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Enrolment of workers for courses in distance education on rise

Last Updated 16 May 2013, 06:28 IST

Distance education and correspondence courses seem to be gaining popularity among working population. The agencies which offer such courses claim that there was an average increase of 10 per cent to 15 per cent in the enrolment.

Jude Tellis, an official with R V Correspondence College said, a large number of working population which missed out on completing their higher education, were opting for distance education courses.

When compared to day colleges, distance education courses are flexible for applicants, majority of whom belong to the working population.

To accommodate as many students as possible, Jude said, the colleges try to keep both – the classes and the exams, during weekends.

This is specially made for people employed with tight schedules, so that the courses did not interfere with their daily activities, he added.

Afzal Khan, manager of the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU), Bannerghatta Road branch, said both postgraduate (PG) and undergraduate (UG) courses had seen a surge in the number of applicants.

Khan said: “There are a growing number of people applying for various courses, especially at the undergraduate level. We accommodate all applicants aged above 18, and encourage them to get a degree. To ease them into the course, we provide them with a bridge course called Bachelors’ Preparatory Programme, after which they can apply for most of the bachelor programmes.”

The books provided to the students are holistic, so that their need to visit the libraries is reduced, as they have less time to prepare, he added.

Success story

Ganesh, a waiter at an eatery on KH Road, earned his degree through a similar channel. “I began working years ago, after my matriculation. I came to Bangalore from Shimoga to earn money. I wanted a degree, and so I contacted this agency; they asked me to do the Bachelors’ Preparatory Programme after which I graduated in International Business.” Ganesh has applied for the job of a police constable with the Karnataka Police.

A complimentary trend on the rise has been ‘learn while you earn.’ Often, lack of sufficient qualification leads to stagnation of personal and financial growth.

Many working persons overcome this obstacle by opting for correspondence and distance education courses, as a means to boost their income potentials.

A classic example would be of David Michel, who graduated in BCom eight years back, after which he became a call center employee and continued to remain one for six years.

Learning while earning

He said: “I thought the chances of growth in my field was narrow. With commitments and lack of qualifying education, I was unable to quit my job nor could I apply for a full-time course. Hence, I applied for a course in Masters in Business Administration from the Open University in Bangalore and was able better my qualification.”

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(Published 15 May 2013, 20:47 IST)

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