Delhi cabinet nod for new skill, entrepreneurship varsity
New Delhi: The Delhi Cabinet on Monday gave its approval for a new skill and entrepreneurship development university with an initial capacity of 50,000 students.
The proposal will require clearance from the Lt Governor before its approval by the Assembly, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.
The new Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship (DSE) University will focus on imparting the skills and knowhow to the youth that will equip them for employment, he said, adding that different courses, ranging between six months to two years, will be made available for students from Class 10 to the graduate and post graduate levels.
The courses will have also have high level of flexibility in terms of redesigning for the requirements, he said.
“Unemployment is very high in the country and our youth is worried that despite securing degrees like BA, B.Sc. and B.Com in the formal education system, they are still unable to find jobs. The main focus of the Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship University will be to make the students employable and the performance of the university will be measured in terms of the kinds of jobs that the students get. The entire effort will be to ensure as many students who graduate from this university will get jobs,” he said.
The proposed varsity’s initial intake will be 50,000 students, who will be enrolled in regular and part-time courses in various streams. Students who complete Class 10, Class 12, and graduation can join the University for courses ranging from durations like 6 months, one year, two years and so on.
“The new University will provide a guarantee for jobs to the students who graduate from here, ” said Kejriwal.
On the framework of the University, he said: “All ITIs, polytechnic institutes and skill centres will be merged into this University. We will collaborate with many foreign countries and universities. The skill centres at Vivek Vihar and Jonapur have tied up with institutions in Singapore and the Vivek Vihar centre has almost 100 per cent placement. Similarly, the new university will have collaborations with several foreign institutions.”
In addition, he said, there will be collaborations with industry associations and companies. If any company agrees to provide jobs to the students, then training will be provided to students based on the requirements of the company.
“The most important feature of this university shall be flexibility because the market requirements always keep changing. Various governments have made skill centres but those do not adapt to the requirements of the market. Courses once designed will remain for 25 to 30 years without any revision or upgradation. The University will design courses after taking into consideration the relevant market research,” the Chief Minister added.
Kejriwal expects that the legislative framework for the University will be passed by the Delhi Assembly in the upcoming winter session, before which the Bill will have to be approved by the Lieutenant Governor.
“From the day we get the L-G’s nod, we expect to launch this University in one year,” he said.
He said the University will bridge the gap between the conventional education system and the vocational education.
“It will give Delhi a platform for expansion of vocational and applied science courses as per market needs. This will be the first University of its kind in the country,” the Chief Minister added.