Community Colleges: The New Alternative in Education World

While the fight is on for admissions into some of the best colleges, there are some youngsters who are opting for community colleges. Community colleges is a new concept which is subscribing with a lot of people in India.

A community college primarily offers vocational education, diploma and certificate level courses. The first community college in India was founded as recently as 1995, in Pondicherry. Moreover, presently the number of community colleges have risen. In nearly three years, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has over two lakh students in about 600 community colleges across the Indian sub-continent.

Delhi Community College (DCC) is one of over 600 community colleges, which are registered under IGNOU. According to VP Jayarajan, Principal, DCC, community colleges address people who for some reason are unable to join regular universities. A number of community colleges under IGNOU, impart a specific skill set which is in demand in India, like carpentry, computer repair, or building repair.

These community colleges also offer courses in Fire Engineering and Security Management. The school trace back its establishment six years back, as the Delhi Institute of Fire Engineering for training fire-fighters and fire prevention specialists. Mr. Jayarajan said that the school was founded because owing to the lack of professionally trained fire engineers in India.

Two years ago the institution joined IGNOU and got the name of Delhi Community College. Joining IGNOU allowed students who earn associate's degrees at the college to continue their studies at a higher university towards a bachelor's degree.

According to Jayarajan, the demand for properly trained fire engineers is growing rapidly in India, and thus there are chances that the school graduates find jobs very quickly after they graduate. These graduates are employed by construction compaines, manufacturing units and also hospitals.

 

Source: Prachi Srivastava (Shiksha Team)

Date: 23rd June 2011