Youth Incorporated Magazine

92 colleges selected to offer first UGC-approved degree course in vocation studies

The University Grants Commission has approved a three-year Bachelor or Vocation (BVoc) course which will be offered in multiple institutes across the country from the academic year 2014-15 onwards. The UGC has approved 92 colleges which have a suitable infrastructure to offer the course in the first year of it being ushered in.

Breaking away from the regular arts, commerce and science streams, the UGC recognised the need for vocational studies and decided to implement the course to improve the quality of education for the stream.

A total of 338 educational institutes from across the country applied for permission to conduct the course in its inaugural year. However, the UGC has only granted 92 institutes the rights to conduct the course this year. “A majority of the colleges offering the course are in Maharashtra (around 30) because the state has an industrial culture,” said Professor H. Devaraj, Vice-Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

The course will cover the skills required in various specialisations including retail marketing, hospitality management and carpentry. Those students who complete the first year of the programme will receive a certificate while a diploma will be given to those who complete two years of the programme and a degree to those students who complete all three years.

Financial assistance will be provided by the UGC amounting to Rs 1.85 crore to each of the colleges who are approved to offer the BVoc programme as under the National Skill Qualification Framework.

For the complete list of institutes offering the course in the academic year 2014-15, check the following link: http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/5425221_Approved.pdf