So far, only 11 students have applied to join the two Bachelor of Vocational Degree (BVoc) courses that were introduced by Anna University, Tamil Nadu this academic year. Considering this, the university has decided to extend the application deadline till next Tuesday, November 7.

According to R Velraj, Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, the institution is planning to start the course by November 15. "This is the first year we have introduced the course. The admissions also began late due to which the enrollment is less. However, we are planning to start the course soon. Once the students and parents are aware of the plenty of job opportunities for these courses, we will get more admissions in the coming years," he said.

The university had introduced BVoc course in Logistics Management at Kancheepuram University College of Engineering and BVoc in Footwear Manufacturing at the University College of Engineering in Arni.

The three-year courses are planned to be conducted with inputs from the Sector Skill Councils (SSC). The last date to apply for the courses was October 31 and it has been extended for a week.

"These vocational courses have been designed for students who are more focused on getting jobs rather than academics. As classes are mostly planned to be held in industries to provide students with practical knowledge, they will be ready for employment once the course is over without requiring much additional training. The Central government is also planning to change the names of these degrees from Bachelor of Vocational to Bachelor of Skills as more demand is expected for these courses," said Rajesh Rathinam, Chief Executive Officer of Leather Sector Skill Council which helped Anna University design the BVoc Footwear Manufacturing course.

Though 23 colleges have obtained permission from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to start work-integrated engineering courses in 23 colleges in the state, they can only start them next year as admission policy is yet to be decided, said sources.