courses
M Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, the Chairman of UGC said, “In today’s commission meeting, UGC approved the Guidelines for the Introduction of Short-Term Skill Development Courses in Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs). We will soon be making this draft for public feedback.”
“The document mentions that anyone who has passed the 10+2/Senior Secondary Examination or its equivalent and is eligible for admission to any undergraduate programme of the HEI will be eligible. The HEI shall offer credit-linked short-term skill development certificate courses of 3-6 months,” the Chairman of the UGC stated.
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“The HEI shall use a credit mechanism to design the course structure. A short-term skill development course in any stream shall be at least 12 credits and a maximum of 30 credits. The short-term skill development course must have a greater focus on practical learning. The HEIs may develop a plan to facilitate employment opportunities and internships for the successful students completing the short-term skill development course,” he added.
The document also discusses the creation of a center within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for skill development courses and outlines the procedure for establishing such a center.
Practical training to boost productivity
The document that has not yet been made public states that the short-term skill development courses will offer specialized, all-encompassing education with an emphasis on hands-on practical training so that people can “acquire hands-on experience and develop a deep understanding of industry practices and standards to enhance the employability of learners through skill development”.
Through upskilling and reskilling, this will also boost productivity at work and promote the establishment of demand-based, industry-specific skill development courses in HEIs while also taking into account local and regional requirements.
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According to the document, all HEIs would be able to provide short-term skill development courses “subject to the availability of infrastructure and training capacity as per the prescribed standards”.
For the courses, the institutes will need the consent of their boards of management, statutory councils, governing bodies, or any other comparable academic body.
In order to offer short-term skill development courses, the guidelines propose that HEIs create a ‘Centre for Skill Development Courses’.
