NAAC 'A+' Grade with CGPA 3.32 (Cycle - 1)
(A State Open University established by the Tamil Nadu Government ,
Recognised by UGC-DEB, Accorded with 12(B) status by UGC
Member in Asian Association of Open Universities and
Association of Commonwealth Universities)
A path-breaking initiative in the reform and rehabilitation process of prison inmates has taken off at the Central Prisons in Tamilnadu. If the jail inmates are empowered with education, technical and life coping skills, provided certificates upon completion of the programmes and imbibed with a positive attitude towards life, they may become responsible citizens.They may get job opportunities and get assimilated into the society. This is the real transformation and rehabilitation. In previous times, jail inmates were not given any studying opportunities; they were ostracized from the society and might revert into their unlawful activities. Thus, there is a need for education of the jail inmates. When they learn some useful skills, they may get employment opportunities and get livelihood and the industries may get required labour. The teachers for the jail inmates may be recruited from educational institutions, NGOs, and the educated prison inmates may also volunteer to teach other inmates in their subjects of specialization. The government, NGOs, and the society should embark on this endeavour. The Tamilnadu Government also supports the education of the prison inmates by offering total fee concession for degree and skill development programmes. In this context TNOU plans to step into the education of prison inmates in Tamilnadu.
Since2007 TNOU has established Jail Study Centres at 9 Central Prisons and 2 Special Prisons for Women andthey offer various skill development programmes to the prisons inmates. The Mahatma Gandhi Community College, the first-of-its-kind in carrying out jail project in Tamilnadu started functioning since 2011 in all these prisons and Borstal School at Pudukottai. Jail Study Centres are managed by the Department of Prisons. The Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General of Prisons, Chennai is the Coordinator for TNOU Jail Study Centres who coordinates with TNOU and other Voluntary Organizations to offer free education to the prison inmates. The counseling classes and practical sessions are handled by teachers from TNOU Community Colleges, Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education (ICRDCE) and educated prison inmates. Mobile labs have been set up to provide hands on training for skill training programmes. The individual skills are tested after practical sessions at prisons to find the level of skill obtained by the prison inmates. Upon completion of the course, the inmates are awarded certificates and prison authorities make all efforts to find suitable employment or entrepreneurship opportunities after their release. At present, TNOU offers academic programmes, Skill Development and many different training programmes and Vocational Programmes through Open and Distance Learning mode. There is no age limit for pursuing these programmes. Since the TNOU programmes are both in English and vernacular languages, the prison inmates find it easy to complete their programmes successfully. After release, the prison inmates become entrepreneurs or employed.
In the last 5 years, 290prison inmates including women prison inmates, 61 in various UG / PG programmes and 229 in various Skill Development programmes of TNOU have been trained. Most of the prison inmates have chosen the life oriented and job-oriented programmes, providing easy upward mobility. Vocational Diploma programmes in Fashion Design and Garments Making, Mechanic (Electrical / Electronics / Instrumentation), Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Technician, Animation, Automotive Service Technician, and Plumbing are some popular programmes among prison inmates. These programmes offer immediate job opportunities once the prison inmatesare released. All these programmes are designed as per the National Skill Qualifications Framework (NSQF) and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) norms. Hence, once the prison inmates complete their terms, they get relevant employment or self-employment.Prison authorities make special arrangements for the practical courses such as MCA and M.Sc. Psychology.
Infrastructure such as examination halls and laboratories and other support systems are not readily available in prisons. Hence, most of them are forced to take arts and humanities subjects. Necessary laboratory and other support systems should be established inside the prisons. During the COVID-19 situation, the prison inmates were unable to pay their examination fee, and TNOU waived their examination fee. The prison inmates rarely get social recognition after coming out of the jail. The societal view should change. But the completion of the Degree or Diploma makes them to get a social recognition after their release. As most of the prison inmates prefer to start their own business, entrepreneurship and incubation skills should be provided to the prison inmates.
TNOU takes efforts to educate the prison inmates and convert them into social capital, as per the motto of TNOU, “Education for All and Ever”. It provides employment avenues to them and prevents them from reverting to their criminal activities. Thus, Rehabilitation of Prison Inmates by way of providing Education and Skills is surely a feather on the crown of TNOU.
Context: Sustainable Development Goal 4 indicates “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. It targets elimination of all discrimination in education, universal literacy,and education for sustainable development. The differently abled too should be considered for the National Development.The creation of awareness and inclusivity towards PwDisthe prime need of the hour. Most of the PwD themselves are not aware of their rights and opportunities. Suitable education alone shall make the PwDself-sustainable. All these can be achieved by the consistent collaboration and cooperation with various governmental and volunteer organizations in this field.Skill development, entrepreneurship education, creation of employment opportunitiesand research are the driving forces behind the activities of TNOU towards its motto “Education for All and Ever” .
TNOU building, campus and various facilities are accessible as stipulated in the Rights for People with Disabilities Act (RPWD Act 2016).TNOU has been offering B.Ed. Special Education, a specialized degree programme from 2008 with recognition from UGC and RCI with a total intake capacity of 500 seats with specializations of Intellectual Developmental Disabilities (IDD), Visual Impairment (VI) and Hearing Impairment (HI).Professionals are trained to support inclusive education at various levels of school education through the B.Ed.(SE) Programme. In 2009, the School of Special Education and Rehabilitation (SOSER) was established. The students are selected through an Entrance Examination and admission counseling. Through the various Learner Support Centres located throughout Tamilnadu, this Programme is offered.PwDspursuing higher education are given 100 % tuition fee waiver as per the Government of Tamilnadu announcement in 2010. Besides, TNOU provides the necessary infrastructure facilities at the TNOU campus, scribe facilities, physical aide, etc during Term End Examinations (TEE). TNOU had prepared “TNOU Equal Opportunity Policy for PwD - 2021” band registered a copy with the State Commissioner.A Grievance Redressal Officer has been appointed.Systematically 5% of seats are reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities. TNOU organizes many awareness programmes on Rights of PwD, Continuing Rehabilitation Education (CRE) Programmesaspart of academic exchange of expertise and knowledge dissemination. International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is celebrated on 3rd December every year. The Centre for Multimodal Materials Production for Differently Abled (CPMD) started functioning from 02.07.2020. Its prime mission is to provide a well-designed multimodal material to be used by people with a wide variety of impairments.
In the past 5 years, (AY 2017 to CY 2022), 229PwD students have been admitted in various UG / PG programmes and 95 PwD students in various skill development programmes and are progressing at various levels. In the same period, 1732 students have been admitted to B.Ed. (SE) and are pursuing their programme. The consistent efforts of TNOU in creating the required manpower needs in the field of Special Education have yielded fruitful results. Some of its alumni have reached great heights as given below.
Name of the alumni |
Enrolment |
Achievement |
S. Ramalingam |
M.Ed. (SE) |
|
Dr. Latha Rajendran |
M.Ed.(SE) 2015-16 |
|
Nizar Ahamed |
M.Ed. (SE) 2015-16 |
|
The employment rates of disabled adults are very low. For tackling this issue, in every placement camp, the PwDs are also invited, and efforts are taken for getting employment opportunities for them. Physical accessibility in buildings, transportation and services pose another serious challenge. It has been tackled by creating PwD friendly premises, and utilizing the services of scribes, counsellors, sign language experts and appointing skilled faculty members either full time or on contract basis for their proper education. Social discrimination, social exclusion, inadequate data and statistics and poor implementation of policies and schemes are some other major challenges. The success stories of successful people with disabilities should be showcased to inculcate positive attitude among people.
In Conventional Universities, there is a campus that provides career related information. But in Open Universities, the students are located across the State. So, creating awareness about various career opportunities available, the related courses to take up, conducting job fairs, giving guidance to the students to face the job interviews, and succeed, etc.,pose practical challenges. TNOU constantly collaborates with the government departments, industries and NGOs, for knowing the job needs and skill requirements. Accordingly, the curriculum and programmes are to be framed by various faculties and divisions. The success stories of achievers should also be highlighted to the students for motivation. These are the major factors driving behind this endeavour. “Education for All for Ever” is the motto of TNOU. Most of the students of TNOU are socially and economically marginalized, such as rural poor, school / college dropouts, labourers, women, widows, transgenders, jail inmates etc. Most of them are jobless or doing menial jobs. Hence, providing awareness about various job opportunities, skills in high demand, industrial requirements and preparing them to face the job interviews are of paramount importance.
TNOU has established Student Welfare and Placement Cell with a view to providing the employment opportunities for the TNOU students on par with the Conventional Universities.In collaboration with SchoolguruEduservePvt. Ltd, Mumbai, the first Placement Camp for its students was held at TNOU on 18.07.2018. 50 leading Corporate Companies participated in that event and selected 25 students from 150 participants. Encouraged by the results, placement camps have been conducted at various places in Tamilnadu. The Regional Centresin collaboration with the District Employment Centres, leading industries and local educational institutions organize the job fair. Then all the leading industries nearby are contacted and informed about the job fair and their manpower requirements are collected. The information about the fairs is widely publicized among various beneficiaries through TNOU website, local dailies, notices, social media and TV channels. Local NGOs, educational institutions and volunteers also extend their support in this endeavour. At the end of the job fairs, offer letters are distributed to the selected candidates by government officials, industry leaders and popular personalities. At the academic front, career guidance programmes are organized at TNOU. Popular personalities share their experiences and motivate the students. The TNOU officials including the Vice-Chancellor interact with the students and motivate them to perform well and be successful in their endeavour. The TNOU officials give interviews in the TV channels and the press regarding these camps. TNOU constantly interacts with the industries, Community Colleges, government and alumni regardingjob needs and skill requirements. Accordingly, the curriculum and programmes are framed by various faculties and divisions. The Student Placement Cell and Research Programme Section jointly organizeCareer Guidance Programme for M.Phil.& Ph.D. scholars and special lectures by industry experts, bureaucrats, and motivational speakers. They share their experience in terms of preparation for the Competitive Examinations.
Since 2018, 7 job fairs have been conducted at Chennai, Tirunelveli, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Villupuram and Gobichettipalayam. So far 30594 students had participated in them and 5235 were offered jobs, with 17 % success rate and the average salary is 2.5 – 3.5 Lakhs per annum.Manydifferently abled students also participated and secured jobs. In each job fair, nearly 50 – 200 companies participated. At present MoUs have been signed with ARS Steels and Alloys, Chennai, Asgardio Corp, Chennai, Asgardio Foundation, Chennai, Tech Anugraha, Chennai, KMCT, BSA, PEEP, Vizza, Chennai to collaborate in Job Fairs. Many companies volunteer themselves and there is a demand for more such job fairs. For this purpose, the Centre for University-Industry Institution Collaboration (CUIIC) has been set up on August 15, 2021.
Awareness creation is the most important task. As most of the TNOU students are located over a widegeographical area and are from different socio-economic backgrounds, reaching them is a major challenge. TNOU utilizes all means of communication channels such as Email, WattsApp, Twitter, YouTube, etc for information dissemination. Logistic arrangement and hospitality areother challenges. By leveraging the services of the NGOs, local people, alumni, and participants from the previous camps, these issues are tackled. As the market forces are fast changing, there exists a mismatch of skill requirements of the industries and the skill-set of the students.This can be tackled by the creation of new modular skill-oriented courses and conducting them through online and at Community Colleges and fast curriculum updating. This reduces the rigours of providing the courses and the time span considerably. During the pandemic and lockdown, there was a large-scaleunemployment throughout the country. Now the situation gradually improves.
The NEP 2020 stresses the strengthening of vocational education and soft skills of studentsandits integration into mainstream education. TNOU has a strong Community College network and has 12 Regional Centres at various places in Tamilnadu. Tamilnadu Government also gives more importance to impartskill-orientedprogrammes in frontier areas, for getting easy employment opportunities. The present ICT revolution makes it possible to offer vocational education in ODL/blended/on-campus modular modes to Learners.
Since its inception in 2003, TNOU has been emphasizing students to develop technical and soft skills so that they can compete in the global market in terms of either getting employment or becoming an entrepreneur. NSDC enlists nearly 400 skills which have high employability and entrepreneurship potential. The School of Continuing Educationin partner with Indian Centre for Research and Development of Community Education, design and develop innovative, skill-oriented courses at various levels, as per industrial needs. Currently TNOU offers 9 Vocational Diploma, 2 Advanced Vocational Diploma, 5 Diploma, 1 PG Diploma, 9 Certificate and 18 Short Term courses with modularity and vertical mobility. These programmes are supported by NSDC and compliant with NSQF. The school dropouts, 12thpass outs, rural youth, women and existing workforce are the major target groups for these.These programmes are implemented by 140TNOUCommunity Colleges spread across Tamilnadu.The services of Industry veterans and experienced local master crafts persons are also engaged to provide vocational skills. Hands-on trainingis provided in work skills, life coping skills and communication skills. Community College students can register in Tamilnadu Employment Exchange. Tamil Nadu Open University provides Higher Education to the TNOU Community College students through vertical mobility scheme to obtain Higher Education. They may pursue higher education in any Universities. They get bank loans and incubation opportunities easily. Student Support Services at TNOU headquarters and at Community Colleges play an important role in pursuing and completion of programmes, including pre-admission, post-admission, internship and support for seeking employment. Tamilnadugovernment provides Rs.1000/- as scholarship to TNOU Community College Students,irrespective of caste, creed and religion, after completion of their study. Over 635 Industrial partners play a significant role in providing employment to the TNOU Community College students after assessing their performance during internship. Currently as a pilot endeavour, TNOU established Constituent Community Colleges at Chennai, Villupuram and Kothagiri Regional Centres and 3 faculty members are deputed as coordinators. In future, Constituent Community Colleges may be established in the rest of the Regional Centres and at each district headquarters in Tamilnadu considering the local region-specific needs. Efforts are on the anvil to design the credit structure ensuring that all students take at least one vocational course before graduating.
: In the last 5 years, 13784 students (10174 in Vocational Diploma and 3610 in other skill development programmes) had been admitted and are progressing. It includes 10393 women learners showing the popularity of skill development programmes among women. Some programmes such as Vocational Diploma in General Duty Assistant, Vocational Diploma in Fashion Design and Garment Making, and Vocational Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Educationhave become very popular. Most of the students are employed in the relevant industries and rest of them have become either entrepreneurs or opted for higher studies. The number of industries participating in TNOU job fairs has been gradually increasing. 6MoUs have been signed between TNOU and leading industries for placement drives.
Most of the students have lack of awareness about the industrial skill requirement and job opportunities. TNOU conducts many awareness camps through its CCs and Regional Centres.Slow pace of new course introduction, mismatch of skills and industrial needs, non-availability of trained faculties, difficulty in placement of trained students are some major hurdles. By swift design and development of skill development courses, and developing the course materials in vernacular languages, this has been partially solved. Industrial slowdown during Coronavirus pandemic also caused large unemployment and less demand for skill development programmes. Now the situation is gradually improving
Tamil Nadu Open University
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