EFOS.in Newsletter July 2021

www.efos.in JULY 2021 .inVolume 2, July 2021 Education, Employment, Employability and Entrepreneurship Development of IndianYouth responsible?ARE STUDENTS ONLY WHY CAND DATE IS ALWAYS BLAME FOR LOW EMPLOYABILITY SKILL? ONLINE DEGREES ready set the quality benchmark IN INDIAN EDUCATION Visit Us at www.efos.in

COVER STORY CONTENT EDITORIAL 3 ( Education Degree or Employbility ) 4-11 12-16 COVER STORY 17-19 ( Are students only respoonsible? ) 20 DISCUSSION ( Online Degree ) AWARENESS ( Online Degree vs Regular Degree ) INVITING PARTNERS ( EFOS Mission Job ) 2 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

COVER STORY Team EFOS.in Education Degree or Employability: What is more important? Founder MD Sachin Jain – [email protected] Co-Founder Employers are often looking for skills that Ranjan Singh – [email protected] go beyond quali cations and experience. Co-Founder So, in order to be employable, one needs to possess certain set of attributes, skills Dr. Akansha Jain – [email protected] Corporate Relations Kulveer Kandari – [email protected] and knowledge that ensure they have Operations Team the capability of getting employed and Anup Kumar – [email protected] be e ective in the workplace to the ben- e t of themselves, their employer and Abhishek Dixit – [email protected] Jitendra Singh- [email protected] Mubashshira Baig – [email protected] the wider economy Sachit Sharma – [email protected] On the other hand, there is strong Nimisha Jain – [email protected] need in innovating at the intersection Abhay Pratap Singh – [email protected] of employability and employment. Manish Rawat – [email protected] Change in the entire ecosystem – per- Fahed Khan – [email protected] ception, attitude, government poli- Rajdeep Singh – [email protected] cies, and the approach to education Founder Office Team Praveen Kumar – [email protected] Ankit Singh – [email protected] as well as employer’s investment in Prince Gautam – [email protected] employees is the need of the hour. Ramsevak – [email protected] Integration of life skills in educa- tion degrees, facilitating on the job Finance & Admin Amit Kumar – [email protected] Gaurav Yadav – [email protected] training, internships and appren- Web Design & Development ticeships are steps needed to Dev Kaushik – enhance employability and level of education of youth of today. SIDEREAL TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD Creative Designer Garima Garg – [email protected] Editor In Association With Dr. Akansha Jain [email protected] S COLORING INNOVATIONS . . . EwPwINwF.eOpWinAfYoSwPayVsT..cLoTmD JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 3

COVER STORY Employable paradigm responsible?ARE STUDENTS ONLY WHY CAND IDATE IS ALWAYS BLAME FOR LOW EMPLOYABILITY SKILL? What’s the bear minimum you have to do to get a job in the majority of elds? Get a degree. With erce competition in the global job market, a degree is no longer enough to support career success. Students are nishing their degrees, some with top marks and impressive academic pro les but are unable to secure their rst job. Employability skills are receiving even more attention with employers frequently reporting that employees lack these skills. Companies are still not able to hire individuals for even for entry-level positions. Millions of parents continue wasting their life savings in mindlessly following outdated and useless education system. The education industry continues selling crap, and people contin- ue buying. The govt. doesn't care and corporates can't a ord education and business both. 4 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

COVER STORY Considering the hefty cost of these degrees and the levels of debt incurred, the question nally arises so as to who is responsible for lack of employability skills amongst youth. Is it fair to say that embedding wider skills that boost employability within degree programmes is the solution to tackling graduate unemployment? If so, whose respon- sibility is it to provide or seek these wider expertise? The Govt? The university? The student? Or both? or someone else? The ‘blame game’ for these skills de cits is frequently directed to the candidates that they are not employable. Employability refers to your ability to gain initial employment, What Is maintain. employment, and obtain new employment if required. Employbility? It is having a set of skills, knowledge, understanding and person- al attributes. In other words, employability is the possession by an individual of the qualities and competencies required to meet the changing needs of employers and customers and there- by help to realize his or her aspirations and potential in work. Employers are often looking for skills that go beyond quali cations and experience. So, in order to be employable, one needs to possess certain set of attributes, skills and knowledge that ensure they have the capability of getting employed and be e ective in the workplace to the bene t of themselves, their employer and the wider economy. JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 5

COVER STORY Of youth of today According to the data produced by the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education), the Education Commission, and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), approximately 50% of Indian youth are not on track to have the education and skills necessary for employment by 2030. It pointed out that skills among Indian youths were found to be below the global average. India Skills Report 2021 by Wheebox, in partnership with Taggd, CII, AICTE, AIU and UNDP has reached over 65,000 students across the nation and over 150 employers across 15 Industries in order to have deep insight about employability aspects of youth of India. According to report less than half of the Indian graduates are employable. In 2021, as many as 45.9 per cent of graduates are employable, a decline from 46.21 per cent in 2020 and 47.38 per cent in 2019, reveals the report. MCA graduates are the least in terms of employability as only 22.42 per cent of them are em- ployable followed by polytechnic at 25.02 per cent. 6 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

COVER STORY Employable Status of current candidates according to India Skills Report (ISR) JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 7

COVER STORY Employabilit Stake Holder What Actually is happening Students - Not sure why he is doing the Degree and career options Parents after that Institutes - Waste precious 3-4 years of Higher Education time in so Society called Big Colleges for getting a degree without any outcome. - Fail to judge the actual capacity of the child - Peer Pressure from family friends to come out of skill Based job to corporate job without actually judging the scenario - Less Knowledge about the career options future scope and just go for some recommendation for college. Generally, fill up their seats focusing on giving fake promis- es and do not provide proper training to candidates who can become role models for future generation and seats of these colleges are filled automatically. - Mindset for skill jobs are very poor and they do not have respect in our society Corporate Corporate world is very much volatile and just want ready- made candidates to work. They do not want to be part of training process Govt Policies/ They are making lot of schemes which are actually not Education implemented at ground level. System 8 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

COVER STORY ty Paradigm What should happen EFOS Recommendations - Should focus on acquiring skills than just Needs to realize the importance of prepara- degree tion and genuine self-awareness as getting - Should start looking for learning beyond degree will not serve the purpose. books. Needs to find practical ways to help them- selves transfer from student to employee. - Properly counsel their child that if you have knowledge you will always succeed. - Should recognize and accept the ability - They should stop dreaming of having and capability of their child and focus their kids for govt job should be on developing the skillset of child. - Should focus on providing quality educa- Work integrated education should be the tion than just filling seats focus.Integration of life skills in education degrees, facilitating on the job training, internships and apprenticeships are steps - Society should focus that candidates Skill based course like B.Voc, D.Voc, work should possess value knowledge rather integrated degrees , apprenticeships should than education have higher acceptability. Should stop looking for readymade candi- Should adopt source train and deploy and dates. They should participate in the process work integrated degrees model as stop of shaping candidate’s skills by training the looking for readymade candidates. candidates according to their needs. Should focus more apprenticeships, intern- - Implementation of schemes and policies ships, work integrated education and come framed at ground level should be monitored. out with more such schemes. JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 9

COVER STORY EFOS primary focus is to address the need of Indian youth in getting access to veri ed informa- tion, counselling and handholding on trusted university/college/online courses in India and Abroad vocational training, skill development and certi cate courses for employment Job opportunities (i.e. placements) with the leading brands/employers in all parts of the country Scholarships, recognition of prior learning/skills, targeted assistances/initiatives Special courses aimed at self employment/entrepreneurship. MARKET STAKEHOLDERS EFOS Platform and Hybrid Network Candidates Domestic and Overseas Industry EFOS Portal EFOS Physical Youth (16-35yrs) Central and State Governments Outreach Partners Seeking Skill development Program EFOS centres College Education, Partners EFOS cells Vocational Training, Domestic and Overseas EFOS points Industry Internships, Educational Institutes EFOS experts Employnment, Domestic and Overseas Vocational Scholarships, Training Providers Certi cate Courses Government and Private sector Self employment scholarships, assistance programs and business opportunities THE CONCLUDING REMARK Counseling Plays a Major Role There are around 50 crore jobs in India which requires only skill component while most of the students want to pursue for higher education irrespective of the future outcome. They do not decide based on their status, education level or jobs available to them, they just want to get degree. Counselling plays signi cant role here. If students are properly counselled and told right direction, they can have a better worthy future and can succeed in life. Having adequate skills is essential. Decision-making, excellent writing skills, team work- ing, presentation and articulation, empathy, re ection, curiosity and listening are some of the skills being demanded by all organisations. Many graduates have these skills; they just don't know it. Couselling can help them realize the skills they have and can also help them guide the right direction. 10 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

COVER STORY EFOS.in has counselled more than 5 lakh students and help them build their bright future. The dilemma is that all the parties who are involved nobody wants to take onus of their delivery and pass on everything to the candidates. If we see all the situation, Student is the major party in all stakeholders. It is his life which is at stake. If he ends up having a degree and is not employable, situation will be worse for all the stake holders. All stake holders are not taking up their responsibility but are busy blam- ing the student. Student is the su erer in this whole scenario. It is combined responsibility of all stake holders to focus upon making youth employable so that India have knowledge assets for future. If India wants to prosper and grow as knowledge economy, every student who aim to get a degree must have a real opportunity and he must be dedicated to obtain an a ord- able, purposeful and employable degree and not just piece of paper. There is a strong need in innovating at the intersection of employability and employment. Recognizing and accepting that there lies mismatch between education 4.0 and industry 4.0 will be the rst step towards resolving the employability paradigm. Change in the entire ecosystem – perception, attitude, government policies, and the approach to education as well as employer’s investment in employees is the need of the hour. .in MISSION JOB Job Assured Training Program OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH Certificate Higher ON Job Job Courses Education Training Employment Online Scholarships Skill and Entrepreneur- Degree Vocational ship Education JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 11

DISCUSSION ONLINE DEGREES READY SET THE QUALITY BENCHMARK IN INDIAN EDUCATION Considering India's target to achieve a GER of 35% by 2025, there was a need to allow more quality-driven insti- tutes to harness the power of online learning. Changes in textbooks and syllabus cannot keep pace with the rate at which technology is evolving which makes online learning impera- tive and not just a catalyst in the fast-changing environment. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget 2020 speech that the top 100 educational institutions in the National Institutional Ranking Frame- work (NIRF) will be o ering full- edged degree programmes online, the focus was on providing quality education across the spectrum, more speci cally to the deprived sections of the society. UGC had oated the norms for online degrees and said universities that are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with at least a score of 3.01 on a scale of 4, or those who have found a place in the top 100 list of the National Institution- al Ranking Framework can apply for o ering fully online programmes. Fully-online degrees are an extension of India’s larger plan to open up and liberalize higher educa- tion. An online degree is an academic degree that can be earned WHAT IS primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet-connected ONLINE computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology, the increasing use of the ?DEGREE Internet worldwide, and the need for people to have exible school schedules while they are working have led to a prolifera- tion of online colleges that award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. 12 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

DISCUSSION Advantage of an online programme is that it democratises education, which means more people will now nd access to good institutions. For many students, online degree courses are cost-e ective and so can be very helpful for those who do not have the nancial capability to study in expensive colleges. Online Learning is an ideal option to gear every learner's career goals from their comfort zones without putting the future on hold. Online degrees are treated at par with regular degrees. With many high-quality institutions now o ering online degrees, employers are more posi- tive than in the past and are accepting online degrees. New technologies are spreading tentacles in growing job market so working profession- als are expected to remain updated with the latest skills. Also, the a ordability of the internet over the last few years has given birth and popularity to the non-traditional method of acquiring education through online degree programs. The online degree programs are crafted to suit the requirements of working professionals who want to enhance skills through time and cost-e ective programs. Online degrees are changing the face of education. They have “leveled the playing eld’ for access to education. The way online degree programs are growing they have promising future as they provides access to education to a larger section of the popula- tion. JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 13

DISCUSSION Some of the benefits of Online Degree programs are: 1 Education can be carried together with work- life balance: There is no need for working professionals to quit job for higher education rather they would acquire a full-time degree in online mode maintaining their professional life and work- life balance. Now individuals need not have a gap on their resumes to acquire higher education and skill enhancement. 2 Gaining popularity amongst employers: If one pursue degree together with job, value of individual enhances amongst your team mates and employer. Also it has been observed that individual's performance and productivity increases. As the value of online degree is same as o ine degree so popularity and reliability of such programs have increased signi cantly. 3 Enhances real-world application of knowledge : Pursuing online degree together with job gives an edge as aspirants learn new things and best practices that can be applied immediately in their current jobs. 4 Enhances exibility in choosing Location and course : Location is not a constraint as you can learn from any location and can pursue any of the course of your choice. 5 Enhances exibility of Choice: Online degree provides better exibility as one do not needs to work around the schedule decided by the educational institution. Online mode provides advantage in maintaining work life balance. 6 Cost-e ective: Cost-e ectiveness and a ordability is major advantage. Since online degree programs require one to pay merely a tuition fee, and exempt from paying for maintenance, hostel room, activity fees, textbooks, and other random expenses, it saves aspirants a great deal of money. Such programs have made education a ord- able, and thus more accessible. 7 Better Networking opportunity: Online degree programs o er students the chance to network with peers across the globe. This provides collaboration opportunities with other individuals resulting in a diverse network, endless possibilities, global perspec- tive, and a strong resume. 8 Inculcates self-discipline: Online degree program inculcates self-discipline in individual as there is no one telling you what to do or not to do. One needs to be disciplined enough if he wants to progress. 14 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

DISCUSSION Obtaining degree online is more convenient than obtaining it by regularly going to campus for the same. Especially for people with jobs, families, and other commitments that make it difficult to move or maintain a regular schedule. Basis of comparison Online Education Regular/Traditional Degree Flexibility Online degrees allow one to Lesser exibility is there in case Price study as per your convenience. of traditional campus method as Choice This is ideal and bene cial if you you have to follow the regular Social life have working professional and Independence also have to maintain work life xed schedule. balance. Resources Online degree will be priced at Regular degree in comparison of lower or same price as the online degree is far more expen- on-campus version when it sive to obtain as residential comes to tuition fees, but being expenses are added in case you able to complete it from home go for residential degree and also has one big advantage: fewer cost for regular degree is at living expenses. higher side. You have to see all constraints to The adaptability of online select the course.There is a limita- degrees works both ways. You tion in making choice of the have full liberty to choose any course as you have to keep in course from all round the world mind the location and other irrespective of distance. constraints while selecting the If you wish to study something course. niche then an online degree can be a great way to do so. A group environment can be Studying by yourself at home for very motivating, helping you see hours on end can isolate you things from a di erent perspec- from another aspect of the tive or get help when you’re university experience and stuck. making friends. Students who study abroad, in One of the biggest things young particular, learn life skills like people in particular miss out on adaptability, resilience and initia- by studying online degrees is the tive that are di cult (though not opportunity to move away from impossible) to get when you’re home. This might sound unim- attending lectures from your portant, but actually it forms own home. To use an oft-quoted what is, for many people, one of cliché, it pushes you out of your the most valuable parts of the ‘comfort zone’. university experience Universities have a host of top-notch resources for you to There are some things you use that you typically can’t nd simply can’t study at home. o campus. Maybe you need specialist equip- ment, tools or materials to really become an expert on your chosen subject. JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 15

DISCUSSION UGC has approved 38 universities to offer full-fledged online degree courses in India. These universities, UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU which include 15 deemed-to-be universities, 13 state universities, three central universities, and three J&K private universities, do not need to get prior approval CHANDIGARH from University Grants Commission from the same. UNIVERSITY PUNJAB GURU NANAK DEVUNIVERSITY GURU JAMBESHWAR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY HARYANA O.P JINDAL GLOBAL UNIVERSITY JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY DELHI JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY MANIPAL UNIVERSITY DAYAL BAGH EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE RAJASTHAN SHIV NADAR UNIVERSITY UTTAR PRADESH BANASTHALI VIDYAPITH ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY MADHYA PRADESH MIZORAM MIZORAM UNIVERSITY DEVI AHILYA VISWAVIDYALAYA SYMBIOSIS NARSEE MONJEE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES INTERNATIONAL MAHARASHTRA BHARTI VIDYAPEETH ICFAI FOUNDATION FORHIGHER EDUCATION PADMASHREE DR. D.Y. PATIL VIDYAPEETH TELANGANA GANDHI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT (GITAM) KUVEMPU UNIVERSITY KONERU LAKSHMAIAH EDUCATION FOUNDATION JAIN KARNATAKA ANDRA PRADESH UNIVERSITY OF MYSORE ANDHRA UNIVERSITY ALAGAPPA S.R.M. INSTITUTE OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY YENEPOYA UNIVERSITY ANNA UNIVERSITY SATHYABAMA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AMRITA VISHWA VIDYAPEETHAM UNIVERSITY TAMIL NADU SHANMUGHA ARTS, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH ACADEMY PERIYAR UNIVERSITY DR. M.G.R. EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE MADURAI KAMARAJ UNIVERSITY HINDUSTAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE (HITS) BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY 16| Efos.in | JULY 2021

AWARENESS When is a Degree Not a Degree? Unaccredited bodies providing degrees of no worth Illegally obtained Degrees are so widespread in India Housewife obtaining BEd without even attending a single class………….Is it valid degree?? Govt employee obtaining LLB during his job tenure……..How authentic is it??? Pharmacy professionals obtaining their pharmacy degree while working in the medical shop… it is of any worth??? Who is responsible?? Institutions without a liation providing degrees? Is it legal??? The widespread of educational institutions and the diverse disciplines and new courses launched every now and then has made the validity of the degrees they bestow a big concern. The plethora of regulatory agencies also adds to the confusion. One should be always careful when planning higher education or course. Education has become a jungle and we are being eaten alive by unscrupulous animals. The question one need to ask to oneself before getting enrolled in any course or college is 'Is my degree valid? 'A degree primarily serves three purposes. It is proof of you possess- ing knowledge in a particular eld, it's a useful tool to convince your employers about your suitability for a job and nally, it is a passport to higher studies. It's for the latter two purposes that validity matters. Accreditation is an incredibly important facet of your education. Before choosing an institute, it is important that you have a clear picture of exactly who accredits it and what that accredita- tion means for your future. Without accreditation, you will nd yourself with a degree employ- ers do not respect. According to the UGC Act 1956, universities can award degrees only if they are established under the central, provincial or state Act. Deemed institutes established under Section 3 of the UGC Act are only eligible to award degrees. On the other hand, institutions that are speci cally empowered by an Act of Parliament are eligible to confer degrees to students. There are some degrees like LLB, BPharma, Dpharma, BEd ,BAMS, BHMS etc are driven by the councils and they are also under prerogative of UGC or AICTE or State Board and they are only conducted through regular mode with 70% class attendance. It is known fact to everyone but many of the top govt o cials, Human resource professionals, Corporate Heads, Faculty member complete their LAW degree while in Job. The big question arises on how authentic is their degree. JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 17

AWARENESS Similarly, many of the pharmacy professionals obtain their pharmacy degree while working in the medical shop or doing other work. Even if we talk about B.Ed degree, it is done by house wives, working teachers, woman working professionals who want to switch career after marriage or kids and similar reasons. Irony is that none of the council has taken this seriously and if this is mapped with working tenure and degree tenure of the professional’s lacs of people needs to be booked under 420 case and most of the institutions will be under radar for providing degree. Some of the Facts as per the law are- • No University can start study center out of the campus. • No regular exam can be conducted out of the campus. • For regular degree at least 70% attendance is mandatory, special consideration is provided for sports quota, medical emergencies or any similar situation otherwise exams are not allowed. • For distance education, enrollment only within the state is allowed and also exams also within the state is permitted. • For online degree, recorded classes are supposed to be done using a LMS. • For Degrees like law, pharmacy, medical, B.Ed, healthcare courses etc additional a liation with the respective councils is mandatory and without that a liation degree would not be considered valid. • For Technical courses like Btech, M-tech, diplomas are to be carried only in regular mode, no Online, distance options allowed in these courses. • Any institution giving diploma, certi cate, degree alike programs without any a liation directly from UGC, AICTE or Any University can be fake. • If any institutions provide regular degree from a private university from the state or out of the state may be illegal, it needs to recheck because no private university can operate out of the campus. • If any institution does not mention the university name on degree or mentions some international university name, you need to put your suspicion cap on and need to recheck it again. In India no foreign university is allowed to operate alone without any local university partner. There is no case where u can do 1 year here in a private coaching and other years in that university. • Recheck on AICTE/ UGC portal whether the institute through which you obtain your degree is a liat- ed or not. Other points one must be aware or keep in mind when you go for degree • One must ask for academic counseling and track career placement services record of the insti- tute. • Check testimonials from alums. • Don’t be fooled by a name: There are instances of schools using misspellings or changing University to College to try to scam students. • Be super cautious if institute is super pushy, particularly about nancial aid packages that they “o er.” • Check List of fake universities published by UGC from time to time 18 | Efos.in | JULY 2021

AWARENESS DEGREE NAME AFFILIATION ATTACHED COUNCIL THE CONCLUDING REMARK The situation can only be remedied by a comprehensive policy change. Secondly, JULY 2021 | Efos.in | 19 student beware! Make sure to go in with your eyes open and don’t become a prey of the system. Moreover, UGC, AICTE and Council needs to take up this seriously and Education ministry should come up for a policy for this because all these are professional degrees and lot of people expectations depend on this or Govt should start some work integrated degrees for these department also.