Department of Higher Education, Haryana

Over the years, the Government of Haryana has put forward great efforts for encouraging youngsters to start a business instead of seeking jobs. One such successful effort introduced by the Department of Higher Education (DHE) was opening Startup incubators across Haryana starting the year 2017. As of today, there are startup incubators located in 5 districts like Panchkula, Karnal, Hisar, Faridabad and Gurugram catering to over 100,000 students of government colleges and in 07 State Universities. Achievements, Impact & outcome These incubators have catalyzed the students at grassroot level, creating 150 startups in sectors like craft, FMCG, retail, technology and agriculture, employing over 500 people, positively impacting their livelihood. Our initiative has been able to create a positive impact by bringing women to mainstream. Over 60% of the founders who run the startups incubated by us are women. Strategies Adopted: The operating strategy followed by our startup incubators starts with entrepreneurship awareness thereafter incubating filtered applicants. Their startups are accelerated with mentorship, market launch and financing support among others for free. Challenges, sustainability & scalability: From encouraging students to be self-reliant to creating the engine of incubation, acceleration and mentorship, we have come a long way.

• eKarma, an initiative to promote entrepreneurship and to provide freelancing/self-employment/employment opportunity to the youth of Haryana

Ekarma is a unique initiative of Department of Higher Education, Haryana to promote Freelancing/self-Employment/Employment in the state. Under this Project, Department of Higher Education along with the collaboration with Private Industry Partner is providing 4-6 Months of Free training to 3000 candidates every year on high end technologies like PHP, Wordpress, Joomla, Full Stack Development, UI/UX Design, Digital Marketing, Data annotation for Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning and assisting them in earning from internet based freelancing Portals or through employment. The Project is aimed to create earning opportunities for the youth through freelancing opportunities which allows them to work from anywhere and anytime and thus creating an ecosystem where people from rural or remote area can also become the earning member of our society. Strategies adopted:To implement this program, Department has shortlisted 5 Govt Colleges in pilot phase where training is being imparting by the Private Industry Partner. The program is scalable and can be implemented in all the districts of Haryana.

"Har-Chhatravratti" (https://harchhatravratti.highereduhry.ac.in) is web based centralized portal for Post Matric Scholarship to SC/BC that provides one stop solution for end-to-end scholarship process right from submission of application, verification, disbursal to end beneficiary. Innovative Aspect:  Integration with State flagship program i.e Parivar-Pehchaan-Patra.  Common platform for all scholarship.  One Time registration for all scholarships.  Auto-populated data from PPP.  Data sharing with GOI through API. Strategies adopted in implementation:  Simplified Application Process.  Three Layer Verification.  Inhouse Development.  Dedicated Helpline. Exceptional Achievements and Outcomes:  Reduction in Processing Time  Reduction of Duplicate/Invalid Aadhar.  Strengthens PPP data  Increase in Number of beneficiaries.  Statistical Dashboard.  Received Security Audit Certificate from ISMO Haryana Financial implications: No financial cost, developed in-house. Saved huge government exchequer. Challenges faced: To integrate different verification process of five departments namely higher education, technical education, animal husbandry, skill education and medical education. Covering/Verification of students who are studying outside Haryana. Positive Impact: Economical, User Friendly, Efficient, Transparent, Eco-friendly. Scalability: Higher Education is on boarding 8 more scholarship schemes Sustainability: Solution is highly efficient and have been developed with a long term planning.

UG/PG admissions (https://admissions.highereduhry.ac.in): A State of Art Enterprise application was developed and rolled out for admissions of 2.50+ lacs students competing for 329 colleges in 150 courses (1,60,000+ students admitted). Fully online platform i.e. no physical presence of students in colleges. Innovative Aspects: • Auto fetch student’s data from CBSE and other State boards. • Integration with State flagship program i.e. PPP. • Integration with NAD/Digilocker/e-District. • 100% online student verification by Colleges. • Online fee payment. Strategies Adopted: • Integration with PPP/e-District/NAD ease out the form filling. • Hosting on SDC Haryana. • Dedicated Helpline. • Extensive campaigns. Achievements and Outcomes: • Record registrations of students. • Increase in admissions. • System generated seat matrix and merit list leading to transparency. • Statistical Dashboard. • No queues in colleges. • Saving of Paper, Money, Health and Time. Financial Implications: Developed in-house with support of NIC. Saved huge government exchequer. Positive Impact: Economical, User Friendly, Efficient, Transparent, Eco-friendly, Robust and Scalable. Sustainability: Solution is highly efficient and have been developed with a long term planning.

In Haryana approx 1.5 lac students take admission in colleges every year. When new students enter an institution, they come with diverse thoughts, backgrounds and preparations. It is important to help them adjust to the new environment and inculcate in them the ethos of the institution with a sense of larger purpose. Precious little is done by most of the institutions, except for an orientation program lasting a couple of hours. These students are normally unaware of campus/college scenario. In order to ease their transition into college, the department of higher education has introduced a 2 days Orientation Program in all colleges. Through fresher orientation, students meet other students, become familiar with campus services, faculty, rules and regulation. Its purpose is to make the students feel comfortable in their new environment, open them up, set a healthy daily routine, create bonding in the batch as well as between faculty and students, develop awareness, sensitivity and understanding of the self, people around them, society at large, and nature.

Scholarships are offered to all deserving and needy students to encourage them to take up Higher education. This incentive is in conformity with the motto of Higher Education of the State i.e. Access, Equity and Quality. This is being facilitated by:

1. Post Matric Scholarship to the Students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes(i.e. socially challenged sections of our society)
2. Post Matric Scholarship for Welfare of Backward Classes
3. Consolidated Stipend Scheme for the Welfare of Scheduled Caste students pursuing Higher Education in Govt. Colleges of Haryana
4. Providing books free of cost to SC (socially challenged) students of Govt. Colleges
5. Merit Scholarship to Under Graduate Girl Students
6. Haryana state (meritorious incentive scheme) scholarship scheme
7. Haryana state meritorious incentive scheme for students who attain merit position in CBSE annual exams.
8. Stipend Scheme for the Welfare of grand children of Freedom Fighters.
9. State merit scholarship.
10. Scholarship for students belonging to lower income group families (financially challenged).
11. Post Matric Scholarship for students belonging to the Minority Communities
12. Merit-Cum-Means Scholarship for Minority Communities Students.

The State of Haryana has made much progress and carried out development in terms of creating physical infrastructure, industries leading to material progress and raising of the standard of living across the State which has brought spotlight on the State. This is more pronounced in the social conditions of Women who are still relegated to a 2 nd citizen status. Despite considerable level of education, they do not enjoy empowerment lest awareness regarding their own rights/duties and hence do not lead the life of dignity at par with their counterparts in other States and other countries.

Empowerment of Girl students was started in 2005-2006 to empower female students and to bring out the latent talent of the girl students. Under this scheme, women cells have been established in all Govt. Colleges of the state to organize various activities to bring awareness in the students on gender related issues. Approximately, 30000 girls are being benefitted under this scheme.

• Personality development and skill enhancement to bring out latent talent among girls and impart them a minimum level of training in the craft/area of interest and also to conduct specific workshops. Extension lectures ranging from subjects like bringing awareness regarding various laws and regulations, specific Women-related health and hygiene issues, theatre, painting, craft workshops are being organized with the help of well-established experts and renowned artists. Gender Sensitization Programme are undertaken in which male students/teachers are involved.
• Seminar, workshops and extension lectures are being conducted to usher in awareness about various laws and regulations in India and abroad pertaining to female e.g. laws pertaining to dowry, marriage, property rights, sexual harassment, female feticide. For this, eminent scholars and expert are invited to interact and hold discussion with students.
• Another major component of the scheme is to improve and refurbish the Girls Common Rooms in all the Govt. Colleges so as to make the ambience pleasant and healthy

• A survey shall be conducted on College Girls, using Google forms, regarding their Height, Weight and HB to calculate prevalence of Anemia and Low BMI.
• Qualitative Research shall be conducted on Women Empowerment and Social Health Protection through questionnaires regarding Sanitary Napkin Awareness, Uses, Availability, Benefits, Menstrual hygiene and Disorders in Villages of Haryana by Female Students studying in different Government Colleges. Each student will collect data of 10 respondents from the village using Google Form.
• Free nutrition advice will be given to students by famous nutritionist.
• Nutrition and diet awareness campaign will be supervised by medical expert.
• Height, Weight and Age of every student of the college will be taken in the form of google form through which BMI of students will be calculated.
• Female students should be made aware about the importance of realizing the early symptoms, prevention and cure of the hormonal syndromes with the help of gynecologist.
• Training of nodal officers and students medical expert on the PCOS, PCOD, menstrual hygiene, knowledge and awareness regarding HPV screening and vaccination in reproductive age.
• Awareness among students by gynecologist regarding role of exercise and yoga in regulation of menstrual cycle by a Yoga expert.

Scope created for tapping the energy and talent of students through the scheme of “Earn While You Learn” and by encouraging entrepreneurship among them. The scheme was started in the year 2005-06.

• To provide an opportunity for earning while learning so that spirit of work culture and confidence is inculcated in the students. Concurrently, enterprising students would be provided financial support, counseling and a holistic opportunity to learn and plan their careers by awarding individual grants for undertaking a certain kind of study. For this apart from the financial help, a student would be treated as an intern of the State and would be helped extensively by facilitating his/her overall development.

• Laboratories: It will inculcate in them a sense of responsibility towards handling, maintenance and up keep of all the equipment, storage of material and other ancillary tasks in the laboratories. For this the preference shall be given to the students from science streams so that they can perform their duties along with studies/experimentations. This assistance in laboratory will be in regular college hours.
• Library: Library Jobs involving them in maintaining and drawing catalogues, arrangement and display of books, stock verification, tasks related to repair of damage books, issue and return of the books at the counter etc.
• Assistance in the Computer room of the College.
• Assistance in the office work of the college and any other suitable job in the college campus.

• A group of volunteer students will be formed under the supervision of NSS Programme Officer who will be Nodal Officer of this scheme. The group will comprise NSS Volunteers, YRC Students, NCC Cadets and other dedicated and disciplined students. These students shall take care of minimum one person in Old Age Homes, Orphan Age Homes, Open Shelter Homes and Observation Homes. Nodal Officer will prepare the list of such old age and orphan age persons and allot each of them to every voluntary student. Each such student shall visit these Homes minimum twice a week. They shall help in procuring medicines for them and also help in other important work of old age persons or orphans. Students may also be directed to study the challenges of persons living in Old age/orphan age homes and learn from their experiences. A daily report shall be sent to this Directorate through the special Mobile App.

• Libraries are proposed to be started in some villages and all Mahagrams, blocks, sub-divisions and old age & orphanages of Haryana State. A group of volunteer students will be formed to take care of these libraries under the supervision of Youth Red Cross (YRC) Counsellor or NSS Programme Officer. The group will comprise YRC Students, NSS Volunteers and NCC Cadets. Nodal Officer will allot each assigned library to a group of 3 students who shall visit the library for two days each on rotation basis. These students shall take the responsibility to maintain it and send daily report to the Directorate of Higher Education through the special Mobile App.

• About two third population of India is living in villages. There is a need to aware rural people about hygiene and other important schemes of the Government about their welfare. A group of NSS Volunteers, NCC Cadets, YRC members and other volunteer students from rural area will work under the supervision of NSS/NCC officer who will be Nodal Officer the Scheme. Each such student will take care of at least one old age person living in nearby area or village and send daily report to the Directorate of Higher Education through the special APP.

• Selection of volunteer students will be made by a duly constituted committee of the college under the chairmanship of the Principal. Principals shall ensure that the priority has been given to the needy students who are disciplined and dedicated.

For all these jobs students would be paid @ Rs. 100/- per hour (maximum number of six hours to be permitted per week per students i.e. Rs. 600/- per week per student) so that a student can earn up to Rs. 2400/- per month.