Following the approval by the Union Cabinet of an attractive recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces, the Ministry of Education plans to launch a special, three-year skill-based bachelor’s degree program to enhance Agniveers’ future career prospects and equip them for various job roles in the civilian sector.
For the scheme’s implementation, the Army, Navy, and Air Force will sign the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with IGNOU (Indira Gandhi Open University).
A three-year skill-based bachelor’s degree program for serving defence personnel would recognize the skill training they received while serving in the defence establishments.
On June 14, 2022, the Union Cabinet approved the ‘Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. The youths who opted for this program will be known as ‘Agniveers.’ Agnipath allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years. The Agnipath scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces.
Under this program that has been designed by IGNOU and will also be executed by them, 50% of the credits required for a graduate degree will come from the skill training – both technical and non-technical – received by the Agniveer.
The remaining 50% will come from a selection of courses covering a wide range of subjects such as languages, economics, history, political science, public administration, Sociology, Mathematics, Education, Commerce, Tourism, Vocational studies, Agriculture, and Jyotish, as well as Ability Enhancement Courses in Environmental Studies and Communication Skills in English.
This program adheres to UGC (University Grants Commission) guidelines as well as the National Credit Framework/National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) mandated by the National Education Policy 2020.
The program also includes multiple exit points: An Undergraduate Certificate for successfully completing the first-year courses, an Undergraduate Diploma for successfully completing the first and second-year courses, and a degree for successfully completing all of the courses in a three-year time frame.
The program’s framework has been approved by the relevant regulatory bodies, including the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET), and the University Grants Commission (UGC).
IGNOU will award degrees in accordance with UGC nomenclature (BA; B. Com.; BA (vocational); BA (Tourism Management), which will be recognized for employment and education in India and abroad.
Read Also: India’s New Chief Of Defence Staff To Be Appointed Soon: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
