Work order: Colleges in turmoil over new internship mandate

MUMBAI: Until a year ago, Sujata Kini imagined herself stepping into her father’s logistics business. But everything changed after a voluntary, two-month internship arranged by her college. Today, as a trainee product manager in a private insurance company, she’s never been more certain of the career path she’s chosen.

Like Sujata, thousands of undergraduate college students will soon benefit from internships, a programme that will be enforced from the upcoming academic year starting in May. Also called On-Job Training (OJT), these internships are mandated under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 currently being rolled out by the Maharashtra government.

Industry exposure, the government reasons, is crucial for students to make sharper, more informed career choices. And it’s right. There’s just one catch: the numbers don’t add up.

Under the policy, students will be required to complete 120 hours of OJT to earn four credits, a prerequisite to obtaining their degree. This applies to students in all disciplines, including the traditional Arts, Science and Commerce faculties, as well as professional courses such as engineering, information technology, mass media, management studies, banking and finance, banking and insurance, among others. The OJT internship must be taken during the second and third year undergraduate programme.

From the upcoming academic year, more than 900 colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai will have to enrol their students for these internships – that’s a staggering 75,000 students.

Each college must establish an OJT cell, and the placements they arrange must offer students a wide range of experiences, such as industrial training, academic and industry research projects, entrepreneurship, seminars, community engagement, and collaborations with government agencies, MSMEs and NGOs.

Demand outstrips opportunities

With the May 1 deadline looming, HT spoke to several Mumbai colleges, which believe real-world training makes course work relatable but they all said the sheer number of students involved makes securing OJT placements a colossal challenge.

Some colleges pointed out that companies, non-profits, start-ups etc have no obligation to take in interns. While many don’t oblige, others are willing to accept only a few at a time, for short periods. “Many companies do not have the resources and bandwidth to train interns, monitor their performance and evaluate their progress,” said an OJT officer liaising with industry for voluntary internships for a few years.

St Xavier’s College, which expects around 1,300 students to participate in its summer OJT programme, has adopted an interesting approach to widening its network of industry partnerships. Radhika Tendulkar, coordinator of the college’s placement cell, says, “We are engaging with parents and government sectors to expand our reach. We have organised meetings with parents and appealed to them to assist in securing OJT opportunities, considering many of them work in large organisations or run their own businesses.”

Similarly, Pooja Ramchandani, Principal of HR College of Commerce, part of HSNC University (a cluster of four colleges), says her college has an interesting workaround. “Many commerce students are also enrolled in chartered accountancy programmes, where they undergo articleship under ICAI guidelines. The university is currently evaluating whether this articleship can count towards the OJT requirement,” said Ramchandani.

A professor from a Kandivali-based college said, “Until now, internships were mandatory only for professional courses such as BSc IT and BMS but now all students have to be placed. Companies partnering with us for years are willing to take a few more interns, but that’s far from sufficient. This year, we have been able to arrange only 36 internships out of 58 students. Other courses are facing a similar challenge.”

Non-professional courses

While professional courses have more options for OJT placements, students from traditional disciplines such as history and the pure sciences have to improvise. Radhika Tendulkar, from St Xavier’s College, revealed, “History students are approaching museums and tourism companies for placements, while science students are interning with research institutes where they gain hands-on experience with advanced instruments.”

The NEP also allows field visits as a substitute for OJT. To this end, Mumbai University is organising workshops and training programmes. Professor Ravindra Kulkarni, the university’s vice-chancellor explained, “The nano science department has state-of-the-art equipment. We are designing skill-based workshops to help students gain practical experience handling these instruments. For students from the Pali Department, we are arranging field visits to Buddhist heritage sites, to facilitate experiential learning.”

Students studying psychology are approaching hospitals for OJT, while others are turning to NGOs for hands-on experience. Madhav Rajwade, principal of Sathaye College, added, “We are allowing students to work with NGOs of their choice, giving them both practical exposure and social awareness.”

Govt, university must step in

Colleges believe the government or university must help with industry partnerships. Asked to comment on this, Shailendra Deolankar, director of higher education, Maharashtra, pointed to a government initiative titled ‘Government Internships’, which aligns with the mandatory OJT clause under NEP 2020. He said the department is currently talking to other states that have successfully implemented government internship programmes.

While Deolankar couldn’t be more specific, university vice-chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni said the university has signed 15 MoUs with various government, semi-government and private industries for OJT internships, while an MoU with the Central Apprenticeship Council (CAC) is underway.

Sources in the education department said the Government of Maharashtra is also in talks with industry bodies for internships and will instruct the district collectors to assist colleges in providing OJT in government offices and industries in their jurisdiction.

Another way to narrow the gap between demand and supply for internships is to expand the scope of the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS), to include undergraduate students and increase the number of participating companies, said Sumit Kumar, chief strategy officer at TeamLease Degree Apprenticeships, a private agency that places students for internships. “The programme is currently limited to graduate students and 500 companies,” he pointed out.

Some educators believe this is not enough. Aanad Mapuskar, former member of the statute committee of the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016, underscored the need for legal backing for OJT internships. “A dedicated law similar to the Apprenticeship Act must be introduced. Without such legislation, execution will be challenging. A law mandating industries to hire interns at a certain percentage would not only provide structured opportunities but also ensure a safe and secure working environment for students,” he said.

While studying law at Vivekanand Education Society’s Law College, I interned with a lawyer through the college’s internship cell. I learnt vital skills and also gained valuable insights into property law, which is now my strength. I am now working with a law firm.

I interned with a fashion e-commerce portal, and it taught me to apply my software knowledge in real-world scenarios and to tackle challenges at the workplace. Since it was a paid internship, I plan to continue working there after I graduate!

We visited several industries to promote OJT and found that most were unaware of it. Despite reaching out to 18 organisations, we managed to secure only 17 opportunities from five companies.