By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Army and the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Friday inked a pact to grant degrees to soldiers during their service — a step aimed at providing the jawans with a second career option.
The programme, called Gyan Deep, aims to equip the soldiers who join the force just after school with a graduation degree. Based on the US system of community colleges in defence cantonments, it will benefit a majority of the 1.2 million soldiers in the army.
Army chief General Deepak Kapoor and IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai were present at the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) here.
Every year nearly 50,000 trained soldiers retire from the army after an average of 15 years in service. The programme will impart market-driven courses and soft skills to them.
Soldiers looking for a second career after retirement often find it difficult to meet the academic qualification required for jobs in the public and private sectors, where a formal degree from a recognised university or institute is mandatory.
“The army jawans retire generally after 15 years of service and form a part of highly trained, dedicated, disciplined and loyal work force. Giving their best years of their youth to the service of the nation, they are left to fend for themselves in a highly competitive job market with no formal degree to take up a respectable job,” an army official associated with the project said.
“The jawans will be given BA, BBA, BSc and BCom degrees depending on their area of work,” the official added.
The IGNOU will register Regimental Training Centres, Human Resource Development Centres of the Indian Army and Army Schools of Instructions as ‘community colleges’. The Army-IGNOU Community Colleges will continue functioning as autonomous bodies conducting examinations and their courses as hitherto fore.
The soldiers will need 92 credits for getting a graduation degree.
The first 64 credits will be given to the soldier for his work within the army. He will also need to do some courses for which he will be awarded certificates.
Thereafter he will go to the IGNOU programme to earn the remaining credits.
For those soldiers who join after Class 10, the army will be organising bridge courses to bring them at par with those who have completed Class 12.
“It will provide a lot of benefit to the soldiers. They will become graduates for less money and will get a degree from an internationally recognised university. Most jawans who look for second employment in the open market post retirement will get better options. These benefits will be besides the value addition to the quality of life of the jawan and his family,” another official added.
“The programme will have international ramifications, as after their graduation the soldiers may go abroad for higher studies or for work and will form a viable work force globally,” said the official.