KSHEC Report on

Earn While You Learn Scheme

Earn While You Learn is an extremely beneficial Scheme in the state. This is a quick
appraisal of the Scheme and some practical recommendations based on the country‟s
related schemes and experiences thereof. A detailed plan of implementation has to be
worked in consultation with the vice Chancellors of the universities in the state.

The Scheme

„Earn and Learn‟ Scheme has been implemented worldwide. In our country, UGC‟s
EWYL Programme was announced in 2004 as part of the comprehensive scheme for
universities with potential with excellence. Over 100 students doing postgraduate
courses, who are financially backward assist various offices and technical work in
Madras Universtiy along with their studies.. This scheme is operative in 4 other
universities in the country. The process of identifying 10 more universities for
focused support under this scheme is on.

The scheme has been in operation in the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
since 2012, providing part-time employment to an enrolled student in a college or
university, enabling her/him earn to pay educational expenses. It is available to
undergraduate and graduate students willing to work as trainees in tourism sensitizing
enterprises ,with aspirations of employment in the sector. An aspirant trainee is
estimated to be earning over the tenure of the course duration an amount between Rs.
50,000 and Rs. 1,00,000.

AICTE and EWYL

All India Council for Technical Education and All India Technical and Management
Council (AITMC) had announced the launch of Earn while Learn scheme in 2017.
Under this scheme AITMC will collaborate with industries and business owners to
educate and develop the skillset of over 1.5 million youth across industries and
provide them assured livelihood. The scheme supports government of India‟s vision
of developing a strong and sustainable economy by enhancing employable skills
among the youth

Haryana Government and EWYL Scheme

The Higher Education Department of Haryana has introduced this type of scheme from 2001
onwards for Govt. and Aided Private Colleges. Under the scheme the students could be
engaged by the polytechnics for jobs in the following areas: I. I. Laboratories II. Library III.
Office

In the labs/ workshops the students can be engaged for making them responsible for handling
the equipment/ machinery, its maintenance and upkeep, storage of equipment and upkeep of

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Laboratories/ Workshops. Senior students shall be employed for conduct of practical and jobs
training in the Workshops. Similarly , the students under this scheme would be engaged for
library jobs such as cataloguing, arrangement and display of books, repair of damaged books,
issue and return of books etc. Presently the libraries are under staffed and due to this , proper
utilization of library is not achieved by the students and the staff. The payment of students
under the scheme would be met out from funds such as wages student fund etc. available with
the institution. (Details given as Annexure I)

Models of EWYL scheme

Experiences elsewhere suggest that there are three models:

1. Internships, Cooperative Education, and Apprenticeships. Internships
inherently self-supporting need no financial support.
2. Cooperative Education provides financial support but is less flexible. It
necessitates changing the time schedule of the colleges/universities for
enabling students to earn through part-time jobs.
3. Apprenticeship model usually associated with a labor or union-related job in a
specific industry, hence not scalable as a general model though scores high in
most evaluation categories, is not as widely feasible as Cooperative education
and Internships.

EWYL: The Proposed Scheme

The proposed Scheme is an adapted version of Cooperative Education with select

features of Internships and Apprenticeships. Possibilities and details thereof have to
be explored and worked out. Indeed, it is at the right time, the Government of Kerala
has thought about launching the Scheme, which can go a long way as a very
significant means to help the students work and support their education on the one
side and acquire skills guaranteeing employability on the other. It at once mitigates
economic hardships of learning and enhances the adaptable efficiency of the learner.
Both will improve the quality of education and make it a purposeful endeavour.

EWYL Scheme has to be conceived mainly in two dimensions: One is the

planned and organized; and the other, self-driven. In the planned and organized
dimension the Government, Government Colleges, Universities and semi-
Government establishments play the key role. They plan, organize and implement the
scheme.

In the Self-driven dimension, it is students‟ personal choice under the flexible

rules and regulations provided by the Government, Government Colleges,
Universities and semi-Government establishments, which matters. Students
themselves due to economic and social constraints take to means of earning along
with learning.

Professional Programmes and EWYL Scheme

There has been a steady increase in the number of students in the under- graduate and
post-graduate levels in recent times. This is much more so in the case of colleges for
professional education like teachers‟ training and engineering institutions.
Engineering colleges proliferate engineering graduates and postgraduates, but not
engineers. They do not come out as ready to work professionals. This predicament of

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poor employability can be addressed to a great extent through the Scheme. Medical
Colleges constitute the only exception to the situation, for the medical
graduates/postgraduates come out as ready to work professionals. It is rendered
plausible through the method of learning medicine by treating the patients.

Engineering students are not made to learn by doing, despite the Washington
Accord and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) measures for
enforcing Outcome Based Education. EWYL can become a turning point in our
engineering education. Employers want to recruit qualified but ready to work
candidates. Such candidates are very few. EWYL Scheme is a solution to the
predicament.

Benefits of the Scheme

Giving the students an opportunity to acquire work experience while learning

is extremely important. There is no doubt that it can provide skills of employability
and strengthen students‟ preparedness to find successful careers.

There are many benefits for EWYL Scheme. Most important is mitigation of
economically backward students‟ hardships in education due to income shortage,
inculcation of dignity of labour including values of hard work among students,
enhancement of skills adding to employability, strengthening of resourcefulness to
take up better jobs in the future, development of personal interest and preference in
the fields of learning, reduction of the sense of alienation in the students‟ minds about
what they learn, and transformation of higher education into a self-directed, personal,
and life-related enterprise, not always curiosity driven though.

What earnings the students make can provide motivation for learning and
successfully complete their academic programmes. Students draw insight into the
world of work, know career prospects, acquire job skills, develop interpersonal
relations, and cultivate social skills, enhance employment prospects, increase
industrial contacts, improve self-confidence, job knowledge, job-seeking skills,
attitudes towards practical reasoning, develop greater maturity, and demonstrate
competencies.

Academic Performance and EWYL Scheme

Nevertheless, it is important to make detailed assessment of the earn – learn

relationship examining the impact of work on the students‟ academic performance
and vice versa besides how the process has been decisive about the students‟ career
preference, show that the concept of earning and learning should take into account
with great caution. It is important to take seriously the reasons for the students to turn
to earning along with learning, the impact of earning on academic performance, the
relation between economic status of students and their engagement in earning
activities, and the relation between the part-time job undertaken and the future
employability.

For a state like Kerala that gives importance to social security through
education through equity, access and scholarships, how earning affects learning must
be a serious point of attention. We should not forget the fact that in the developed

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capitalist countries this scheme is meant to encourage the Government to withdraw
from the financial assistance to the poor students. It is a fact that the Scheme gives the
employers a good opportunity to influence curriculum design and content, so as to
reduce recruitment and training costs.

Despite all the rhetoric, the painful truth about the earning component is
financial stress. No doubt that learn and work is important in today‟s context of
increasingly competitive employment demanding high skill adaptability and
efficiency. How the poor students constrained to do low-income, under-skilled part-
time jobs to earn for learning can help them gain better jobs is a disturbing question. It
is important to ensure their career prospects through educational planning.

Higher Education Scenario in Kerala

There are 13 state universities functioning in Kerala. Of this, 4 universities

mainly Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut and Kannur are general in nature and are
affiliating universities. There are 229 Arts and Science colleges in the state
comprising of 163 private aided colleges and 66 government colleges. Apart from
these, various self financing Arts and Science colleges are also functioning in the
state. The total number of students enrolled in various Arts and Science colleges
excluding unaided colleges under the 4 general universities in Kerala in 2018-19 is
3.28 lakh. Of this 2.2 Lakh (68%) are girls. The number of teachers in Arts and
Science colleges in the state in 2018-19 was 10,145 out of whom 56.6% constitutes
women. There are nearly 405 Arts and Science colleges in the self financing sector.
There are 179 Engineering colleges in the state with sanctioned intake of 51764 in
2019. Out of these Engineering colleges 167 are self financing colleges 9 are
government colleges and 3 are private aided colleges. Hence the potential for the
implementation of the EWYL scheme is very high provided that there is proper
planning, funding and co-ordination by government and universities.
Measures to be adopted by the Government/ Universities/ Colleges

EWYL Scheme would be sustainable only if necessary procedures are in place

to ensure accountability from the part of educational institutions as well as industries.
The Scheme will be effective and sustainable as a transforming initiative only if the
Universities and Colleges provide for flexibility and choice in their governance,which
should attract and retain students by providing them adequate environment to acquire
professional skills to take up temporary jobs to earn while they learn.

● EWYL has to ensure the flexibility that the students need for acquiring
knowledge and skills essential to earn a living. It is essential to specifically
address the issue from the perspective of the student benefit and educational
quality.

● Basic principles have to be laid, specific activities have to be drawn,

guidelines have to be prepared, flexible governance has to be guaranteed.

● AICTE with an objective to offer on-the-job practical training to enhance

employability has made a Regulation called "National Employability
Enhancement Mission"(NEEM) Regulations 2013, vide Gazette Notification

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 dated 15th April 2013 of AICTE. Universities and Colleges should be able to
adopt/adapt the regulations thereof.

● Universities and colleges have to design career-oriented supplementary

courses, and recognize work experience as part of academic assessment. It is
necessary to teach students the work ethics and communication skills.

● Career-oriented curriculum models in Science, Technology, Engineering, and

Mathematics (STEM) have to be prepared providing academically rigorous
and relevant training.

● There should be academic efforts to improve the competency in the work as

well. Students have to be enabled to practice in human relations, skills, self-
reliance, self-confidence, and responsibility.

● Industry and university partnerships Government and nongovernment agencies

provide guidance in the development and administration of the Scheme.

● We have to make sure greater collaboration between the two without

compromising the ultimate goals and objectives of the scheme.

● The Scheme will have difficulties in the set up, where the Industry –
university partnership is in its infancy.

● The business community and education institutions should ensure mutual

agreement on goals and objectives.

● Similarly, educational institutions should not see the Scheme as an opportunity

to exploit for institutional profit.

● Education institutions with the help of their departments of economics,

commerce and management studies, need to assess the human resource
requirement by regularly monitoring the labor market, identifying emerging
trends and changing conditions of employment, and respond to market needs
by supplementing their academic programmes with necessary skill based
courses.

● It is indispensable to secure greater collaboration between employer

establishments and higher educational institutions with complete agreement on
the basic goals and objectives of the Scheme.

● More money is needed to attract and retain students. Current funding is

insufficient for running the Scheme of enabling students to earn a living while
they learn.

● Government will have to provide financial support for the successful working
of the scheme. Government will have to set apart enough money to attract and
retain students in the scheme, ensuring that students earn a living wage while
they study.

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Timing of HEIs/ colleges and Earn and Learn Scheme
For the successful implementation of Earn and Learn scheme the present timing of
our universities and colleges should be suitably modified. At present as per
government order (GO RT No. 178/2015 HEDN dated 29/01/2015) “the college are
directed to insist on a minimum physical presence of teachers for 6 hours in the
colleges excluding the one hour lunch recess; depending upon hte local conditions,
the colleges will have a working hour pattern of 9 am to 4 pm or 9.30 am to 4.30 pm
or 10 am to 5 pm. Each college should intimate the timing chosen by it to the
concerned university and Government.”

This timing may be suitably modified with working hours commencing from 8.00 am.
with due allowance for the regional or local transportation and other constraints.

The split vacation & EWYL Scheme

If the proposed change in college timing is changed as suggested above colleges can
lessen some of the problems in the credit semester system. The major problem is
maximisation of working days in a semester. Colleges are closed on for conducting
centralised valuation camps which curtails the mandatory 90 working days in a
semester. Hence along with change in the timing of colleges for EWYL scheme, split
vacation pattern should also be introduced in universities/ colleges. Split vacation
(November and May) can improve the efficiency of the CBCSS as it has several
administrative and academic advantages over the annual pattern (April – May) of
vacation which is/ was evident in the case of Sree Sankaracharya University of
Sanskrit, Kalady/ Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam.Such an arrangement would
give freedom to students to take up parttime iemployment in the afternoons when they
will be free .

KSHEC’s Role / Suggestions

Our considered opinion is that the scheme should be based on an innovative and
sustainable model, which can address current needs of students, both their knowledge
base as well as skill or efficiency adaptable to changing conditions. It should never be
a one-size-fits-all model. We should be able to evolve a model that meets the needs
of students, society, and the industry.

● In order to achieve this, the Council can evolve in collaboration with

universities and autonomous colleges a feasible set of measures for the
effective implementation of the Scheme.

● KSHEC can provide guidance for the success of the Scheme by helping the
students acquire quality knowledge and adaptable skills to work better as the
employers need, guiding education institutions, and advising government/
autonomous agencies to collaborate.

● It can make the institutional commitment to the Scheme as a criterion for

assessment and accreditation. Universities and Colleges can be told that their

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 commitment to train students for professional/occupational careers shall be
counted as an added merit.

● It can include the importance of the Scheme as a component in its

accreditation and pre-accreditation awareness services.

Safeguards for EWYL

● There is need for strict monitoring by government/ university in the
implementation of Earn and Learn scheme in universities and colleges.

● The infrastructural and other facilities in all higher education institutions in the
afternoon session should be utilised for the maximisation of the objectives of
this scheme.

● For this new short term employment oriented courses with emphasis on skill
development should be offered in these institutions instead of keeping the
facilities idle. This may further enhance the employment opportunities of the
students.

● Models that the industries blow up for publicity cannot help the scheme. Often
various industries make offers of part-time jobs, but with little or no genuine
interest in effectively integrating their part-time jobs with the Scheme‟s
overall goal of combining social security and quality of education with equity,
access, continuity, and employable competency, gave precedence to their
profit.

● Industries should see it as part of their corporate social responsibility to

employ and train students under the EWYL Scheme on a flexible part time
arrangement .