B.Voc from Gurukul Edutech in Agriculture and Healthcare

Gurukul Edutech is a Hub Partner of Tata Institute of Social Sciences – School of Vocational Education (TISS – SVE) for B.Voc courses

B.Voc from Gurukul Edutech in Agriculture and Healthcare, Author, Dr Dr Jnanendra Narayan Sengupta, Gurukul Edutech.

Gurukul Edutech has felt the necessity to align higher education with the emerging needs of the economy so as to ensure that the graduates of higher education system have adequate knowledge and skills for employment and entrepreneurship. Gurukul Edutech, which was involved in offering skill-based training for long was looking for offering skill-based formal higher education and it was 2016 when it partnered Tata Institute of Social Sciences to set up its Agriculture Hub amidst of ecoshperic campus at a remote rural village of West Bengal at Banibon, Uluberia , Howrah to start offering B.Voc in Agriculture with multiple entry and exit flexibility and industry integration .

The B.Voc programme is focused on undergraduate studies with incorporation of specific job roles and their Industrial need along with broad based general education. This has made really possible for the trainees completing specific training programmes to make a meaningful participation in accelerating India’s economy by gaining appropriate employment, becoming entrepreneurs and creating appropriate knowledge.

In West Bengal there are around 147 schools where Vocational Agriculture is taught at 10 +2 Level and around 5000 students pass out every year. B.Voc Agriculture was the need of the society and the students which got fit in a befitted manner with its unique TISS model of Industry integration. We have got students selected specially from marginalized section, first generation learners, son and daughters of farmers and promoted women participation with an aim to create a vibrant skilled ecosystem.

Today, we have around 170 students who are studying B.Voc Agriculture at our hub. The best part is that we have been able to have different State Government departmental support for providing necessary hands on training as well as we have around 30 Industry partners who work with us as Skill Knowledge Providers (SKP). Our hub is a bit unique as we have been able to integrate a few SKPs within the hub where they have kept dedicated supervisors, invested and developed necessary industry prototype infra for student training within the hub itself with an aim to provide industry-academia real life facility at one place so that most of the efficient time can be spend by the student in teaching –learning process. Thanks to our industry partners as they have equipped the hub with most modern Cage Farming system , Automated Polyhouse and Shadenet , Soil , Water and Microbiology , Meteorology  Lab , Sprinkler , Drip and other Irrigation and Fertigation system .

The students, apart from their work and study in hub, get paid internship in different MNCs where they get a monthly stipend and makes the Earn while you learn possible. The students go to industries to learn the real life working pattern and environment both in Government and Private Sectors. We have trainers who are professors from India and abroad from leading Agriculture Universities, Retd IAS Officers, Industry persons and most importantly we have farmer trainers who interact with the students always.

We invite industries MDs and CEOs at campus regularly who interacts with students. The students took part in different seminars, symposiums. The machineries and set ups installed in campus by the industries are installed, maintained and operated by the students with active supervision and guidance from industry supervisors. The best part is that if fruit , ornamental or other fish , be it apiculture be it polyhouse crops or field crops which are produced following organic farming principles are sold by the companies and the profit is given to students . In the same way the payment received for soil and water analysis done by the students is eqiually given to students by the industries which help the student to reinvest in study and support their family. They get both Institution as well as the industry feeling under one roof in the Gurukul Edutech Hub.

Our model is appreciated and researched by University of Glasgow , United Kingdom and United nations University of Global Peace , USA and Commonwealth Vocational University , Kingdom of Tonga where their researcher team visited our hub and interacted with our students and reported the findings at international level . Looking at the performance of the hub , The Government of West Bengal specially supported the girl students after looking at their performance at our hub by including our hub under Kanyashree scheme and as on today’s date all our Girls are real Kanyashree as they learn , earn , support family and get the best possible education .