Admissions to all age teams at DU serving to aged pursue a misplaced dream

For Manju Mittal, 50, getting an opportunity to return to her alma mater – Delhi University – after a niche of over 28 years and full her training was like a dream come true.

After finishing B.Com from DU’s Lakshmibai College in 1998, Ms. Mittal wished to pursue M.Com. But she acquired married in 2000, turned a mom, and post-graduation remained a dream.

Her ambitions took flight once more in 2023 when DU introduced the Competence Enhancement Scheme (CES), permitting people of any age group to enrol within the programs provided by the college and earn a certificates. The CES scheme was envisioned underneath the National Education Policy 2020.

Ms. Mittal was part of the primary batch underneath the CES and acquired enrolled within the Financial Management course provided by the Department of Commerce.

Initial hiccups

It didn’t shock her to be with classmates half her age, as she had anticipated that, however what did was the modernised lecture rooms outfitted with air-conditioners and smartboards.

“I informed my son, who was in faculty, that our lecture rooms had been alike… 28 years in the past, once I was pursuing B.Com, we didn’t have AC.”

Now that she has accomplished the course, Ms. Mittal has higher monetary literacy, which helps in her investments.

Regarding the generational hole, she mentioned, “I did really feel it at first that I may be older than a number of the college students’ moms. But finally I realised that it’s a non-judgemental house.”

Earlier this week, DU opened admissions for the CES and invited functions. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Delhi, is among the many universities which have additionally applied the scheme.

For Rakesh Jain, 55, a dealer, who enrolled in a Psychology course in DU in 2023, it was a novel expertise. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime expertise. I needed to overcome the generational hole,” he mentioned. Mr. Jain has two sons, aged 19 and 23, who’re presently learning.

Gaining traction

When the scheme was launched in 2023, there have been solely three registrations within the first semester. The subsequent semester noticed 5 registrations, adopted by 11, 15 and 18 registrations within the successive semesters.

Prof. Sanjoy Roy, Director of the DU’s Institute of Lifelong Learning (ILLL), which is tasked with implementing the scheme, mentioned, “We have had individuals of all age teams enrolling underneath the scheme. It began small, however the variety of enrolments elevated regularly as extra individuals turned conscious of it.”

For college students underneath the CES, the variety of out there seats in a specific course is a most of 10% of the entire energy.

Shreyasi Singh, 23, a pupil of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), acquired enrolled in a administration course in 2024 to earn further credit and acquire extra information. “I took a further course known as Management Principles and Practices from the Department of Commerce, which added extra worth to my present diploma.” She is pursuing her PhD now.