Diploma courses come with exit option now

The department of higher education has launched admission to diploma courses for the current academic year with exit options as per the National Education Policy (NEP) guidelines.

The students, who get admission to Diploma courses across the state, will have the option to exit after completion of one year along with a certificate which is associated with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) level one which will help students to start working.

If the students decide to exit after the second year, they will be given a certificate that is linked to NSQF level 3.

Considering the decreasing trend in admissions to diploma courses in the state, the department of collegiate and technical education has revamped the curriculum completely with inputs from industry leaders.

P Pradeep, commissioner of the department of collegiate and technical education, said, "The overall admissions to diploma courses during 2020-21 was 41 per cent and it was 65 per cent at government colleges, 63 per cent at aided institutions and 25 per cent at private unaided colleges."

"After the completion of the course, 40 per cent of the students will take up engineering and hardly 25 per cent of them will get jobs. Considering this, we have revised the curriculum and now it is job oriented," he explained.

This year to prevent inconveniences to students, the department has enabled walk-in admissions instead of online admissions. However, these walk-in admissions will not be applicable at the select 26 polytechnics where merit-based admissions are offered.

8 new courses

Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayana launched eight new courses introduced in diploma education in the city on Thursday.

Speaking to the media, he said, "Our aim is to reach 100 per cent admissions in diploma courses and increase employability and also to align the courses with NSQF and with global standards."

Currently, 33 traditional are courses offered and the newly introduced eight courses include Alternative Energy Technologies, Cyber Security, Food Processing and preservation, Travel and Tourism, Cloud computing and Big data, Automation and Robotics, Direction screenplay writing and TV Production.

These new courses will be introduced at the government polytechnics in Gauribidanur, Shiralakoppa, Kudligi, Rabakavi, Banahatti, Aurad, Chennagiri, Koppal, Honnali and Kapu.