IGNOU graduates going places now

For the first time ever, 18 students have been selected during campus recruitment at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, reports Jaya Shroff.

For the first time ever, 18 students have been selected during campus recruitment at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). ICICI Bank selected eight students from Delhi and 10 from Kolkata. These students will undergo training for three months after which the company will absorb them as full-time employees.

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Despite its reputation for being a national university, there are very few takers for students graduating from open universities. Lack of jobs and little career opportunities were posing a major hindrance to students opting for distance education.

In a special initiative this year, authorities decided to conduct special assessments for students to gauge their skill.

“We are doing things systematically with the help of professional agencies,” said V.N. Rajasekharan, Vice Chancellor of IGNOU. “We evolved a system to keep a database of students online. After screening these students, we get in touch with prospective employers,” he added. Rajasekharan said the university was particularly careful about the confidentiality it maintained.

The newly introduced system has already begun to bear fruit, with companies coming forward to recruit more and more students. “The idea was to make our students employable,” said Neeta Kapai, Director of Placements. “Most companies had reservations about recruiting students from open universities.”