Opportunity knocks but once, goes the popular aphorism. But as far as education goes, with the availability of adult and continuing education, now it will knock repeatedly.

“This offers a chance to anyone who has discontinued his education, to return to the books, and for an employed person to update his or her skills,” says Ashok Bhattacharya, head of the department of adult and continuing education in Jadavpur University.

In 1982, the UGC issued guidelines to all Indian universities to develop adult and continuing education centres for the benefit of the community.

Among the centres that offer adult and continuing education courses in West Bengal is Jadavpur University, which started this section in 1986.

The department offers a medley of courses ranging from mass communication and psychological counselling to instrumentation and chemical analysis and software engineering and business management. “Our placement record is very good,” says Bhattacharya.

Iqbal Pervez is doing a postgraduate diploma in mass communication to test the waters before taking the final plunge into the media. He came to India after doing his bachelors in constitutional law from Bangladesh.

Iqbal believes that the mass communication course at Jadavpur University is good. “The essence of an adult and continuing education course is to provide service to the community. It also improves the employment scenario, especially in the rural areas,” he adds.

Some of the courses have a regional bent, have practical application and offer good employment potential. Burdwan University, for example, offers certificate courses in mother and childcare and family welfare and yoga therapy.

“We also offer postgraduate courses in special education and population education,” says Bipodtaran Ghosh, head of the department of adult, continuing education and extension. “We are affiliated to the Rehabilitation Council of India and have tied up with a mental health institute to provide hands-on training to our students,” he claims. They can take in 25 students for this course.

At present, there are 250 students at Burdwan University. “We also have communicative language courses and run a blood donors’ motivation programme,” says Ghosh.

However, all professional courses are not exclusively regional in character and the department of adult education in Burdwan University also has students from Africa. Some of them are technical courses like the postgraduate diploma training in medical laboratory technology, claims Ghosh.

There are 23 professional courses on offer at Kalyani University. Explains Ratneshwar Bhattacharya, director of the adult and continuing education department at Kalyani University, “We have an yearly intake of almost 450 students in our department and many students who attend our programmes go on to establish business ventures after the courses here.” Indeed, the flexibility of these professional courses is what makes them popular with students and professionals alike.

Evening courses provide individuals an opportunity to work and study at the same time.

Besides, many professional courses have also helped in the growth of literacy programmes and in providing essential job skills to the unemployed.

“Adult education is a potent force in the fight against poverty and all 72 universities in the country that offer these courses should bear this in mind,” says Bhattacharya of Kalyani University.

He believes that private colleges can also come up with small professional courses for the development of ancillary industries to help the economic progress of a state.

The byword for any professional course is its relevance, adds Ashok Bhattacharya of Jadavpur University. “Professional training can be the gateway to a job or a better position than your existing one,” he says. A sound academic background is important.

“For me, attending this course is a stepping stone towards entering the job market. I would also say that no matter what job experience one has, a good academic background always helps in preparing oneself for the world ahead,” summarises Swagata Pal, a postgraduate diploma student of mass communication at Jadavpur University.