NEWS: Community colleges could help tackle Goa's dropout problem

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COMMUNITY COLLEGES COULD HELP TACKLE GOA'S DROPOUT PROBLEM      

By Frederick Noronha

PANJIM, April 28: Tribal girls working on sari designs? Salaries for those
whom our academic system thinks of as drop-outs? This and more is possible
if one adopts the system of 'community colleges' as an educational system,
says former Loyola College Chennai principal Dr Xavier Alphonse.

Alphonse spent much of the past weekend interacting with educationists from
Goa at Mapusa, and sharing ideas on how the country's elitist higher
educational system could reach out to the neglected.

For eight years, this Jesuit priest has been preaching the potential of such
colleges. "I've been very much fascinated by the 'community college' model
which has been working for a hundred years in the US. We need to be giving
hope to people," says he.

Such colleges are primarily targeted at the urban and rural poor, tribal and
women. Their goal is to be colleges "of, for and by" the community. Most are
not affiliated, keep their curriculum flexible to meet local needs, and run
out of existing institutions.

"Two things are needed most to make a young man or woman employable. That's
self-esteem and self-motivation," says Alphonse.

Typically, students undergo intensive practical training for about a year.
They're not just taught work-skills, but also go in for an internship and
hands-on experience with partner-firms in industry.

More importantly, they're taught 'life skills' -- how to build self-esteem,
basic computer applications, some English, positive thinking, undertake goal
setting and the like.

India's first 'community college' was started by the Central University of
Pondicherry in 1995. Later, the next year, the Archdiocesan Society of
Madras-Mylapore launched another. By now, there are some 95 community
colleges spread across 12 states of India. Of these 73 are in Tamil Nadu.

"Earlier, nobody thought of this in India. Our education was so
tradition-bound, and attached to Macaulay's system of education. Poverty and
unemployability -- more than unemployment -- are major problems with our
system that need to be tackled," he told this correspondent in an interview.

In places like Kolar, where the gold mining crash has impoverished thousands
of families, the community college could offer skills and also confidence,
he says. 

Such colleges don't have to invest heavy in their infrastructure, since they
work out of existing institutions, during the hours when the regular
colleges are closed. "They use the same classrooms, the same computers, only
the teachers have to be paid extra," he explains.

Training is largely technical, and the emphasis is practical. Fees are fixed
at around Rs 2500 per year. "But upto 60 to 70 per cent of students can't
even afford to pay Rs 400," he admits, saying some support has to be
offered, considering that these are poor students. 

So far, some 13000 students across India have gone through such education.
Of these, about 10,000 managed to get middle level jobs, with salaries of
between Rs 800 to Rs 3000 per month, says he. 

He seeks scope for such institutions to take up courses in tourism, office
management, computer software, and two- or four-wheeler repairs in Goa. 

Most innovatively, these institutions keep out of the accreditation system.
"Our emphasis on quality brings in social recognition and industrial
recognition. What more recognition do we need?" says Alphonse.

The Planning Commission has given him a grant to study the potential impact
of such type of education. Alphonse has spent the past eight years intensely
working on this.

"In the US, most community colleges are driven by market forces. Here, we
need to think of social needs. There, the government offers its support.
Here it has to be supported by the community," he says. 

'Community colleges', based on an idea from the West, try to offer
job-oriented, work-related, skll-based and "life-copying education", says
the Catholic priest who now preaches the virtues of this form of education.

India's first 'community college' was started by the Central University of
Pondicherry in 1995. Later, the next year, the Archdiocesan Society of
Madras-Mylapore launched another. By now, there are some 95 community
colleges spread across 12 states of India. Of these 73 are in Tamil Nadu.

Help from local industry, rural, agricultural and commercial organisations
is crucial for this concept to work, says Alphonse. It could help fight
India's dropout problem, the mismatch between education and employment, and
fight the 'capability poverty' of those who lack the confidence.

Students can be offered very-applied courses in the technical, non-tech,
agricultural, forestry, weaving, handloom, handicraft, piggery and
village-requirements fields. Courses can be offered even in such exotic
fields such as herbal farming and herbal medicine.

In Chennai Dr Alphonse and his team have set up the Madras Centre for the
Research and Development of Community Education. It can be contacted via
email mcrdce-Rcf5xc1e9sg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and it's website is www.mcrdce.com 
(ENDS)
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Frederick Noronha (FN)        | http://www.fredericknoronha.net
Freelance Journalist          | http://www.bytesforall.org
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