Abstract:

In the developing country like India, the output of graduates from higher educational institutions is high. But, the major concern is that majority of graduates are not employable, especially from rural areas for want of skills expected by the employer. The soft skills, communication skills and multidisciplinary knowledge are essential to become employable. In this context, the short-term six months courses of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) delivered through the ODL mode is an alternative intervention to the graduates towards empowerment. This article analyses the benefits of self-learning though ODL mode of IGNOU. The IGNOU Regional Centre, Madurai has made a pilot attempt in enrolling formal mode college going students in a few specific certificate programmes of IGNOU for enrichment and empowerment. The certificate level programmes of IGNOU which match the discipline of study at the graduation level as a value added course are also explored in this work. Self-study through ODL promotes the many skills and builds confidence to link learning to real-life situations and as well as ability to understand the changing demands in the world of work. Also, ability to manage information is a significant dimension of self-learning. Thus, the short-term programmes of IGNOU extend value-addition to the graduates in the form of transferable skills and the value-added outputs are expected to be employable or self-employable, thus contributing to the growth of the nation.

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