Higher Education department launches four new apprenticeship embedded degree programmes

The Higher Education Department has announced the launch of four new apprenticeship embedded degree programmes (AEDP) in 45 government first grade colleges in 21 districts from the 2024-25 academic year. Students get a paid apprenticeship in the fifth and sixth semesters of the programme.

The Higher Education Department has announced the launch of four new apprenticeship embedded degree programmes (AEDP) in 45 government first grade colleges in 21 districts from the 2024-25 academic year. Students get a paid apprenticeship in the fifth and sixth semesters of the programme.

The four new degree programmes are BCom in retail, logistics, e-commerce, and banking, finance, service and insurance.

The programmes are expected to increase the employability of students. As many as 1,373 students have already taken up admissions for these programmes. Among the students who have taken admission, 51% are girls, 81% are from rural areas, and 96% belong to SC/ST/OBC categories.

Under this programme, students will pursue a regular college education in the first and second year and undergo apprenticeship training with companies in their final year. The students will get stipend from ₹8,000 to ₹18,000 depending upon capability.

The curriculum is provided by the Centre for Research in Schemes and Policies (CRISP) and approved by the board of studies of universities.

In an event held at the Karnataka State Higher Education Council on Tuesday, industry representatives from various sectors such as banking, logistics, retail, and microfinance lined up extending their support in providing apprenticeship to students.

The programmes are being implemented in a phased manner according to Higher Education Minister M.C. Sudhakar. “Since people are coming to know about these programmes, there is a request from some colleges, and some elected representatives are also showing interest. So next year, there will probably be a big demand. We want to see how things will shape up in the due course of time. CRISP hopes to expand the programme to include manufacturing, bio-technology, information technology and more sectors next year,” he said.