Vocationalising Higher Education in North East

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Among many other challenges being faced in the spheres of socio-economic development by the north eastern region of India, the challenges faced in the field of higher education is the greatest. This has been caused by the dearth of higher educational institutions in the region, for which, the community people of Nagaland or north eastern India for that matter, either have to give up thought of educating themselves or have to go outside the region for obtaining it. For lacking of higher educational institutions offering technical and professional careers in this region, students prefer to move to outside for professionalize themselves for employment. The community people of this region, thus spent huge budget annually in higher education, while sending their children and wards to the metropolitan cities outside every year. This is a common scenario, for Nagaland, and as well as for the entire region of  north east India. This factor although look very sound, but in reality it does not appear to be so, as virtually, it drains out  human potential and resources from this region creating a vacuum because students studying outside hardly come back home again.

The Global Open University Nagaland, with its 115 different vocational, skill based and job oriented courses, has opened up doors of education for all. The Global Open University Nagaland, has made it possible for the people of the region to be more realistic in planning education as a means for attaining self reliance by pursuing vocational educational careers for self employment.

The educational institutions today, are supposed not only to certify the youth for merely completing degree, but also empower them for the future challenges to be faced by them. An educational institution, in today’s context, has to certify that empowerment of knowledge for inherent growth of a student within himself from powerlessness to a position of power that make the youth self reliant with his knowledge, skill and self confidence. For this, an educational education has to offer curriculum favorable for job opportunities and thereby eradicate poverty. Such objective is possible only when youths are provided with opportunities to unfold their potentials for employment. Educational institutions with such objectives and curriculum can only make this possible in society.
The Global Open University Nagaland, with its Headquarters at Dimapur and armed by its two wings at Wokha and Kohima, is embarking upon such objectives of vocationalising educational perspectives of the general masses and younger section of the society  for bringing socio-cultural progress  and economic sustainability in the region. By birth, The Global Open University Nagaland is a multidisciplinary institution of excellence of open and distance learning for providing education for all age groups in society. Its objective is education for all. But the principal objective of the university is planning of curriculum for fulfillment of the growing needs for the job oriented educational programs for boys and girls, besides senior Government employees and other sections in society such as parents senior citizens, who have no scope for undertaking formal education.

This university has new courses of learning such as Road Construction Management, Environment Management, Ecology and Environment, NGO Management, Disaster Management, Remote Sensing, Valuation, Distance Education Management, Educational Technology Forensic Science, Fire Science, Green Technology, Nano Technology, Bachelor of Computer Applications, Master of Computer Applications, Management of Business Administration, covering altogether 115 different educational programs as and so on. For all these vocational, job oriented and employment centric courses this university has designed its study materials in book form which are unique.

With this vision the university ever since its inception is running the Department of Hotel Management and Catering Technology and Department of Fashion Design Technology, under regular mode of teaching

Apart from providing a learning environment through activities and visual aids, the Department has well furnished practical kitchens, muck mock restaurant, guest room, a library for the students, teachers and a Computer Laboratory with wi-fi connectivity and in-house software classroom to enable the students for enhancing communicative and technical skills. The students can display their creative and technical talents in their professional service career.

It is for this, since its inception in 2006, the results of all the batches of students from The Global Open University Nagaland have been most successful. All the students have got employment in the chain of the reputed national and internationally fame hotels and resorts in metropolitan cities in India and abroad. Of the four batches of  Hotel Management and Catering Technology Department, the first batch of 15  students in 2008-20011; 18 students  in 2009-1012; 12 students in third batch 2012-2013 and all students from the batch of 2013-14 must follow the previous record successfully and shall achieve 100 % placement record.

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