March 22: The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) in Delhi offers a Master's degree programme in Extension Education, which could be an excellent career option for those aspiring to be involved in development teaching. The programme, conducted by the department of Continuing Education and Extension of JMI, was started in 1990 to provide teachers and researchers the competence to design, implement and evaluate various development programmes in the area of health and nutrition education, population education and adult education.According to JMI lecturer Mukund Kumar Singh, the objective of the course is three-fold. First, to create human resources for scientific management and management of extension programme in various areas of development; secondly, to help produce extension educationists and scientists, and finally to build a knowledge base in the third dimension of higher education, that it, extension through teaching and research.
The course is a two-year, full-time programme, on the completion of whichstudents are awarded either an MA or MSc in Extension Education, depending on his or her basic qualification. In other words, if the student is an arts graduate then an MA degree is awarded and if the student is a science graduate, an MSc degree is awarded.
Although the course provides tremendous opportunities for aspirants, it is no cakewalk. Says Singh, "The course is very comprehensive and therefore, needs serious efforts from the participants. The students are advised to be regular as the evaluation process is continuous, involving projects and field work at regular intervals."
The basic qualification for students seeking admission to the course is graduation with a minimum of 50 per cent marks, after which admission is based on a written examination followed by group discussion and interview. "Throughout the screening process it is made sure that the right kind of candidates take the course, thus minimising the chances of dropout in the midst of the course," says Singh. Presently the number of seatsavailable are ten.
The course draws its base from the fact that education, particularly higher education, is envisaged as an instrument of social transformation. In this context, says Singh, universities are expected to perform an important role in promoting social change, if they are to retain their legitimacy and gain public support. The course also acquires a special dimension, especially at a time when UNESCO has pleaded for adult literacy as a human right.
A student taking the course can specialise in any of the three focus areas -- health and nutrition education, population education and adult education. Mostly, students choose their subjects according to their area of interest, explains Singh. Mohammad Shadab, who is specialising in population education has a similar explanation. Says he, "Most of the students choose their area of specialisation taking into consideration their background and their area of interest. I took population because I had done my graduation in sociology and I come from arural background."
The future of candidates passing out after the completion of this course appears to be bright, taking into consideration the kind of organisations they start their careers with. "Most of the students from our past batches have been placed either with NGOs or with other voluntary organisations, which include rural and urban development agencies like DRDA, DWACRA, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Trainers' Training Centre. Some of our students have also been placed with the Listener Research Unit in All India Radio and the Audience Research Centre with Doordarshan. These are in addition to a career in teaching, which is always open to them," Singh points out.
There is an increasing trend amongst students to prefer private jobs in comparison to government ones, according to Zahir Syed, a student taking the course. On an average, students completing the course command salaries in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 in the beginning.
Following the success of the course at JMI, other universitieshave follwed suit, which include the H N Bahuguna University in Srinagar (Uttar Pradesh), the Khashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi, the Ghandhi Gram Rural Institute, Dindigul University, Tamil Nadu and the Rewa University in Madhya Pradesh. These universities, too, offer similar courses to students from non-agricultural background, in line with JMI.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
