For a long time, many students’ aspirations for higher education struck with the harsh realities of economic necessity and family pressure at the back end. Across the country, this false choice is now being broken down by the innovative and empowering ‘Earning while Learning’ model led by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for the students of Jammu and Kashmir.
The proof is in the numbers, as they say, and recent official data unfolds spectacular numbers, over 50,000 students in the region took admission to IGNOU in a single year!
This is not just data, it is an endorsement of a model that resonates with the hopes, dreams and practical awareness of the youth of J&K.
For decades, taking a traditional track of full-time, campus-based education was the only recognized route. However, this forward path took little note of those who needed to earn an income to support their families, those in rural remote areas with limited access to colleges, and those who wanted to skill up without having to stop working.
IGNOU’s flexible approach tore down these barriers. One part of the university’s philosophy is that education needs to work with students’ lives, not the other way around. This is one secret to its success.
The concept of ‘Earning while Learning’ is a strong force for change.
Learning alongside working helps to make the learner more complete and more resilient to the unforeseen realities of life. This is someone who is more than just a degree holder, they are upskilled, and employable from day one.
As this trend of enrolment continues to grow, it has far reaching consequences on the outlined impact areas for Jammu and Kashmir.
Economic empowerment: By allowing students to earn, this will feed some financial benefit as a means of supporting household needs and contributing to the local economy; in other words, for every learner who earns, earnings are diverted back into communities and businesses.
Social responsibility: This creates a generation that is un encumbered by education as an opportunity cost so that continuing education becomes a reality across all socio-economic barriers.
Social inclusion: Because education is the great equalizer, the open-door model from IGNOU will mean that learners experience the same, if not better, quality of education as an equivalent learner studying in a metropolitan city. For women, especially, who may have familial duties and responsibilities, this will allow for not only a chance for financial independence to be a student but, ultimately, to act socially in the global landscape, as well.
