IAS Kuldeep Ranka started at Higher Education department from where he finished at Social Justice and Empowerment department as additional chief secretary few months back.
While his initiatives, during his previous assignment, like holistic life skills education for marginalised children and empowering disabled through rehabilitation services and financial assistance are taking meaningful shape, Ranka has put more on the platter.
Now in his new innings at higher education department, Ranka, a 1994 batch IAS officer from Rajasthan cadre, has envisioned to make education more job and skill oriented.
The initiative of higher education department – Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP) – is catching the imaginations of youth.
The moment University Grants Commission approved guidelines of AEDP aimed at increasing employability of students, Rajasthan government quickly adopted the programme and implemented it in 10 colleges.
AEDP to give cutting edge to students
AEDP provides a structured framework for embedding industrial apprenticeship, internships, and skill-based modules directly into higher education curricula. That means every student, along with their academic degree will get hands-on industrial training.
These programmes have been strategically launched in major employment generating sectors, such as retail marketing, banking and finance, tourism and hospitality.
“From next session we are looking at further expanding the reach of this programme. Our aim is to create a globally competitive skilled workforce, contributing both to the state's economy and to India's knowledge,” said Ranka.
During his stint in Social Justice and Empowerment, Ranka had revamped the coaching scheme for underprivileged students to bring them in the mainstream. The Mukhyamantri Anuprati Coaching Yojana (MACY) has now taken shape and is being replicated by many states.
The Coaching boon
The state government has launched Mukhyamantri Anuprati Coaching Yojana (MACY) to democratise access to competitive exam preparation for underprivileged youth.
Anchored in the constitutional mandate of giving equal opportunities, the scheme operationalises the principles of equality, social justice, and dignified livelihood by addressing structural barriers to quality coaching. With its technology-driven, performance-linked framework, the initiative sets a national benchmark in educational equity and public service delivery.
The scheme targets bright students belonging to categories including SC, ST, OBC minority communities, specially-abled and weaker sections.
Under this scheme there are 30,000 seats spread across strategically located 208 coaching centres in the state. The coaching is available for IAS, RAS, state service examinations and entrance tests like JEE and NEE. It is expanding its coverage to Banking, SSC, RRB, CUET-UG, CA and CS among other career oriented examinations.
Replicated by other states
Impressed by the social impact of this scheme, other states like Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have formally explored replication.
Ranka said that the state government is trying to rope in coaching institutes of national repute to make the proposition more attractive and competitive for students from weaker sections.
“The scheme stands as a transformative template for educational empowerment, accelerating India's march towards a more equitable, inclusive, and aspirational society,” he said.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
