VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

A case study of work based learning

among the small tea growers
in Doomdooma region of Tinsukia District of Assam

Submitted by:

Deepika Dutta Saikia

Lecturer, Department of Economics
Duliajan Girls College, Dibrugarh, Assam

&

Utpola Bhaskar
Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
J B College, Jorhat

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 1 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
 ABSTRACT

The pre-eminence of knowledge and skills as a source of wealth creation and

economic growth is one of the major issues in business in the beginning of the
twenty first century. As a result, Human Resource Development has been
propelled into a central role in management thinking; but this has not always been
reflected in practice, since many of the methodologies for monitoring and
assessment continue to reflect the previous importance of fixed capital, the
industrial society and quantity of labour employed. The concept of cultivation of
Tea in small scale was conceived during the eighties of last millennium and soon
it emerged as one of the most profitable agro-based ventures. It has not only
resulted in increasing employment opportunities in rural areas but also produced
rural entrepreneurs who encompass the potential to change the entire socio-
economic scenario of rural Assam. It is the need of the hour to deliver vocational
training to small Tea Growers as part of higher education to make them skilled to
undertake an ever more complex role for boosting up the rural economy. This
paper will explore the concept of introduction of vocational training course in
higher education aiming these petty entrepreneurs of rural Assam to reap the soft
benefits of education by creating an open environment that allows informal
learning to flourish.

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 2 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 3 of 11 Deepika Dutta
Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
 INTRODUCTION

The pre eminence of knowledge and skill as the sources of wealth creation and economic
growth is one of the major issues in business at the beginning of the 21 st century. As a
result, Human Resource Development has been propelled into a into a central role in
management thinking. However these has not always been reflected in real practice., since
many of the methodologies for monitoring and assessment continued to reflect the
previous importance of fixed capital, the industrial society and the quantity of labour
employed. At present, at national level, the post secondary vocational education and
vocational education for the out of school population are being looked after by many
organizations under different ministries like Agriculture, Health, Rural Development,
Human Resource Development etc. without having proper co-ordination and linkages.
Vocational programs cover a wide range of discipline which include Agriculture,
Business and Commerce, Engineering and Technology, Health and Para medical services,
Home Science, Humanities and others. At State level, the system is fragmented and
inadequate. A few states have a full time directorate, the others have a middle level
official looking after the vocationalization program in addition to his other
responsibilities. No mechanism is available to co ordinate the programs at district levels
and to undertake activities like District Level Need Service for identification of
manpower requirements, for developing need based vocational course etc. In addition,
provision made for activities like curriculum design, resource material preparation,
training of vocational teachers etc. are inadequate considering the massive nature of the
task.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

Our country has developed over the years, a network of vocational schools vocational
institutions and polytechnics, but the present vocational institutions are not able to cater
the large number of students after 8+ and 10+ stage. Again there is the slow progress of
vocationalization of secondary education due to lack of opportunities for vocational pass
outs for their professional growth and carrier advancement. Hence, suitable strategies are
to be evolved for providing opportunities for the vocational products to enter appropriate
Tertiary Level Programme. Such programme could include diploma, special degree
courses, general degree courses, professional degree courses etc.

Small Tea Cultivation has become extremely popular in recent years. The beneficiaries of
this new venture are small and marginal farmers, the unemployed and under employed

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 1 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
youths and weaker section of our rural Assam. The educated unemployed and under
employed youths are attracted to this profession by design rather than default probably
due to the status and fancy associated with this enterprise. These new entrepreneurs have
defied the vagaries of nature and other difficulties and have brought vast stretches of
vacant land under Tea cultivation.

However in many cases, such venture may not be a profitable one, if the limited land area
is not properly utilized by the growers. In this respect scientific cultivation of Tea and
other cash crops like Areca nut, Orange, Betel vine, pepper etc, is a necessary condition,
the knowledge of which can be imparted to the growers through vocational educational
and training. As educated unemployed and under employed youths are sincerely engaged
in this sector, it is important to include some vocational training program and unemployed
and under employed youths are course in the curriculum of higher education, which
should be a special degree course for the 12th pass outs. Therefore this paper attempts to
explore the idea of vocationalization of higher education on Tea Technology in general
degree courses keeping in mind the following objectives.

PRESENT SCENERIO

Tea growers with a holding size upto 10.12 Ha are categorized as Small Tea Growers by
the Tea Board of India and Small Tea Growers Advisory Program {STAP); while the
government of Assam considers farmers with a holding size of less than 4.0Ha as Small
Tea Growers (Gogoi, 1991).

So far as the published records are concerned, the first commercial Tea plantation in a
small plot of land was started in Golaghat District in Assam in 1978 ( S. Bora, 2000.
Asomor Khudra Chah Kheti: Ek Samajbadi Biplob, Souvenir of AASTWA). The boom in
the Tea industry in the late 90’s of the last century encouraged the Small Tea Growers of
Assam. As a result, there was a large extension of area under small Tea gardens especially
in Upper Assam. Barua & Taparia (2004) revealed that in 1990, there were 657 growers
in Assam, which increased to 38,393 in the year 2003, showing a 58.43 fold increase
during that period.

The growth of Small Tea Growers in Assam has been monitored by the Tea Board
sponsored scheme, The Small Tea Growers Advisory Program and Department of Tea
Husbandry and Technology (THT), AAU, Jorhat which has registered a few number of
small Tea growers in Assam. As per the latest data available, the total number of growers
registered at STAP, AAU and THT, AAU upto April, 2010 is 12,465.

Although only a few Small Tea Growers are registered with Assam Agriculture
University and Tea Board of India, over 76,641 have registered with the All Assam Small
Tea Growers Association (AASTGA), an apex body of small Tea growers of the state
(Latest official estimation of DIC upto February, 2010). Today, as claimed by the
Association of small Tea growers, besides giving self employment to a large number of
people of rural Assam more than _______ labourers are getting engagement in different

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 2 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
small Tea gardens. This movement is set to occupy a place of pride in the socio economic
scenario of the states of North East in general and Assam in particular. This highly
unorganized sector produces approximately __________ which is almost _______ of the
total production of the country. It is also estimated that at the present rate of production,
the small scale will contribute 22% to 25% of the total production of Tea in Assam.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To study the educational attainment level of small tea growers

2. To study the level of exposure of the small tea growers to vocational training on
scientific Tea cultivation methods.

3. To suggest few suitable measures to disseminate technical know how for the small
Tea growers at tertiary level.

METHODOLOGY

A. Selection of Study Area

The study is conducted among 100 Small Tea Growers of Doomdooma region of Tinsukia
district of Assam where Small Tea Growers are highly concentrated and agro climatic
condition of the area is highly suitable for Small Tea cultivation.

B. Sampling Procedure

The farmers are selected randomly and divided into 5 groups based on area under Tea.
There are 1000 small tea growers who are registered under AASTWA in Doomdooma
region (Report from AASTWA, Doomdooma Regional committee), and a sample of 10%
of the total registered Small Tea Growers are selected for detail study. Accordingly 100
Small Tea Growers are interviewed personally. The required data are collected by survey
method with the help of a specially designed schedule.

The selected farmers are categorized into 5 groups as Small Tea farms having area uptp
1.00Ha (Group I), 1.01 Ha – 2.00 Ha (Group II), 2.01Ha – 3.00 Ha (Group III), 3.01 Ha –
4.00 Ha (Group IV) and 4.01 Ha and above (Group V). The allocation of sample has been
done proportionate to the size of the structure.

C. Sources and Nature of the Data

For the purpose of the study, both the Primary and Secondary data have been collected by
using a pre tested questionnaire by personally interviewing the respondants

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 3 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
Secondary data have been collected from the ALL Assam Small Tea Growers
Associastion (AASTWA), Small Tea Growers Advisory program (STAP), AAU, Director
of Tea, Assam, Udyog Bhawan., different published journals and articles.

D. Tools Of Analysis

The data collected are tabulated and analyzed in terms of the objectives of the study

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The data collected for study are analyzed with reference to the objectives set and the
major findings of the study can me summed up as follows :

a. The base line survey record as given in Table I highlights that District Industries
Centre(DIC) has completed its survey in 14 districts of Assam as on 11-02-2010.
According to the report as on 11-02-2010 the growth of Tea cultivation is highest
in five districts of Assam viz. Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Golaghat and Jorhat
which account for 90% of total small Tea growers and the rest 10% growers are
spread over the remaining 16 districts of Assam. Out of the five concentrated
districts, Dibrugarh district ranks first with 19,083 growers followed by Tinsukia
district with 18,599 growers and together they account for 50% of total Small Tea
Growers of Assam. This base line survey by DIC (which is a district level
monitoring committee of Govt. of Assam) with District Commissioner as
chairman, have also completed the task of land record verification, data entry
completion and have put some remarks against the actual Tea growers of
respective districts as shown in Table I.

b. Table II reveals that the total area under Tea cultivation by the sample Tea
growers is 399.00 Ha. The number of sample Tea growers is highest in Group II.
There are 25 cultivators in this group who have 35.88 Ha of land under Tea
cultivation, which is 8.99% of total land holding under study. The average size of
holding for this size group is 1.44 Ha and the average size of holding for entire
sample is 3.99 Ha.

c. As shown in Table III the maximum number of sample Tea growers are in the age
group of 30 to 40 years (36 nos i.e. 36%). Hence 30 to 40 years age group can be
considered as the major working group among all the age groups.

d. Data analysis in Table IV on educational profile of the sample Tea growers show
that among the 100 sample growers, 47% of them are below HSLC level. There
are 53% of total farmers who are qualified and highly responsive in adopting
scientific method of Tea cultivation. There are also technical graduates like
BSc(Agri), BE, MA and MBA who are sincerely involved in this venture.

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 4 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
 e. Tabulated data in Table V shows that out of 100 sample Tea growers, 49 farmers
have no formal training in scientific method of Tea cultivation. Although
percentage of area under Tea and average size of holding (Ha) of sample Tea
growers are highest in Group V, yet the number of farmers getting training is only
six. (25%). In this group, 75% farmers are not having any formal training offered
by any organization, institution, government or by any NGO.

f. Analysis of data in Table VI reveals that out of 100 sample Tea growers, only 10
farmers have attended formal training program of seven days and above duration
organized by competent organization like STAP, TES and TRA. Tea growers
having highest Ha of area under Tea are found to be absent from 1 day, 3 days and
5 days training programs. Tea growers from Group I and Group II

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIVE MEASURES

The Tea industry in India plays an important role in the nation’s economy through its
exports and foreign exchange earning. India’s dominance as the world’s principal
producer and exporter of Tea is gradually being deteriorated due to the slothful
production growth and mounting internal demand for Tea due to fast growing
population. Thus, there is no alternative but to increase the total production of Tea to
meet the demand of domestic as well as international market. Increase in productivity
per unit area and extension of areas in traditional or non traditional belts increase the
importance of the sample Tea growing sector.

India’s North East region is witnessing an agricultural revolution with the emergence
of thousands of small Tea growers during early eighties. The initial myth that Tea
could be grown on large scale only was blown away and the large number of farmers
from rural and backward areas of North East found it to be a rewarding enterprise. It
has resulted in increasing not only the employment opportunities in rural areas but
also produced rural entrepreneurs who have the ability to change the entire socio
economic structure of North East India and more specifically the rural Assam.

Small scale Tea cultivation has become a significant trend in Assam. Today, Tea
cultivation in Assam is no longer a rich man’s prerogative. It has become a peasant’s
crop with the common farmers who are mostly from the rural areas of the state,
growing Tea in every inch of their land as is common in Srilanka and Kenya. Among
all the North East states, Assam is the leading producer of Tea which accounts for
nearly 53% of all India production. The share of small Tea grower to the state’s total
production is 20 to 25 percent.

Considering the importance of small Tea growers in state as well as nation’s economy
the following suggestions can be made :

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 5 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
 i) Extensive strategies need to be taken up to educate the small Tea growers
about the scientific method of Tea cultivation, which will help them in raising
productivity with proper allocation of available resources.

ii) Sincere and immediate steps should be initiated by the government to include
vocational course on Tea technology and husbandry as special subject in
general Degree Course. In the course curriculum, the following can be
incorporated so as to vocationally train the educated youths in addition to their
academic knowledge, which will provide them an opportunity to engage
themselves in Tea sector and thereby facilitate self employment :

 Vocational education and training on crop diversification : Vocational

education should be imparted to the youths regarding the concept of crop
diversification which would include mix cropping of Tea with Areca nut,
pepper, orange, betel vine, ghost chilli(Bhut Jolokia), capsicum, ladies
finger, bean etc. Again from economic point of view, lemon plantation and
rubber plantation can be used by the growers as boundary fencing of their
gardens. Vocational training and demonstration should be organized on
scientific, economic and viable methods of multi cropping. The crop
diversification can help the growers in fair price realization of green leaf
and higher revenue from both Tea and other crops.

 Vocational education on product diversification and value addition :

Now a days various types of Blended Tea like Ginger Tea, Bay leaf Tea,
Pepper Tea, Hibiscus Tea, Green Tea, White Tea, Organic Tea Ollong Tea,
Herbal Tea etc, are found popular in domestic and international markets.
Interestingly, the herbs and plants used for value addition are commonly
available throughout the rural Assam. Now vocational education in Degree
level on technologies for product diversification and value addition will
create a new and improvised breed of technicians and entrepreneurs in
Assam, who would be energized with ample potential in trade
diversification and thereby promote the Tea trade into a new height.

In fact, value addition concept has already been initiated in Assam in a

most un-organized way, an example of which may be mentioned here
about the enthusiastic effort of Mr. Rajib Singphou of Margherita. Mr.
Singhphou through his enterprise - Singphou Agro Product Private Ltd. is
producing Herbal Tea under the brand name Salap and exporting the same
to Japan and Canada. His products are in the form of Tea coins, packed in
Bamboo Chunga . Each Tea coin weighs 2gms and is sufficient for four
cups of Tea. The price realization for each Kg. of Tea Coin was Rs.
1000.00 in 2009.

 Vocational education on product marketing : Most of the small Tea

growers are ignorant about the marketing and related matters of green leaf
and made Tea. Special training on marketing of Tea in the Degree level as

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 6 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar
 part of vocational education will not only create some new entrepreneurs
for whom a wide field is waiting unexplored, but also may put a break to
the year long exploitation of small Tea growers by Giant Tea factories and
intermediaries.

 Vocational education on allied services : With increase in numbers of

small tea growers and thereby increasing area under tea production, allied
services and facilities like cultivation of proposed field and plantation,
uprooting of old plants, supply of appropriate fertilizers, weedicides,
pesticides, tools and equipments etc. are going to occupy a considerable
market segment in this sector. Systematic vocational training on these
areas may open a new horizon of business opportunity for educated
unemployed and under employed youths of the state.

Some indirect positive effects are also visualized from the proposed introduction of
vocational education and training in higher education, which are summarized as follows :

o Likely to disseminate knowledge and create awareness among the rural

entrepreneurs about the usefulness of the formation of co-operatives,
establishment of Tea Factories on co-operative basis or under private ownership.
o Ensuring improved quality green leaf plant which would be fine and uniform.

o Refining the existing technique and in adapting new technique to suit the firm
environment

o Disseminating knowledge on market intelligence

o Reduction in all the components of inefficiencies in Tea production

Vocational Training In Higher Education Page 7 of 11 Deepika Dutta

Saikia
Utpola Bhaskar