- Home
- Sustainability & Commitment
- Hyderabad Vocational School
Hyderabad Vocational School
Sound Knowledge for a future employment in the agriculture industry
Not all young people enter the world of work with the same starting qualifications. And in some cases, protection from child labor unfortunately also comes too late. Part of the “Learning for Life” concept of Bayer CropScience is to help disadvantaged or underprivileged youngsters in rural areas with sound vocational training for future employment in the agriculture industry. To this end, at the beginning of 2008, the company established a special vocational school together with Indian non-governmental organization Vignana Jyothi as part of the Bayer CropScience Child Care Program near Hyderabad, the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Preferential status for enrollment is given to young people who have worked as child laborers in the past.
Practical preparation for a professional career
The NGO Vignana Jyothi provides the infrastructure, hires the teaching staff and handles the daily operation of the school. Bayer CropScience supports the facility financially and promotes the further development of the curriculum through its agricultural expertise, for example through guest presentations. Between 2008 and January 2010, two one-year courses were financed by Bayer CropScience to provide approximately 30 young people in each course with practical training for a professional career in the agricultural industry. The training and board for the students are free of charge, and after completing the program they receive assistance in their job search. The goal of instruction at the school is to provide the students with knowledge and skills that will later enable them to earn a living with a regular job in this sector. Training focuses on seed production techniques and the principles of integrated crop protection. The content of the curriculum so far has been taught in three trimesters and covers basic subjects as well. For example, an introduction to agriculture is provided, and plant diseases and their appearance in the fields are tackled. A knowledge base in business administration including agricultural marketing is part of the curriculum, as are communication and enhanced awareness for teamwork. The objective of vocational training at the Bayer-Raimanaidu Vignana Jyothi (Bayer-RVJ) School of Agriculture is for graduates of the school to be directly hired by companies active in the agriculture sector. 19 of the 27 graduates from the 2008 class received job offers prior to graduation. Of the 17 graduates from the 2009 class, all have found employment, with 12 of them working at Bayer BioScience in Hyderabad.
Trained professionals at the grass roots level
Two years after the project was launched, the results have been consistently positive. “The skills taught at our facility are very useful in the rapidly evolving environment of modern agriculture. There is high demand for experts with training at the grass roots level, and the graduates of the Bayer Ramanaidu Vignana Jyothi School fit this requirement profile very well. The one-year course in basic knowledge of modern agriculture does not just provide disadvantaged young people with the opportunity to attain a means of existence, it also gives many career opportunities,” said Jens Hartman, Senior Bayer Representative for India and Head of Bayer CropScience South Asia, at the graduation ceremony for the second class on February 4, 2009. He considers the course to be an excellent value-adding contribution to Indian agriculture and its seed industry.
Beginning with the 2010 school year, the results of two years of practical experience will be used to further optimize the curriculum: “We have decided to turn the one-year course into a half-year intensive course,” says the school’s director Dr. D.N. Rao. “This will enable us to give training opportunities to twice as many young people, namely 60 rather than 30 per year,” adds Dr. Uwe Brekau, who is responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility at Bayer Cropscience. “The curriculum will be taken from the previous one-year course in a more streamlined and practice-oriented form.”
Said Kancharla Kavya, a student from the 2009 class of the Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture, at the graduation ceremony on February 4, 2010: “This is a tremendous opportunity for me. The course is very practice-oriented and I have already received several job offers.”
Students with dignitaries at the Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture 2nd convocation ceremony
4. Feb 2010 in Medak, Andhra Pradesh: Dignitaries in 2nd row from L to R : Dr. Arjun Rao, Director, Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture, Ms. Krishna Narayan, Manager Special Projects, Bayer BioScience, Ms. UVL Ananda, Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Bayer CopScience India, Mr. Christian Hartel, Corporate Policy and Media Relations, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Dr. D N Rao, General Secretary, Vignana Jyothi, Mr. Suhas R Joshi, Head, Child Care Programme, Mr. C V Rao, Chief Administrator, Vignana Jyothi, and Dr. Kode Satyanarayan, Chairman, Advisory Committee, Bayer- RVJ School of Agriculture.
 |
|
After signing the memorandum of understanding: Prof. Dr. h.c. Friedrich Berschauer (l.) and Dr. D. N. Rao, General Secretary of Vignana Jyothi. |
|
The first graduating class of the Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture receiving course completion certificates. |
| |
The NGO Vignana Jyothi provides the infrastructure, hires the teaching staff and handles the daily operation of the school. Bayer CropScience supports the facility financially and promotes the further development of the curriculum through its agricultural expertise, for example through guest presentations. Between 2008 and January 2010, two one-year courses were financed by Bayer CropScience to provide approximately 30 young people in each course with practical training for a professional career in the agricultural industry. The training and board for the students are free of charge, and after completing the program they receive assistance in their job search. The goal of instruction at the school is to provide the students with knowledge and skills that will later enable them to earn a living with a regular job in this sector. Training focuses on seed production techniques and the principles of integrated crop protection. The content of the curriculum so far has been taught in three trimesters and covers basic subjects as well. For example, an introduction to agriculture is provided, and plant diseases and their appearance in the fields are tackled. A knowledge base in business administration including agricultural marketing is part of the curriculum, as are communication and enhanced awareness for teamwork. The objective of vocational training at the Bayer-Raimanaidu Vignana Jyothi (Bayer-RVJ) School of Agriculture is for graduates of the school to be directly hired by companies active in the agriculture sector. 19 of the 27 graduates from the 2008 class received job offers prior to graduation. Of the 17 graduates from the 2009 class, all have found employment, with 12 of them working at Bayer BioScience in Hyderabad.
|
Presenting a new schoolbook on seed technology: f.l.t.r.: Giddaluri Pakireddy (book author); Dr. K.N.Rao, Director of the RVJ-Bayer School of Agricultur; Satyajeet Subramanian, Manager-Projects Child Care Program; Dr. Uwe Brekau, Global CSR Manager Bayer CropScience. |
Two years after the project was launched, the results have been consistently positive. “The skills taught at our facility are very useful in the rapidly evolving environment of modern agriculture. There is high demand for experts with training at the grass roots level, and the graduates of the Bayer Ramanaidu Vignana Jyothi School fit this requirement profile very well. The one-year course in basic knowledge of modern agriculture does not just provide disadvantaged young people with the opportunity to attain a means of existence, it also gives many career opportunities,” said Jens Hartman, Senior Bayer Representative for India and Head of Bayer CropScience South Asia, at the graduation ceremony for the second class on February 4, 2009. He considers the course to be an excellent value-adding contribution to Indian agriculture and its seed industry.
Beginning with the 2010 school year, the results of two years of practical experience will be used to further optimize the curriculum: “We have decided to turn the one-year course into a half-year intensive course,” says the school’s director Dr. D.N. Rao. “This will enable us to give training opportunities to twice as many young people, namely 60 rather than 30 per year,” adds Dr. Uwe Brekau, who is responsible for Corporate Social Responsibility at Bayer Cropscience. “The curriculum will be taken from the previous one-year course in a more streamlined and practice-oriented form.”
Said Kancharla Kavya, a student from the 2009 class of the Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture, at the graduation ceremony on February 4, 2010: “This is a tremendous opportunity for me. The course is very practice-oriented and I have already received several job offers.”
Students with dignitaries at the Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture 2nd convocation ceremony
4. Feb 2010 in Medak, Andhra Pradesh: Dignitaries in 2nd row from L to R : Dr. Arjun Rao, Director, Bayer-RVJ School of Agriculture, Ms. Krishna Narayan, Manager Special Projects, Bayer BioScience, Ms. UVL Ananda, Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Bayer CopScience India, Mr. Christian Hartel, Corporate Policy and Media Relations, Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Dr. D N Rao, General Secretary, Vignana Jyothi, Mr. Suhas R Joshi, Head, Child Care Programme, Mr. C V Rao, Chief Administrator, Vignana Jyothi, and Dr. Kode Satyanarayan, Chairman, Advisory Committee, Bayer- RVJ School of Agriculture.
[ last update: Friday, March 12, 2010 ]
