Skilling Women and Making them Financially Empowered at DEI Women's Polytechnic

This week we have Ms. Binti Shrivastava who writes about 

Skilling Women and Making them Financially Empowered.

Ms. Binti is a physics undergraduate, but found her calling in design moving into textile design and then becoming an adept in interior design. She is an Alumni of the Women's Polytechnic of Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI) before joining them as honorary staff.

Ms. Binti writes...

India is progressing at a very fast pace, however at macro level the policy makers have shown their deep concern with regards to inadequate gross enrolment ratio in higher education specifically for women in the latest National Education Policy (NEP) 2017.

In Dayalbagh over hundred years back, education system for women was planned and started which now integrates education for women from pre-nursery to post-doctoral studies. Some milestones of evolution of women’s education system in Dayalbagh are:

In Dayalbagh, skill development programmes for women can be traced back to 1924 when diploma courses were started for women in cooking, knitting, sewing, embroidery, science of health and hygiene and child care. In 1938, another step forward in this direction was taken by bringing "Mahila Associations" into existence where women in groups started manufacturing of clothes, spices, eatables like pickle, fruit concentrates etc.

Inaugural on 26th July 2004

Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI) has always taken best practices, many of which were time tested prior in the Dayalbagh community. On the same lines after almost 80 years of experience in skill development programmes for women being in existence it was formally introduced in the education system in the form of establishment of Women’s Polytechnic for skill based education specifically for women who did not want to continue in the conventional higher education system of DEI or wanted to have a taste of both conventional as well as skill based education system.

With the aim of improving the socio-economic status of women, Women’s Polytechnic started in 2004 to offer job oriented courses to women with the concept of no barriers in terms of caste, creed, religion or even age.

2004

DEI Women’s Polytechnic was inaugurated on 26^th July 2004 by Most Revered Professor Prem Saran Satsangi Sahab, Chairman Advisory Committee on Education, Dayalbagh. In the year of inauguration one year certificate programmes in Food Processing & Preservation, Dress Designing & Tailoring, Textile Designing & Printing, Interior-Exterior Design & Decoration and Office Management & Secretarial Practice were started.

2005

From 2005-06, the Women’s Polytechnic was declared as a women’s wing of the DEI Technical College and 3-year Diploma courses were started in Electronics Engineering, Interior Designing & Decoration and Textile Printing. Also 2-year diploma courses were started in Garment Technology, Modern Office Management & Secretarial Practice and Food Processing, Preservation and Nutrition. 

2006

DEI ever since its beginning had a concept of lateral movements there by giving chance to brighter students to move to the highest level of education. The same was extended to the students of Women’s Polytechnic as well. The students of one-year certificate programme on the basis of their academic merit were allowed to make a lateral shift to the corresponding diploma programme after successfully clearing the lateral entry test.

2008

Two National Workshops on False Ceiling & Flooring were organised by the Department of Interior Design & Decoration which had wide industry participation there by giving an exposure to its students on the latest technology and trends in the world.

2009

Lateral movement was further extended to the students of diploma in electronics engineering directly to B.Tech after successfully clearing the lateral entry test and doing short term bridge courses in order to be at par with the B.Tech students.

2010

National workshop GARTEX-2010 was organised by Department of Textile Designing and Department of Garment Technology on the latest trends in the field of textile designing and garment technology.

2012 & Beyond

A new 3-year diploma programme in Architecture Assistantship was started in 2012 which also offered lateral shift to B.Tech. Further new courses on Vocational diploma in Automobile and Information Technology were started. These programmes also have an option of lateral movement to higher degree programmes.

Open & Distance Learning Mode

DEI had ventured into open and distance learning (ODL) since 2004 and to extend its women empowerment drive beyond its campus commenced offering the courses of Women’s Polytechnic as well in ODL mode. Further to have greater flexibility the concept of modularisation of courses was envisioned and in 2014 the courses of Women’s Polytechnic were converted into 9 week modular courses offering flexibility of completing modules there by earning course credits and upon completion of required modules and credits for a certificate/diploma the students are granted an appropriate certificate/diploma.

First Staff of Women's Polytechnic

Community Outreach

In 2014 in the tribal belt of Harda district in MP in village Rajaborari, with a vision to set up REZ (Rural Economic Zone), the Women’s Polytechnic moved forward in setting up of ADyNaM (Agriculture & Dairy Nano Processing of Multi Products) and ATMA (Apparel & Toy Making Association). These efforts were made in order to train the women from the weaker section with various skills which generate self confidence in them and make them self-sufficient to earn a sustainable livelihood.

Management, Coordinators and Staff of Women's Polytechnic

Placements

Students of different programmes of Women’s Polytechnic are widely placed in the industry because of the unique industry aligned curriculum which has a perfect blend of theory and practical courses. Apart from this the students have an edge over the rest due the core courses that each of our student mandatorily takes during the course of study at DEI. Apart from being placed in the industry, we have good number of students turned entrepreneurs doing very well in their domains of expertise.