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Vol. 02 No. 01 April 2016

In this issue

Guest Column 02

Spotlight On 06

Regional Round Up 09

CEMCA News 10

Case Study 16

Book Review 18

Technology Tracking 20

Forthcoming Events 24

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Guest Column...

Skilling Opportunitiesfrom Swachh BharatMission (Swachh)

P.M. Amir Sultan

Swachh Bharat is just not a slogan. It is amission with a massive and compellingVision. It touches every Indian - in cities,towns and villages. Our Honourable PrimeMinister has wisely set the target enddate as 150th Birth Anniversary of Gandhijiwhich is Oct 2, 2019. Organizations andpeople are already making pro-activeefforts with an extra coordination andaction impetus. However, the timelinesseem to be tight for the amount of work tobe done.

Skilling for Swachh Bharat is a majorComponent. It is both a Key SuccessFactor and a Key Result Area. Unlike thepast Skilling initiatives, VocationalTraining Providers cannot treat this asjust an opportunity for churning outnumbers but has to contribute withperformance. Swachh is the foundationfor other Missions of Make in India and

Smart Cities. Skilling forSwachhentailsdeveloping our ownunique capabilities,social re-engineering,technology adoption,continuous processdesign and rapidcontrolledimplementation.

The first step in Skilling for Swachhwould be the setting-up of the SectorSkill Council1 for Sanitation. This will laydown the National Skills QualificationFramework (NSQF) levels, and make well-defined Qualification Packs (QPs), andNational Occupational Standards (NOS).The Council has to provide adequate time

for consulting all stakeholders andgetting them on board. The SSC also hasto lay special focus on buildinginclusiveness for people traditionallyengaged in sanitation activities. This willgive the much-needed respectability to aprofession which has been seen withdisdain due to the prejudices that Indiansociety has developed due to its roots incaste-system.

Swachh Mission covers 4041Municipalities and Urban Local Bodies(ULBs). Considering only the MunicipalSolid Waste Management (MSWM) -assuming an average manpower of 500per ULB, the manpower for MSWM panIndia works out to a requirement 20 Lakhspeople. Adding to this an estimated 26Lakh Rag Pickers, mostly children andyouth under 20 years of age, theestimated manpower engaged in MSW isnearly 50 Lakhs. If 5% of this manpower istrained every year at entry level at abudget of Rs 10000 per trainee this works

out to Rs. 250Crores per year.This is a sizeableopportunity forSkill TrainingInstitutions orNSDC Partners.

The presentcapacity for formaltraining ofprofessionals andtechnicians in‘Sanitation’ isinfinitesimally

small compared to the needs. At thedesign, engineering and managementlevels, the supply is limited to about 42graduate and post graduate courses inEnvironmental Engineering with anannual batch output of 20 graduates percourse. While the quality of the UGs andPG strained for design and engineeringcompetencies is good, this is not matchedwith the needs of supervisory level(diploma) and operating technician level(ITI) manpower. In fact this is virtually1 Green and Plumbing SSCs do not seem to give priority to Sanitation. Hence a new SSC required.

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non-existent. Less than 10 PolytechnicColleges offer Diploma in Sanitation andDGET/NCVT is yet to develop CraftsmanTraining Courses in this area. Even thepast needs of ULBs and Municipalitieshave been large and only vicariously metby few graduates from Civil Engineeringand Town Planning disciplines andmostly by general graduates skilledthrough experience. At the OperatingTechnician level, few NCVT - PlumbingCertificate holders carry out technicianlevel functions after an apprenticeship inthe Public Health EngineeringDepartment of the State Government. Allthese do not add up to even 10000. Mostof the rest are filled by self-trained SafaiKaramcharisor general staff raisedthrough ranks.

This abnormally ‘inverted pyramid’ issymptomatic of the ‘low social value’accorded by our society to this sector oflivelihood, even though theirremuneration levels in recent years isbecoming higher than the average.

This imbalance is serious and has to becorrected immediately to ensure thatmanpower does not become a bottleneckduring the starting phase of SwachhSchemes. New or additional courses inSanitation/PHED/ EnvironmentalEngineering have to be started inengineering and diploma colleges andIT/MES. The process has to beaccelerated through incentives andindustry partnership, with adequatecontrol and monitoring. A Social Re-Engineering Programme along with aMarketing campaign is required to bringthe Safai Karamcharis into the SwacchhStructure. This would entail behavioralimmersion and personal developmenttraining.

All the above entails extra costs in a

setting where waste is traditionallyregarded as having ‘no value’ and withthe waste (MSW) continually growingdue to urbanization. The moot point ishow it will be sustained in the long run.‘Who pays for the Skill and CompetencyDevelopment Training?’ Cost will furtherswell up due to incentives, medicalbenefits, Personnel Protection Equipment,Provident Funds and other measures tomake working safe and respectable,especially to Safai Karamcharis. This willbe partly off-set due to selectivemechanization, but skilled humanintervention is unavoidable, evendesirable, given the variation and varietyof waste materials.

Beside Swachh Cess and levy onPollutants (industry and citizens), theremust be pay back in terms of assuredincreased performance by trainees whohave undergone Skills Training. This mustbe measurable and include work efficiencyof both the individual and of the system,in terms of increased value generated fromthe waste at the stage trained, and linkedto the level of actual value accrual. Thisnecessitates adopting work-focusedpedagogy as outlined below.

The Training must have on-site practicalcomponent. It should have adequateprovision for hands-on practical exercisesand project work, with budget forconsumables. There should be adequatenumber of ‘Master Technicians’ who havehigh level multi-sensory expertise toimpart right and professional workingmethods. The cost will be 40% to 60%higher than the Government guidancerates. If executed well, the costs will bemore than compensated by higherperformance and quality. The multi-sensory pedagogy thus imparted assuresaccelerated skill attainment provedthrough qualification testing.

The skill formation and developmentprocess has to be tracked at differentstages of training especially for the entry-level course. Trainees should be selectedbased on Differential Aptitude Testing(DAT)2. DAT measures psychomotorability and potential, along eightparameters such as mechanical ability,repetitive work, problem solving,numerical ability, logical thinking etc. Thescores may be treated as entry level inputvalues. Testing and assessment is done atdefined stages of work identity and skillsformation – viz., internalization of workelements, formation of team identity, workperformance to norms, managingdisruptions, multi-skilled role performanceand final qualification. These have to bebenchmarked against guild standardsuntil such a time our own guilds areformed. Pool of Master Trainers has to becreated some of whom will act asassessors of qualification tests.

Swachh Bharat Mission is crucial. Anyslippage is unaffordable. It is alsoimperative to correct anomalies, whichexist in our Skill Development System.The NSQF treats vocational education(VET) and academic education (AE) alongthe same vector, whereas, the two areintrinsically diverse. VET is based moreon psycho-motor abilities while AEfocuses more on Verbal and Quantitativeabilities. In performing trades like Welder,Plumber, Machinist, Die Maker, Mason,Carpenter, artisans, etc., more often thannot it has been observed that individualswith low academic qualification perform tohigh standards. Majority of such talent isnot brought into the System throughdesignated Recognition of Prior Learning(RPL) although they command a higherguild rating and good market value, evenbetter than a higher NSQF qualifiedcandidate and prospects of overseasjobs. This requires some minoradjustments in the NSQF and CraftsmenInstructor Training Scheme. Not doingthis will exclude a large number of2 DAT used for trainee selection in Defense Services; also by NGOs for VET for Street Children.

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natively trained artisans from India’sasset list.

In sanitation field, the present NSQF andRPL system may eliminate deserving SafaiKaramcharis with intuitive talents andspecial skills. It is another matter thateven if this is corrected, most of them mayperform less in Attitude scale – youcannot expect a person living in wastedump to have a great attitude. Thisrequires abattery of behavioral and socialengineering interventions.

It has been a common trend especially inIndia to replace native manpower skilledresources for eg., handloom weavers withcapital intensive automation/mechanization solutions. Care should betaken that this is avoided in Swachh.

Swachh Mission cuts across the lengthand breadth, every aspect, person orgroup, place and activity of India. Itcovers public health, household living,municipal waste management, sanitation,water and sewerage, environment and air,industry, medical and hospitals, electronicgadgetry, transportation etc. We take“Municipal Solid Waste Management” asa case in point as there is an institutionalmechanism of Municipal Corporations orUrban Local Bodies (ULBs) handling it.

Municipal Solid WasteManagement (MSWM):

The Ideal MSWM System: The ValueChain of MSWM originates from thehousehold and street waste. The idealway starts with each household sortingand classifying waste into: (a) Organicand bio-degradable, (b) Plastic and (c)metals, paper & others that are recyclable.It is carried to Ward or Area levelcollection point, from where the sortedWaste is routed at least three-ways forvalue generation into Power, CompostFuel or Recycled Materials. Therefore,MSWM has a ‘notional input value’.

Our legacy system is very different fromthe above ideal. “Waste” does not have a

value as it has to be thrown out from ourhouses. There is no sorting orsegregation as it is taken from outsidehouses and heaped at ‘locations’ fromwhere garbage trucks carry to largedumps (called Landfill). It is mostly at theLandfills and to some extent at localitycollection points that sorting is done byrag pickers, mostly out of school childrenbelonging to Safai KaramchariCommunity. With increasing Urbanization,Landfills (like Deonar ME Ward inMumbai) have become eye sores andflashpoints but yet at present providelivelihood for a large number of SafaiKaramcharis as value creation takes placeat the Land-fill.

Launching of Swachh Mission hastriggered a large number of initiativesbased on sorting and classification athousehold level. Assuming that this willwork, drastic technological solutions likeplasma incineration at landfill level arebeing proposed. The relationship betweenWaste and People are cultural and deeplyrouted. It might work in pilot areas andsome pockets but to assume that the habitchange will happen at mass level is beingunrealistic. If this does not happen andthe Landfills are downsized withtechnology solutions, it will throughoutthe Safai Karamchari community out oflivelihood employment.

It would be wise toadopt simultaneous,two-endedtransformationapproach: (a) Startfrom household/Unitbased initiatives andmove forward,involving training tohouseholder andcommunities (b) Startfrom Landfills andmove backwardsinvolving training onsafe and efficientways of rag pickingand value generationat Landfills. Over a

transformation period of say, five years,abalanced and sustainable new systemwill emerge out taking care of Swachhalong with livelihood assurance for SafaiKaramcharis. From the present “CleanInside; dirt outside” to the “Clean Inside;clean Outside” to achieve is thus a SocialEnterprise process.

Sectors and areas/trades for skills trainingare outlined below.

a) General: Behavioral ImmersionProgrammes for SKCs, Other Staff,NGOs, Citizens – visits to Landfills

b) Collection and Sorting: This is a newsystem introduction involving trainingto householders through masscommunication and training to NGOsand Municipal workers on logistics/systems and in re-cycling. May bedone with Industry partnership withenvironmental engineering/recyclingcompanies. Proprietary managementsystems may be introduced withimplementation training – opportunityfor Pilots to generate IPR forInstitutions like IIT/IIMs.

1. Key Performance Indicators:Increase in recycled % of MSW;% of bio-degradable and non-degradable wastes. Sub-areas:Handling of e-waste, hazardous &toxic waste; medical waste etc

Chart: The Ideal “Municipal Solid Waste Value Chain System”

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c) Logistics & Transportation: Ideal fordeveloping transportation and routeplanning models for optimizingoperating costs. Training ofOutsourced Envro Engg CompanyStaff, ULB & Municipality Staff,Managers and Supervisors ofCollection Stations, Land Fills,Composting Yards.

1. Key Performance Indicators:tonnage transported to collected;transportation cost reduction

d) Technical Training on Composting.

1. Key Performance Indicators: Salesvalue of Composts sold

e) Land Fill – Training for Manager,Supervisors, Rag picking Contractors:

• Conversion to Compost;

• Recycling; Employment of Ragpickers: PPE, OSHAS Training &Implementation

• Leachate Management:Measurement: Water Testing

• Waste to Power: Recovery andpower generated and sold to grid

Sanitation – Household andCommunity Toilets

a) At Construction Stage:

• Training of local youth asMasons for Toilets and SepticTank for both household and

community sanitation schemes

• Training of Plumbers andCarpenters/Joinery

• Measurement: Cost saved vsgetting skilled manpower fromoutside; quality of construction(vis a vis specifications)

b) At Operation Stage

• Training of youth as Sanitationoperators

c) Post – Construction Employment/SkillUpgrade:

• Masons and other Constructiontechnicians engaged in HousingProjects of the Government – likePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana orcommunity sanitation/schoolprojects

P. M. Amir Sultan (Amir), Skill & VET expert, is a Senior Consultant with AsianDevelopment Bank, designing Skill Interventions for India. He is an Engineer, MBA(IIMA) and has devoted the recent ten years exclusively on Skills Development.Amir believes that Skills and VET schemes implemented without social re-engineering will not get grounded to be able to reap the benefits of demographicdividend. The focus of his work has been on industrial skills. Amir is a novice inSwachh Mission but it interests him, as ‘Housekeeping’ has been foundation onwhich many countries like Japan, Korea and Singapore have their stamp ofdevelopment practice with social and cultural interventions. Can we do it in Indiawithout social engineering? This paper brings out the issues and challenges. Hecan be reached at amir[dot]performanceplus[at]gmail[dot]com

• Maintenance Contracts forBuildings Maintenance

Water Management:

a) Similar skills training as above

b) RO Plant operation and distribution asa social entrepreneur: Measurement;Quality and Quantity provided tovarious segments: Schools,Community (SC/ST, PoW, Women,Geriatric etc)

c) Water Testing Course forcontamination.

The above gives an indicative scope.Swachh Bharat is a precursor to aneconomic development phase in the area,leading to better dwelling units, lifestyleand health with appropriate and relevantskills training as inputs.

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On April 14, 2016 CEMCA Signed an MoU with PSSC to collaborate on TVSD

Spotlight On...

Power Sector Skill Council, India:Skilling youth for VocationalCareers

V. S. Saxena & Rajat Singh

Power Sector Skill Council is anorganization dedicated to the cause offacilitating Skill Development through arange of initiatives in the areas of PowerGeneration, Transmission, Distribution,Renewable Energy Power EquipmentManufacturing and Downstreamactivities. This is an industry driven,industry-focused body committed toqualitative and quantitative improvementin industry workforce for Power Sector.With a strong quality focus on adherenceto quality across all activities, this is aCivil Society Organization registeredunder the Society Registration Act 1860.

PSSC is creating a dynamic labour marketinformation system (LMIS) to keep trackof the labour market while identifying skillgaps in various states of India. They haveframed occupational standards aligned toindustry’s requirements, and are currentlymapping them to international standards.This will help create a standardizedsupply of skilled manpower to theinternational labour market, helping Indiaposition itself as the “Skill Capital” of theworld. PSSC through its registeredtraining partners carry out skill trainingand assessment of enrolled candidates.They assess and certify the trainees andprovide support for their gainfulemployment or self-employment leadingto sustainable livelihoods for the trainedyouth.

Roles & Functions of PSSC

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In less than one and half years of its existence, PSSC hastrained more than 5000 candidates across India. It hasconducted a nationwide Skill gap survey across thepower sectorand affiliated 44 training providers and 8assessment bodies. PSSC has developed 50 QP/NOScovering power generation, transmission and distribution,renewable energy & equipment manufacturing sector. Ithas partnered with different states such as Bihar,Manipur, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura. Partnershipsof collaborations are in progress with other statesincluding Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.PSSC has also signed MoU with different InstitutionalOrganizations such as APSSDC, ASAP, UPSDM, ESSCI,

Stakeholders of PSSC

MOU signed between PSSC and Manipur StatePower Distribution Company Ltd.

MOU signed between PSSC and Odisha PowerTransmission Company Ltd.

MOU signed between PSSC and U.P.Development Mission

Glimpses of PSSC Events

Stake holdersEngagements

♦ Industry MembersAcross the Sector

♦ Training Providers

♦ Trainees

♦ Recruiters

♦ Quality Assessors

♦ Industry Experts

QualityCheckpoints

♦ Quality Assurance &Monitoring Framework

♦ TP Affiliation Process

♦ Assessment Bodies forQuality Assessment

♦ Quality Curriculum &Contents based delivery

♦ ToT / Assessors DueDiligence

♦ Training Centre dueDiligence and Validation

♦ Recruiters Feedback

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Mr. V. S. Saxena is Senior Consultant with Power Sector Skill Council of India andhas more than 4 decades of experience in Power Sector in BHEL & Power FinanceCorporation. He is a graduate from IIT Madras and has a Management degree fromFMS, Delhi. He can be reached at vs[underscore]Saxena[at]Hotmail[dot]com

Mr. Rajat Singh is Technical Officer with Power Sector Skill Council of India and canbe reached at rajatsingh[at]psscindia[dot]com

MOU signed between PSSC and Kerala Addl.Acquisition Programme Gov’t. of India

Advocacy Workshop on Skill DevelopmentInitiatives in Bangalore

NESBUD, Pusa Institute and Chitkara University.

CEMCA has partnered with PSSC on April 13, 2016,to augment their training courses using Audio-Visual content to make the learning easier for theschool drop outs who get trained on PowerDistribution roles. The 3 year long partnershipmainly aims at Capacity Building of Trainers,Content Creation and tracking the impact ofCEMCA’s intervention in providing sustainablelivelihoods for youth in Power Sector across India.

Strategy of PSSCin India is to engageState Utilitiestodevelop comprehensive Skill Developmentplanand ensure remedial steps, whenever required.PSSC is working closely with industry bodies togive preference in employment for certifiedworkforce. They plan to develop at least 10 centreof excellence across India. By 2016-17, PSSC aimsto skill about twenty thousand candidates andtrain about 100 Trainers and Assessors.

PSSC has a dedicated team experienced in powersector having vast experience of working invarious sub sectors like power generation,transmission and distribution. They are pioneers increating standardized content in house ensuringquality training in a standardized manner. Theyhave strong Industry connect to facilitate On-JobTraining (OJT) for the trained and semi-skilledmanpower.

However, their key challenges are seriousshortages of qualified and skilled trainers andassessors, inadequate infrastructure with trainingproviders, In-sufficient financial resources andLarge Scale outsourcing of technical manpowercausing an Ownership issue. For the intermediarylabour contractor Skill Development is low onpriority.

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Regional Round Up

E-QUAL3 rd Academic Conference onDisciplinary Discourses in use of Technologyon 17 -18 March, 2016 at the University ofHyderabad, India

E-QUAL organised a two day academicconference on “Disciplinary Discourses inUse of Technology” was held at theUniversity of Hyderabad on 17 – 18. Theconference was graced with an array ofprominent speakers like AndrewMcAllister, British Deputy HighCommissioner, Asha Kanwar, CEO ofCommonwealth of Open learning and P DJose, Chairman MOOCS Initiative, IIMBangalore.

Deputy High Commissioner in his addressmentioned that the Prime Minister of theUK and India have announced year 2016as the ‘UK-India year of Education,Research and Innovation’ and the E-QUAL project issupporting the corepurpose of this specialyear

The conferencefacilitated in improvedcapability andunderstanding of thepractical application andvalue of technology-enhanced approaches toeducation in Indiaamongst practitioners,students, institutionsand government policymakers.

Conferencedeliberations witnesseddiscussions aroundwide variation across

disciplines with regard to the adoption oftechnologies. The conference provided aplatform to delve into pedagogical issuesdealing with the diverse disciplines buteven with the adaptability and

applicability of technology to differentdisciplines across sciences, socialsciences, humanities and behavioralsciences. The paper presenters debatedboth philosophical and pedagogic issuesin application of technologies ineducation across class and ethnic groups,especially in a plural society like that ofIndia.

The valedictory session was equallyengaging and informative with DrBalasubramanyam Chandramohan PhD(Shef), FRSA from University of Londonand Pradeep Kaul, Consultant – MHRDsharing their experience and knowledgeon technology enabled learning.

The conference was well received andattended by a plethora of faculty andresearch scholars from institutes like IITKanpur, IIM Bangalore, NCERT, NITWarangal, C-DAC, Tier 2 institutions, newrecruits at the Academic Staff College,researchers and a few undergraduatestudents, thus enabling exchange of bestpractice, experience and knowledge inteaching and learning using technologyenhanced approaches relevant to India’scontext.

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CEMCA News

The Open University,United Kingdom,Confers an HonoraryDegree on AshaKanwar

In a special convocation held at the

Barbican Center in London, the

Open University conferred an

honorary Doctor of the University

degree on Professor Asha Kanwar.

The degree was presented by Dr.

Peter Horrocks, Vice Chancellor of

the Open University. Reading from

the citation, Professor Belinda

Tynan, Pro Vice

Chancellor, said that

the Open University

“recognise(s) her

exceptional

contribution to

global education,

social justice and

human

development”.Professor Kanwar, in

her acceptance speech, said that

she had always upheld the OU as a

symbol of quality. “To receive

recognition from the OU today is

then something truly special” she

said.

Exploratory meeting ofCommunity Radio Stations forProgramme ‘Science for Women’sHealth and Nutrition and RadioMathematics’ on 21st March 2016,New Delhi

The National Council for Science and Technology Communication,Department of Science and Technology, Government of India,invited CEMCA to organize an Exploratory meeting of CommunityRadio Stations for its flagship Programme ‘Science for Women’s

Health and Nutrition and Radio Mathematics’ on 21st March2016, following National CR Sammelan conducted by Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting, GOI.

NCSTC decided to throw open its schemes to maximum numberof functional CR stations who have not yet partnered with it. Thestation managers of 83 community radio stations from differentcities participated. The initiative is a very good example of betterutilization of government funds for a social cause.The inauguralsession presided over by Dr. B. P. Singh, Head, Scientist-G,

National council of Science and Technology Communication,had others such as, Ms. R. Jaya, IAS, Joint Secretary,Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Dr. MunishKumar, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Information andBroadcasting and Mr. R. Thyagarajan, Acting Director,CEMCA in the panel.

Dr. B. P. Singh, Head, Scientist-G, NCSTC, New Delhiemphasized on the need for communicating simple scientificfacts to the last mile of the community to ensure healthyliving and rational thinking amongst people. He presentedsimple case-study of how country jaggery prepared in aniron container helps anemic people to increase thehaemoglobin count in their blood. He pledged his supportfor promotion of science and mathematics in marginalized,rural communities and encouraged the CR Stations toparticipate in large numbers. Dr. Munish Kumar, Economic

Advisor, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in hisaddress to the gathering talked about the importance of“Scientific Thinking” and its value and relevance in oureveryday life. He further informed the gathering that “To develop

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Launch ofCommunity RadioChallengeOn March 18th 2016, on the occasion ofthe 6th National Community RadioSammelan, conducted by Ministry ofInformation and Broadcasting for all theoperating CR Stations across thecountry, CEMCA in collaboration withMinistry of Skill Development andEntrepreneurship launched the firstever competition exclusively for CRStations called “Meri Prerana MeraHunar” to showcase “The Best SkillingStory in their Community”. The eventwas attended by 190 CR Stations fromall over India.In the session forinteraction of CR Stations. CEMCAlaunched the Competition for all CRStations called “Meri Prerana – MeraHunar” a Radio Challenge for OperatingCR Stations in the presence of Prof.Chandrabhanu Pattanayak who

represented Ministryof Skill DevelopmentandEntrepreneurship.

This competition willserve as a tool tomake CR stationsaware of the rolethey can potentiallyplay in connectingyouth to skills andskilled youth toemployment and entrepreneurship.CEMCA in collaboration with NSDC willgenerate about 180 skilling stories fromcommunities around the country. Theentries from the competition will serve asa tool for motivating youth for skillingthemselves.

For the competition the following broadsub-themes were announced -

• How “Skilling” led to betterlivelihoods and better living

scientific temper” is one of the fundamental duties of Indiancitizens, according to the Constitution of India. Ms. R. Jaya,IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,was present at the inaugural session and declared theproceedings open for the workshop. She appreciated Dr. B. P.

Singh for his simple scientific enlightenment. She encouraged theparticipants for being the tool for the last mile connectivity ingetting the women of the community involved in implementingpractices promoting health and nutrition while removing myths andblind beliefs in the community.

standards for someone in theircommunity?

• How a dying skill of the communitywas revived and preserved by anindividual or a group of people?

• How differently abled people in theircommunity found their identity andtransformed themselves due to askill?

How has “Skill India” affected/inspiredtheir community?

Training of ODL Professionals ofOdisha on OER and ODL atOdisha State Open UniversityCEMCA organised a Capacity Building Programme for ODLProfessionals of Odisha on OER and ODL to develop materials inOpen Education Resources (OER) and Understanding details ofOpen Distance Learning (ODL) from 11-13 February 2016 incollaboration with Odisha State Open University (OSOU),Sambalpur at IGNOU Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar. Thirty OneODL Professionals from different universities of Odisha attendedthe training. Dr. Pankaj Khare from Indira Gandhi National OpenUniversity (IGNOU) facilitated this three days training along withDr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi, Programme Officer (Education),CEMCA, New Delhi.

The Inaugural session was attended by Prof. Dr. Ashok KumarDas, Vice-Chancellor, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar as ChiefGuest. Prof Das discussed how important to develop the e-contents and offer education through online in the presentscenario. He appreciated the initiatives of CEMCA and OSOU forthe development of OER. Dr. Srikant Mohapatra, Officer onSpecial duty (OSD), OSOU elaborated the requirement of OERtraining and how it would benefit the participants for determiningthe quality education in the state through ODL.Dr Manas RanjanPanigrahi conducted the technical sessions on Understanding ofOpen Educational Resources and Open License (Creativecommon licenses). Dr. Panigrahi discussed what ODL is and howit differs from the conventional learning system. Discussionabout learning object was highlighted and how learning objectscan be combined to form a new study material.

Dr. Khare in his session briefed the participants about the

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searching tools apartfrom Google. He taughtupon content, contentmanagement system, andorganisation of content.He focused on creatingwiki accounts, Wikiediting skills, CreatingNew page etc. Theparticipants were dividedinto five groups basedon different skills andeach group wasinstructed to choose atopic for OER contentgeneration. One of the members from each group presented anddefended the topic that has been chosen for content generation.On the Second day participants were taught on Creating OERs inOER Common Platform. Participants created their accounts inWiki Educator and OER Commons as well. Hands on trainingwere given to participants on software’s like Audacity, My MovieMaker and Adobe CS3 professionals. Recording and EditingVisuals, Sound clippings, preparing Animations were part of thesession. Adding to this, the participants were given task toprepare a course using OER and develop strategy for marketing it

and giving the course a fullshape. On the Last day ofthe training Dr. PankajKhare took sessions onWiki Ethics, Monitoringactivities, reverting editand convertingdocuments. Participantsworked on refiningcollaborative projects andchoosing a creativecommon open license todeclare their content asOER.

Prof. Sri Krishna Deva Rao, Vice-Chancellor of National LawUniversity, Cuttack graced the Valedictory as the Chief Guest. Inhis concluding remarks he said, ODL is a new revolution ineducational arena in Last three decades. We need to use the besttools and techniques that are available. Dr. Srikant Mohapatra,OSD, OSOU while concluding hoped that the training will help theparticipants to develop and use OER and OSOU will engage theseprofessionals for creating of OER for the university in future. Dr.Abhilash Nayak, Regional Director, IGNOU presented the vote ofthanks.

Capacity Building Programmefor Teacher Educators of NIE-Maldives, to Develop MobileApplications Relevant to theNational CurriculumCEMCA organised a Capacity Building Programme for TeacherEducators of NIE Maldives to Develop Mobile ApplicationsRelevant to the National Curriculum from 31 Jan 2016 to 4 Feb2016 in collaboration with National Institute of Education (NIE),Republic of Maldives. Twenty five teacher educators fromdifferent parts of Maldives attended the workshop. Ms. RashmiKathuria, National ICT Awardee, PGT (Mathematics), KulachiHansraj Model School, Delhi, India facilitated this five days’workshop along with Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi, ProgrammeOfficer (Education), CEMCA, New Delhi. The main objective ofthe capacity building programme was to equip them with skillsfordeveloping their own android apps as per the Nationalcurriculum. The workshop was designed to embed two elementsviz. using App Inventor, a cloud based platform, for creatingandroid mobile apps and open educational resources.

Immediately after the welcome address by the Deputy Minister Ms.Na Heed, Republic of Maldives, Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi,Program Officer, CEMCA briefed the participants about theprogramme and its objectives. He conducted three sessions viz.Understanding of OER, Open Licensing and Creative CommonLicensing, Searching of OER and Development of OER using OER-Common Platform. Ms. Rashmi Kathuria, workshop facilitator,initiated the workshop with an ice breaking activity for motivatingthe participants and making them realise the need of the hour forteacher educators as change agents. All participants wereconnected on a G+ community and shared with resources on cloud.All participants created an account on MIT App Inventor and setup their Android devices for development and debugging.Participants were familiarised with the designer and blockcomponents through activities. They learnt about various newterms like QR Code, Emulator, Cloud Computing etc. They weregiven a copy of toolkit and by the end of day participants were ableto do hands on with three activities viz. Text to Speech App: LoudMouth, Accelerometer Sensor App and Speech Recognizer App:Speak to Me. Day 2 began with the recap session followed bydemonstration of Activities viz. Canvas App: Scribble and Ball App:Ball Bounces. The participants were given a project work on“Orientation Sensor and Clock App: Move the Ball”. Throughoutthe day creative discussions happened on the use of various

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blocks and components for designing the apps. The concepts ofimage sprites, creation and calling procedures, setting up ofglobal variables, arithmetic operators, logical and controlcomponents and tiny database were covered through activitiesdesigned. Day 3: Ms. Rashmi demonstrated and hands onsessions on Activity “Camera App: Say Cheese!” and“Camcoder and Video Player App: Action Capture”. Participantswere encouraged to use the tutorials from the tool kit to trymaking the apps on their own. By the end of day 3 they wereable to finish three tutorials viz. Pet the Kitty, Crystal Ball andSwat the mosquito. Day 4: All the participants created quizzesand jigsaw puzzles. During the post lunch session participantswere given information about how to package and distribute theapps. They learnt to export/import .aia and .apk files. Day 5:Participants were excited as some of them could finish makingtheir first android mobile app and some participants wanted tospend more time. Their problems were troubles hooted and bythe end of pre-lunch all groups were ready for the show case.

During Valedictory session, Mr. Ahmed Shafeeu, EducationMinister of State was the Chief Guest for the occasion. A briefreport was read by the one of the participants. Deputy MinisterEducation Ms. Na Heed shared her experiences about theprogramme and its need in the current scenario of changingeducational trends in Republic of Maldives. Some of theparticipants displayed their self-created android mobile apps

which may be used for enhancing learning and creating interest ofstudents. Dr. Panigrahi and Ms. Rashmi shared their experiences offacilitating the workshop. In the valedictory address Mr. Ahmedappreciated the efforts of CEMCA and facilitators for achieving thedesired goals. During his address he said children are digital nativesand we as educators are immigrants. Our children can do multi-tasking using mobile technology. We need to know about the needsof 21st century learners and be prepared for educating them. Healso said, we need to make the best use of tools and resourceswhich are available. He appreciated the participants for theirwonderful work done during the 5 days and congratulated the entireteam of NIE for their efforts. Certificates were distributed byhonourable minister to all participants. The day ended on a positivenote of exploring, learning and sharing and continuing the journeyfor the betterment of emerging societies.

MIB-CEMCACommunity RadioAwarenessProgramme atNagpurThe three days Community Radio (CR)Awareness programme organised by theMinistry of Information and Broadcasting

(MIB), Government of India, New Delhi inassociation with CommonwealthEducational Media Centre for Asia washeld at Nagpur from February 1-3, 2016.Over three days, about 40 participantsfrom across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarhand Madhya Pradesh were given a walkthru of the community radio policyguidelines and provisions, technicalrequirements, and understandingcommunities for the purpose of engaging

them with the radio.Community Media andTechnical Experts, and arepresentative of the MIBprovided detailed informationon all aspects of applying fora community radio licence aswell as setting up a radiostation. A panel of experts forfour operational communityradio stations from Wardha,Ahmadnagar, Baramati andPune provided special

insights into the day-to-day operationsand challenges and shared their gratifyingexperiences of engaging with thispeople’s medium. A high point of theworkshop was a visit to the communityradio station at the Mahatma GandhiInstitute for Rural Industrialisation,MGIRI CRS, where participants got anopportunity to see a station in operation.

Dr. Ved Prakash Mishra inaugurated theworkshop with an inspiring keynoteaddress where he underscored thecharacteristics of community radio as amedium that is at once Accessible,Amenable and Affordable set theworkshop in the direction. Dr. P.Sivaswaroop, Regional Director, IGNOU,Napur, delivered the valedictory addressand also participated actively in theworkshop. The workshop ended on ahigh note with participants giving an‘Expression of Interest “to MIB forsetting up a CR Stations.

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Capacity Building Programmeon eContent Development toDeliver Digitally at OpenSchool Unit, Bangladesh OpenUniversity (BOU), BangladeshCEMCA supported and organised a training programme oncapacity building of the teachers and IT staff of BOU oneContent Development from 19-23 January, 2016, at the eLearningCenter, BOU, in collaboration with Open School, BOU. Startedwith an introduction, the participants engaged in the 5-day handson training to develop and manage eContents to deliver digitally.A total of 31 participants actively participated in the workshopwhere 27 were academics and 4 were IT staffs. Gender equalityprinciple has been maintained while choosing the participants.Among the participants, 13 were females and rests were males.Most of the participants were from the Open School and few fromBusiness school and rests from eLearning Center of BOU.

With direct support and inspiration of the Vice Chancellor of BOUProfessor Dr. M. A. Mannan, the Open School of BOU organizedthe workshop in technical support of the eLearning Center BOU.In the introductory session of the workshop, the Director ofeLearning Center Professor Mostafa Azad Kamal formallywelcomed the resource persons Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi fromCEMCA and Mr. Ashutosh Taunk, H T Media and introducedthem to the participants in the workshop. Subsequently, the Deanof the Open School Professor Sadia Afroze Sultana explained theobjectives and importance of the workshop. Joint Director(training) and Director, Planning and Development Dr. Md.Shafiqul Alam said that this is the first step in the university tointroduce eLearning and offer courses online to the learners ofBangladesh. Following a brief introductory session, the businesssession of the workshop has been started with a presentation byMr. Ashutosh Taunk on eLearning and emerging educationaltechnologies. Mr. Ashutosh then continued to project thefeatures of Moodle as a Learning Management System (LMS). Inthe afternoon session, the participants were engaged in browsing

a demo Moodle-based online course. Then, the participantsstarted to practice the various features of Moodle required todevelop their eContents.

On the second day of the workshop, Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahifacilitated a daylong session on using and development of OER.After a detailed discussion on the concepts relating to OER andvarious open licenses, the participants were engaged indevelopment of an OER in OER Commons. The session wasended with a strong commitment for OER development at BOU.The 3rd and 4th day of the workshop was very much engaging.The participants worked intensively along with the resourceperson to dig deeper into Moodle and thereby, upload theireContents into Moodle.

The workshop was concluded on 23 January, 2016 at theeLearning Center BOU on the main campus Gazipur. ViceChancellor Professor Dr. M. A. Mannan was the chief guest inthe concluding ceremony and distributed the certificates amongthe participants and expressed his desire in his speech that thistraining has definitely enhanced the capability of the faculties todevelop eLearning Courses. He further said that BOU is the onlydistance learning university in Bangladesh which needs toenhance its technical capability to cope with the current demandfor education and training. He was so impressed with the outputof the workshop when he saw the eContents designed anddeveloped by randomly chosen participants. Among othersProfessor Dr. Md. Abu Taher, Treasurer, BOU, spoke in theoccasion. Mr. Tauhidul Islam of eLearning Center showed anddemonstrates the newly installed Moodle LMS and the platformthrough which online courses will be offered. Deans and highofficials of the university were present in the ceremony.

Development of OERand ICT Policy ofKrishna KantaHandiqui State OpenUniversity,Guwahati

CEMCA assisted Krishna Kanta Handiqui

State Open University (KKHSOU),

Guwahati towards developing OER andICT Policy of KKHSOU. To this purpose a

meeting was held on 11th and 12th

January 2016 at the University. TheUniversity facilitated the meeting to chalk

out the mechanism for the implementation

of OER and ICT Policy.

Convenor of the meeting, Dr. AnkuranDutta, Associate Professor of KKHSOU

presented the overview on open licensing

declaration at University and stated thepurpose and agenda of the two day

meeting. The Vice Chancellor of KKHSOU

Prof. (Dr.) Hitesh Deka said, OERs will actas a viaduct among all educational

institutions and help to share the treasure

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Finalization of OER Policy ofthe Central University ofHimachal Pradesh (CUHP),Dharamshala

CEMCA assisted the Central University of Himachal Pradesh(CUHP), Dharamshala towards developing an OER Policy ofCUHP University. To this purpose a meeting was held on 1stSeptember 2015 at the University and drafted policy statementfor OER. The School of Education of Central University ofHimachal Pradesh (CUHP) facilitated the 2nd meeting on 08January 2016 in the Seminar Hall of Central University ofHimachal Pradesh, TAB, Shahpur with the technicalassistance of Commonwealth Educational Media Centre forAsia (CEMCA) for the finalization of Open EducationalResources (OER) Policy for Central University of HimachalPradesh.

Convenor of the meeting and Dean of Education, Dr. ManojKuamr Saxena formally welcomed the Chief Guest Prof. Y.S.

Verma, Policy Experts/Participants of the meeting. SubsequentlyDr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi Programme Officer CEMCAsummarised the features of OER Policy of CUHP which wasdrafted in the previous meeting held on 01.09.2015 in CUHP, TAB,Shahpur. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Y.S. Verma extended hisbest wishes for framing the OER Policy and also underlined that

this is positive and decisive step in thefinalization of OER Policy of CUHP.The participants/policy expertspresented in the meeting representedtheir views and expected that for thesuccessful implementation of thispolicy, the policy should be flexible,accountable and universal. Dr. PankajKhare Registrar, Central University ofPunjab identified four distinguishedfeatures of Open EducationalResources i.e. adoption, adaptation,

translation and contextualization. Dr. Pradeep Nair Dean,SoJMC&NM, CUHP expressed his consent about theaccountability and reliability of OER which would be developedby the CUHP faculty. Reflecting on these views he also stressedon the flexibility and updating Open Educational Resourcesdeveloped by faculties of CUHP. Dr. Khare emphatically raisedthe issue of a sound infrastructure (studio with multimediaequipment) should be provided by the university to the facultyfor the smooth development of OER resources. Finally Prof.Verma assured that the University administration will take speedysteps for execution of the recommendations for the framing ofOER Policy as discussed in the meeting. He also further said thatthe University will implement the policy after approval of theexecutive counsel of the University.

of knowledge with each other and alsohelp the conventional education teachingby taking classroom lecture to all needypeople with the help of informationtechnology tools. “Moreover as it isusing tool of visualisation and graphicswhich will help to understand and retainthe lesson for long term. These can act asa valuable tool for providing qualityeducation to the people living in everynook and corner of the country,” headded.

Programme Officer (Education) of CEMCADr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahicomplimented the KKHSOU for showinginterest in OERs and assured CEMCA’s

full support/expertise to develop policyfor the university. “It will help to increasethe reach of this University to theheterogeneous masses,” said Dr.Panigrahi. Registrar of KKHSOU, Mr. R. B.Mahanta lauded the initiative of theUniversity for having policy document forOER and ICT and he thanked to Dr.Ankuran Dutta for drafting both thepolicy document. He also stated that theOERs will give a new edge indisseminating knowledge.

Deans, Heads, faculty members fromdifferent schools of KKHSOU andresource person Dr. Manas RanjanPanigrahi, Programme Officer (Education)

CEMCA discussed various aspects ofOER and ICT policy development. At theend of meeting the group finalised thedraft policy document for the proper andefficient implementation in the university.The meeting was also attended by Dr.Aniruddha Deka, Director, CIQA; Dr.Saikia, Deputy Registrar (Exam); Dr.Arupjyoti Choudhary, Dean (Academic)and heads of different departments andfaculty members and Registrar Mr. R BMahanta. The meeting ended withrendering of vote of thanks by Dr.Ankuran Dutta, Associate Professor ofKKHSOU.

16

Case Study

Skill India: A Ticking Time Bomb

Mr. Ashutosh Pratap Singh

Of all the problems India faces, the lack ofemployment for youth stands out for itsgrave ripple effect. It makes youthunproductive, shatters aspirations andposes high risk on critical nationaleconomic and social development goals.While employment has traditionally beenseen as an outcome of higher education,this has served little purpose in a brokenformal education system where themajority of the youth does not completeformal education.

In the last few years the shift in focus,from education to skills, from degrees toemployability has provided a new way tolook at jobs – old and new and providedimpetus to rethink job creation,absorption and training, skilling, up-skilling and re-skilling. This hasadditionally brought in a change in theway college education is perceived andbrought out the need for right skills andattitude rather than the right degree.

The heart of demographic dividend lies invast majority who have no paper to showtheir educational qualification and arefound in the society’s fringes. Most ofthem lose track of the main stream, takeup the wrong path or are stuck atunproductive jobs. Skill development atthe right time, with the right pedagogy,aided with proper counselling andsupport can empower them, put them onthe right path and move their families frompoverty to better lives.

Evolving Landscape of Skill Indiaand Redefining Job Roles

The skilling landscape in India is a youngvibrant ecosystem that is slowly evolving.

The work of National Skill development

Corporation (NSDC), the Sector skillscouncils (SSC)and the training providers

has put skilling to the centre stage of the

national discourse. The need to addressthe aspirations of the growing majority

has increased the policy focus andeven

led to the creation of a new ministry.Matching theyouth aspirations in a new

connected economy requires fresh ideas

about job creation and skilling.What wasa technology marvel a few years ago is a

commodity today.

Technology, smart approaches and globalcollaboration has rendered old jobs

irrelevant and led to new jobs. For

example, the shortage of doctors can be

met by creating more doctorswhich

requires a long term training, skilling and

huge investments. Thus, this is a non-scalable and difficult to achieve route.

The other option is to reconstruct the

doctor’s role itself. This is easier, quickerand scalable. This opens up creation of

new”health worker” roles that require less

intensive training and provides foreconomy and scale that the county needs.

This may goto further unbundling-

thespecialists’ jobs into multiple subspecialist rolese.g. creating a cadre of low

skilled health professionals only for high

rise diseases like diabetes or nutritioncare. Areas that are related to health but

not life threatening can create both jobs

and solve health issues in the country.

The challenge of skilling/up-skilling 150 million by 2022 requires bothfundamental educational reform across primary, secondary and higher educationand significant enhancement of supplementary skill development.

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Mr. Ashutosh Pratap Singh is a Computer Engineer who holds a Master’s degree inBusiness Administration from Indian School of Business and has worked as a ChiefOperating Officer with a leading NSDC Partner. Currently he works with a Sector SkillCouncil and is passionate about Skilling youth of India. He can be reached atpratap[dot]ashutosh[at]gmail[dot]com

When high costs infra structure models

have failed, low cost, low touch, low skillscalable models have come in. Such

examples of skill based jobs form the bulk

of new jobs in all the sectors. Any workthat provides decent wages, respect,

dignified living to people in far flungareas works wonders to the gross

happiness index.

Skilling is more about Trainersand less about Infrastructure

There are many things skilling requires;the most important would be a paradigm

shift in thinking. It is easy to focus on theinfrastructure in schools and not the

teachers. The same problem is not raising

its head in skilling and we seem to berepeating our mistakes. Having master

trainers and well trained and well

equipped trainers is a critical step toensure young people have skills at the

end of their training.

National Occupational Standardsare too Complex

The second problem is thestandardization through creation of

Qualification Packs for a Job Role. Is thenational occupational standard being

adopted well or is it too complex? The

training partners feel that the NOSs needsimplification and the industry is not

really backing these NOSs. It is important

to have the standards gain credibility if

we want to see the eco system move well.

It has to be more user-friendly andstraight forward both for trainees and the

industry. Drawing direct parallels to

education and skilling by NSQF levels has

its own share of problems and can bemisleading and base-less.

Diminishing Value of Assessment& Certification

The third issue to deal at hand would beto create inspirational value of the

certificate. Mass level skilling schemes

like the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal VikasYojana (PMKVY) compromise “Quality”

for “Quantity”. While hurrying to churn

out numbers, ensuring that the trainingquality and the certification maintain

theirquality standard and sanctity is

ahuge challenge with no easy answers.Additionally, the scheme is based on the

misalignment of incentives. Majority of

incentives and pay outs to trainingpartners happen when students pass the

exams. A natural focus of the training

partner would be to figure out the easiestway to make students pass the skill

assessment. The easiest way might not be

actual training. With things happening atscale we risk diluting our assessment

Vast majority of poor are engaged in low skilled jobs in agriculture. These are lowskilled jobs and belong to the unorganized sector. A predominant proportion ofthese households are engaged in agricultural labour, even as agriculture sector hasbeen experiencing a relative decline in GDP. In addition, the rural poor have alimited skill base that restricts their occupational mobility to benefit from the urbancentric growth process. For the poor households, poverty denies access to a widerange of markets and services, including credit. One of the major policy challengesIndia faces today is how to provide skilling and up skilling opportunities to lowskilled and unorganized agricultural worker.

standards and the value of the skill

certificate. Once the certificate is availableto undeserving or unskilled candidates,

the entire investment made for defining

standards, skilling and assessing will begone down the drain. Industry will stop

valuing the certificate even before having

understood the whole process behindcertification. Once Industry stops

recognizing the certificate, it will not lead

to certification and will not be aspirationalfor the youth.

Industry is not on board with SkillCertificate Concept

The value of skilled and schooledcandidate vis-a-vis an unskilled schooledcandidate needs better understandingand recognition by the industry. Whilethe corporate welcomes the strategic shiftof their training budgets to thegovernment coffers utilising governmentschemes, their delight is not expressed intheir HR strategy for recruitment andcompensation. A little more effort from theindustry to express this delight andgratitude can help other stakeholders domore for the industry and the youth.

As we move along, there will be more talkon the reaping the youth harvest. Wemust keep in mind that the efforts of Skilldevelopment is not for the individualcandidate and his/her having a job, it ismore for the society, a society with nojobs, idle youth is a recipe for riots andhavoc. Not showing youth a way for theirfuture can only hasten our owndestruction. It is not just hope of thedemographic dividend that should driveus but the ticking time bomb of theupcoming demography.

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Book ReviewBook Review

An Expert’ s Guide to

YOUR RIGHTFIRST JOB

Author – T. Muralidharan

Publisher – Rupa Publications

By Maj. Aruna Naidu (Retd.)

About the Author - Mr. T. Muralidharan

Founder & Chairman TMI Group

T.Muralidharan, an IIT Madras and an

IIM Ahmedabad alum, is a first

generation entrepreneur and made his

mark in the HR outsourcing space by

setting up three medium sized

professional outfits - TMI Network,

C&K Management Limited and TMI e2E

Academy Pvt ltd. TMI e2E Academy Pvt

ltd. started in 2010, is a National Skill

Development Corporation (NSDC)

partner company with a large mandate

to skill and place over half a million

graduates in the India and overseas and

adopts an unique demand driven skill

development model which is sustainable

without government fee support.T.

Muralidharan’s main focus currently, is

in helping young people, especially from

disadvantaged sections of the society

succeed by giving them access to

corporate jobs and in essence,

connecting education to employment.

He believes in giving as much weightage

to the means of success as to the ends.

This book is targeted at young peoplegetting ready to enter the world of workor youth who have just started on theircareer journey and their parents; as itprovides a true insight into the “Jobmarket of the Corporate World”. It tellsthe reader what to expect from a corporatejob, how to go about seeking a jobsuitable to their qualification, personalityand preferences. It also provides practicaltips on how to apply for a job and how tosurvive the first ninety days of your firstjob.

The author breaks down the complex ideaof “Right First Job” into 5 dimensions,namely,

• Right Job Role• Right Industry• Right Employer• Right Level and• Right City

Right Job Role

To identify the Right First Job, the authorrightly argues that one needs to deep

dive into critical self-analysis. Thejourney begins with KnowingOneself. The author provides a quicksnapshot of common traits ofPersonality Types, namely, Realistic,Investigative, Artistic, Social,Enterprising and Conventional(RIASEC) as defined by researcherJohn Holland. The John Holland testhas been adapted to Indian Contextby the author along with a leadingeducational institution of India inManagement studies. The authorthen describes four types of WorkEnvironment, namely,

• Sales Work Environment

• Support Work Environment

• Process Work Environment and

• Developer Work Environment

The matrices provided by authorlisting Job roles available in variousWork Environments acrossIndustries and Business functions

give a clear understanding andclassification of jobs available for afresher. Based on the score of anindividual on the, RIASEC dimensionsPrimary and Secondary workenvironments suitable to a personalitycan be identified and probable job rolessuitable to an individual can be zoomed into. The author defines 12 Job PersonalityType and defines a “JP Fit Test” (JobPersonality Fitment Test) which acomputerized test based on all the abovematrices to arrive at some suitable JobRoles based on one’s personality.

Right Industry

The author again provides a very usefulmatrix, giving an idea to the reader of theemployment dimensions of a few popularindustries based on factors like Industrygrowth prospects, Employment stability,Work culture, Work life balance and

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Compensation. For choosing the “RightIndustry” for the Right First Job, onemust be aware of various dimensions ofsuccess and must willfully choose the“price” of achievement at the outset toavoid regret at the end of work-life’sjourney.

Right Employer

This chapter elaborates on what to expectand what not to expect from youremployer in the first job. The authorpresents a framework called GEP (GoodEmployer Proposition), which is a blendof multiple factors like work culture,growth potential, reward and recognition,salary, etc. With multiple choices availabletoday, candidates have to take a decisionregarding which employer they work for.Here the GEP helps in zeroing on potentialemployers. The GEP has four dimensions,they are,

• Compensation and Benefits• Job Security• Work Culture• Exit Value

Right Level

Coming to the best entry level in theRight First Job, the author, advises thereaders to guard against employers whomay use “designations” to lurecandidates because the importance andpride attached to designations in India.He advises the reader to analyzeobjectively if one is ready to play the rolethat the designation demands. He says,“When you join a company, yourtemperament should be that of a learner /trainee”. Again using a tabularrepresentation, the author presents thepros and cons of accepting a Trainee roleor an Executive role or a Manager role.

Right City

In this section the author gives somepractical insight into challenges andopportunities offered by a job in yourhome-town vis a vis a job outside yourhome town. The author dwells upon

details like finances, place of stay, food,daily commute to work and the ultimateimpact of savings. He shares his richexperience and knowledge about workingin various metropolitan cities andpresents them very forth rightly. He alsodwells briefly on the subject of looking fora job overseas.

How to get the Right First Job

Having dealt with the 5 dimensions thathelp one decide the Right First Job, thebook then focusses on the “How to getthe Right First Job”. This section dealswith all the preparation that a candidatemust do to get the job of his choice.

The author talks about “CampusRecruitment”, its procedure and itsadvantages and then tells the readerabout various other sources of identifyingjob opportunities like EmploymentExchange, Recruitment Consultants,Internet search andNewspaperadvertisements. The authorhas rightly dedicated a chapter todescribe “Job Boards” which is a virtualplace where employers list theemployment opportunities. These are newand smart ways of finding jobs, especiallyin the corporate sector. The author haslisted the top 10 Job portals for freshgraduates which can act as a helpful aidwhile searching for jobs online. Havingdescribed details about a job boards, theauthor also offers some practical tips onsuccessful job hunting.

Having identified the job opportunities,the book offers guidance on making theResume, Covering letter and Referenceletters with some good sample letters torefer to. The book gives a basic exposureto Aptitude Tests and Written andTechnical Tests, their purpose, theirstructure and the preparation that one

needs to do fare well in these tests whichmore and more employers use to filtercandidates. Since the book focusses onCorporate Jobs, there is a chapterdedicated to Group Discussions which isa tool used by corporates to assesscommunication skills, communicationstyle, leadership style etc. The authortells the reader about things that theemployer is looking for in a GroupDiscussion and offers tips on excelling inGD.

The selection process for a job comprisesof Interview process which comprises ofTechnical interviews and HR Interviews.The book offers simple, practical buteffective tips on performing well invarious modes of interviews liketelephonic, video based and face-to-faceinterviews. The author also talks aboutoffer letters – their purpose, what doesone do on receiving the offer letter and onnot receiving one.

Lastly the author dedicates a chapter on“First ninety days on the Right First Job”.This chapter explains why the first 90days are important on the first right joband the types of “Induction” trainingoffered by corporates. There is also asection on “Managing your boss” whichis a very crucial part of surviving the firstjob.

The language of narration is candid andvery easily comprehensible, since thetarget audience is a fresh graduate. Intimes when the youngsters are strugglingwith various issues and challengesoffered by peer pressure, parentalpressure, changing hormones,overwhelming opportunities, risingcompetition and their minds are clutteredwith questions, doubts and confusions,this book serves as a practical guide –easy to read and quick to understand.

Maj. Aruna Naidu is a freelance Vocational & Soft skills trainer. She worked withAutomotive Skills Development Council for about a year as a Senior TechnicalManager. She also rendered her services in EME Corps of Indian Army for a decade andtrained officers and jawans on automobiles. Currently she works with school childrenand takes keen interest in youth counselling. She can be reached atarunanaidu07[at]gmail[dot]com

20

Technology Tracking

ePathshala: Learning on the Go

Dr. Amarendra P. Behera

Total visitors on epathshala – 28,47,331

Digital India is a campaign launched bythe Government of India to ensure thatGovernment services are made availableto citizens electronically by improvingonline infrastructure and by increasingInternet connectivity or by making thecountry digitally empowered in the fieldof technology.The Digital India campaignwas launched by Honourable PrimeMinister of India Sh. NarendraDamodardas Modi on 1 July 2015. Theinitiative includes plans toconnect rural areas with high-speedinternet networks. The vision of DigitalIndia has centered around three keyareas. These include:

• The creation of digital infrastructureas a utility to every citizen

• Promote e-Governance andDelivering services on demanddigitally

• Digital empowerment of citizensthrough Digital literacy and skilldevelopment

With a view to realise the goals of DigitalIndia in the school education and teachereducation sector and to reach out to allthe people of India, the National Councilof Educational Research and Trainingtook the initiative of providing itsresources on the web and mobileplatforms. Through a special license, ithas liberated access to all the digitalcontents including e-books. One candownload and share the collections of e-textbooks for all classes and all areas ofthe curriculum (classes 1 to 12),supplementary reading material, resourcesfor teachers, teacher educators and

Status of ePathshala as on 11 May, 2016

parents, in English, Hindi, Sanskrit andUrdu.

Supported by a web portal, http://epathshala.gov.in and mobile appsavailable for the Android, Apple andWindows environments, the e-contentsincluding digital textbooks are beingreadily accessed across the country. Thepopularity and impact factor of theepathshala website and mobile app isevident from the figure given as under:

About ePathshala

A platform for students, teachers,teacher educators and parents:

The objective of the project was not onlyto provide free and easy access to thebooks, but also to involve parentsteachers and teacher educators in helpingthe children achieve desired levels oflearning. Resources specifically aimed atparents are to help them understand andparticipate in quality improvement of theirchildren’s education. Resources forteachers to tailor their teaching-learningto different needs of children have beencategorized and deployed.

Contains a variety of educationalresources for all:

The collections include digital textbooks,supplementary readers, audio and videoresources for students; teacher’s guidesand teaching resources for teachers;journals, policy documents and otherscholarly resources for researchers andeducators; resources for parents to helpthem appreciate and support their own

children’s education.These resources areavailable in Hindi,Urdu, Sanskrit andEnglish.

Textbooks as digitalbooks:

The textbooks havebeen converted tothe EPUB 3.0 format.

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Supported by a specially designed EPUBreader, the text can be selected, the pagezoomed, portions highlighted orbookmarked and the screen, font andcolour changed to cater to the needs of allchildren including children with specialneeds. Included in the collection will beaudio books and machine readable booksin offline mode as well.

To enable a teacher to display the booksin class and to facilitate reading on aregular computer, the books have alsobeen made available as flip books with avariety of special features to enhance theease of reading. These books areavailable through laptops and desktopsas flipbooks.

The present collection spans all textbooksfrom classes I to XII, covering all subjectsof the school curriculum. In all 364 titles inEnglish, Hindi and Urdu mediums areincluded.

Mobile Apps for the ePathshala:

Apps for the Android, iOS as well asWindows platforms have been released toenable free and universal access to theePathshala collections. The app interfaceis also available in English, Hindi andUrdu. The free apps can be downloadedfrom the app stores.

Users rating of epathshala app oniOS (Apple) and Android (Google)play stores:

Availability , Dissemination andImpact of ePathshala web portaland mobile app

The web portal and the apps werereleased on 7th November, 2015 at theedNEXT Conference by Mrs. Smriti ZubinIrani, Hon’ble Minister of HumanResource Development, Govt. of India.

• In all 518 ebooks (etextbooks, teachershandbook, manuals and supplementaryreading materials) available on epathshala.In all 747 videos and audios are availableon the epathshala.

• The portal had 28,47,331 visitors

• The app has a rating of 4.4 out of 5 onthe Google play store,3.5 out of 5 on AppleStore and 4.7 out of 5on Windows store.

• In all 01,52,599users havedownloaded the appfrom Google playstore 8,271 from AppleStore and 2,576 fromWindows store.

• The app is alsoavailable in Hindi,Sanskrit, Urdu andStatus shows about 8,271 Apps Downloaded

Status shows about 1,52,599 AppsDownloaded

English and categorises the resourcesto meet the requirements of students,teachers, educators and parents.

Action taken to popularizeePathshala - Disseminationthrough Training/orientationprogrammes

Multipronged strategies were followed toreach out to the clientele groups throughworkshops, extension lectures, training,orientation etc. In face to face anddistance mode:

• Oriented 23 delegations from Sri Lankafrom 20-27, Dec. 2015.

• Demonstrated epathshala Website andApp to 30,000 Students, teachers,parents during JNNSMEE at Kochi,Kerala 16-22 Dec. 2015.

• Oriented 100 Students, Teacher andEducators from CCS University ofMeerut on 6th January, 2016.

• Oriented 60 Teachers from J&K, HP,Punjab and Haryana at RIE-Ajmer on12th January, 2016.

• Oriented 50 Teacher Educators ofTelengana on 14 Jan, 2016.

• Oriented 75 KRPs of Science andMaths from Maharashtra at Nagpur on16th January, 2016.

• Demonstrated epathshala Website andApp to Students, Teachers, Educatorsand General Public during World BookFair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from9th to 17th January, 2016.

• Created an advertisement onepathshala to be printed on the Booksand Journals : the Government ofRajasthan has printed epathshalaadvertisement on their textbooks andCIET has printed it on National ICTAwards booklet and NCERT Calendarfor the year 2016. Also circulated theadvertisement among all SCERTs.

• Oriented 75 students and faculty ofKurukshetra University, Kurukshetra,Haryana on 23 January, 2016

22

• Shared with Educational Planners andAdministrators of Andhra Pradesh andTelangana on 29 January, 2016 atHyderabad.

• Shared with a Five member delegationfrom the Republic of Korea, Seoul atNCERT, New Delhi on 02 February,2016

• Oriented 47 Teachers and TeachersEducators from schools, SCERTs andDIETs (Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Odisha,Chattisgarh and Uttarakhand) on 08February, 2016

• Oriented 75 students, Faculty of RIE-Bhubneshwar, SCERT, IASEs andRMSA-Odisha from 8 – 12 February,2016

• Shared the details of e-pathshaladuring a conference at Indian Instituteof Management, Bangalore on 10February, 2016

• Oriented 25 Mathematics TeacherEducators from DIETs of Jammu &Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab on10 February, 2016

• Oriented 1400 Principals of Schoolsunder the agies of Vidya Bharati AkhilBharatiya Shiksha Sansthan on 13February, 2016

• Oriented 21 Teacher Educators ofSCERTs and DIETs from Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh andUttar Pradesh on 13 and 15 February,2016

• Disseminated about e-pathshalathrough social media (Facebook,WhatsApp, Twitter) and print media(Bangalore Mirror)

• Shared with 100 Teacher Educators ofdifferent Colleges of TeacherEducation (CTEs), Faculty from PG-Departments, M.Ed. students andresearch scholars from University ofAllahabad, Uttar Pradesh on 18-19February, 2016

• Oriented 10 State Core Team members(Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab,

Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telengana,Uttar Pradesh) on Digitisation ofTextbooks and sharing those onepathshala from 18-22 March, 2016 and28 March to 1 April, 2016.

• Oriented 125 Primary School Teachersof South Delhi Municipal Corporationon 10 May, 2016 on features and use ofepathshala.

Monitoring Mechanism

A 3 member team (faculty, web designerand research fellow) created to work onfeedback from users, analysis and work tomake the App and Website user friendly.For example chapters in various books arebeing replacedbased on thefeedback onreadability of font,diagrams, imagesetc. from theusers.

Plans forextension anddissemination

• Initiatedactivities toconvert all the

e-resources as e-books developed by48 State Boards / 36 SCERTs/SIEsincluding CBSE in phased mannerand upload on epathshala.

• Produce two promotional videos andradio jingles on epathshala fortelecast/broadcast on variouschannels and disseminate on socialnetworking sites

• Created a WhatsApp group onepathshala and shared statistics andevents related to epathshala.

ePathshala in the Press:Publicity of ePathshala in SirfNews Network

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Publicity of ePathshala on Rajasthan SIERT,Udaipur textbooks

Publicity of ePathshala on NCERTPublications

Prof. Behera is a Professor and Head of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) and Training Division, Central Institute of Educational Technology (CIET),NCERT, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi. He can be reached at:amar_b2000[at]yahoo[dot]com and behera[dot]ciet[at]gmail[dot]com

Publicity of ePathshala in India Today,New Delhi

Publicity of ePathshala by PTI, New Delhi

Publicity of ePathshala in Hindustan Times,Chandigarh Publicity of ePathshala on NCERT

Calendar

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Forthcoming Events

The Commonwealth of Learning(COL) will be organising its 8thPan-Commonwealth Forum onOpen Learning (PCF8) inpartnership with Open UniversityMalaysia.

Venue: The Forum, held triennially, willtake place at the Kuala LumpurConvention Centre.

Date: 27 to 30 November, 2016.

PCF8 provides an opportunity for theCommonwealth community to exchangeknowledge and experiences, identifyimportant trends and explore applicationsof open and distance learning in wideningaccess, bridging the digital divide andadvancing the social and economicdevelopment of communities andcountries. It brings together prominentkeynote speakers, scholars, researchersand practitioners in the area of open,online and flexible learning.Apart from theintellectual discourse, participants alsoget to experience Malaysia’s scenicbeauty and, its culinary and culturaldiversity. PCF8 is an event not to bemissed.

Theme: Open, Online and FlexibleLearning: The Key to SustainableDevelopment.

Sub-Themes:

• Quality and Equity in Learning(Quality Assurance Frameworks,Accreditation, Certification,Benchmarking,Ranking).

• Access and Inclusion (e-Learning,Massive Open Online Courses(MOOC),Public-PrivatePartnership,Equitable EducationalOpportunities,Policies).

• Efficiency and Effectiveness(Business Models, ComparativeStudies).

• Technology and Innovation (Teachingand Learning, Mobile Learning,Collaborative Work, MOOC, OpenEducational Resources (OER).

Important Dates:

· Abstract Submission: 15 April, 2016 - 15June, 2016

· Notification of Abstract Acceptance:30 June, 2016

· Full Paper Submission: 31 August, 2016

· Notification of Full Paper Acceptance:16 September, 2016

· Early Bird Registration: 27 September,2016

Asian Education TechnologyConference 2016 (AETC 2016)

Venue: ERC Institute (ERCI), 30 PrinsepStreet, #01-01 ERCI Campus, Singapore188647

Date: 29-30 November, 2016

For more information visit:http://aetc.ear.com.sg/about-aetc-2016/

The 25th AMIC Confer ence onRethinking Communication in aResurgent Asia

Venue: Manila Philippines

Date: 15-17 September, 2016

For more information visit/ contact:http://www.amic.asiaindex.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=78:amic-25th-internationalconference&Itemid=105

30th AAOU Conference on OpenEducation in Asia: ChangingPerspectives

Date: 26 – 29 October, 2016

Venue: Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria, inMetro Manila, Philippines

For more information, visit:http://aaou2016.upou.edu.ph/ or http://aaou.ouhk.edu.hk/conference.htm