Grad tidings: Choices galore after junior college

Till a decade back, all that was available to a person passing his or her Std XII or HSC was to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in traditional courses in various colleges. However, recent times have created ample opportunities for those looking for options other than the degree college courses.

In these times of stiff competition where every mark counts in securing a seat at a premier college in the city, students who do not make the grade or not interested in degree courses have lots going for them. There are several choices in open universities, distance education courses, various vocational diploma courses, etc, which offer a plethora of interesting subjects leading to career pursuits.

According to TA Shiware, principal of Hinduja College, around 60% of seats in “vanilla” courses such as BCom, BSc or BA are taken up by students from in-house quota. “Even if the HSC scores are lower, an in-house student is given the first choice. Therefore, if a student has passed out from a junior college which has degree college attached to it, they should continue in the same college,” he said.

Another option for students who are unable to get through in college admissions or those who are planning to take up a job is to take up distance education programmes offered by the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) affiliated to University of Mumbai.

D Harichandan, the director of the institute, said, “Our admissions begin in July irrespective of the degree college admissions’ schedule. There are several options available for students intending to take up distance education courses. Apart from the usual BA, BCom and BSc, IDOL also offers BSc in Computer Science and BSc in Nautical Technology. Students who have some prior experience in the shipping industry can go for nautical technology.” He further added that the minimum requirement for all these courses is to have a passing certificate of HSC or an equivalent exam from any recognised board across the country.

The Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) also offers one-year diploma after HSC for students who will then be eligible for direct admission to the second year of BSc degree courses in various colleges. “Some of the courses on offer are diploma in information technology, computer technology, computer science, computer engineering; electrical, electronics and video engineering and its allied branches,” said Tanvi Shastri, a career counsellor based in Dadar.

There are options galore even for those who have failed in their HSC exam and do not wish to appear again. They can go for an entrance exam called Bachelors of Preparatory Programme (BPP) offered by Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) or SNDT University, and then complete their degree courses from the same universities through correspondence.