The 12th Five Year Plan of the then-Planning Commission has also laid special emphasis on the expansion of skill-based programmes in higher education.
One of the greatest assets that India can reap benefits from in the near future is our enormous ‘demographic dividend’. At present India has 50% of the world’s population under the age of 30 years and in the next decade will have almost 25% of the world’s total workforce. Faced with the challenge of imparting skills to 500 million youth, the Indian government has implemented the concept of Community Colleges. This strategy visualises skill development as an integral part of the country’s education system.

The 12th Five Year Plan of the then-Planning Commission has also laid special emphasis on the expansion of skill-based programmes in higher education. It recommended setting up of Community Colleges (CC) to serve multiple needs of society. Accordingly the UGC has set up the Community College Scheme which is mainly aimed at career-oriented education and skills based on National Occupational Standards (NOSs). It targets Senior Secondary School pass-outs interested in directly entering the workforce; it has training and education programmes for local employers. It aims to provide upgrades and certification of traditional/acquired skills of learners irrespective of their age.

The Community Colleges will also provide aspirants with opportunities to avail higher education in future, offer bridge courses to certificate holders of general/vocational education, so as to bring them at par with appropriate NSQF (National Skill Qualification Framework) levels, and provide entrepreneurial orientation along with required skill-based training for self-employment and entrepreneurship development. Community Colleges will be located to facilitate easy access to underprivileged students and such colleges could either be established as affiliated colleges of universities or as entirely autonomous institutions.

The concept of Community College is an alternative system of education which is aimed at the empowerment of the disadvantaged and the underprivileged through appropriate skills development.

Though several proposals have been received by the UGC from across the country, the UGC only selected a few colleges in order to effectively implement the scheme. This selection was made on the basis of the proximity of the college to the local industry partners, local job requirements and/or youth aspirations of the region, curriculum design, evaluation system and proper infrastructure. The scheme is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years.

Community Colleges will serve as a crucial point of access to higher education for those who otherwise would not be able to go for it due to several reasons. Therefore, the step to set up Community Colleges is highly welcome, as many of these needy students would get a chance to continue their higher education through Community Colleges. The Community College access system is built on low cost, convenient location, flexible scheduling, an easy admissions policy, and programmes and services designed to support the highly needy students having a variety of social and academic barriers to post-secondary success. Students who enroll in a Community College for their first post-secondary course can complete either a certificate, diploma or advanced diploma within 1-2 years.

A few days ago, the UGC has published its additional list of recommended colleges under the Community College scheme. 106 colleges in the country have been selected, of which 19 colleges are from Maharashtra. These colleges have been given permission to commence one course each in different subjects.

Source : Prof Suhas Pednekar