Degree matters

EDUCATION: Fashion school NIFT does away with diplomas to award degrees to its students.

Some of the most prominent Indian fashion designers in the world are alumni of the most sought-after fashion school in India "" National Institute of Fashion Technology or NIFT.

While they had to make-do with diplomas, their juniors would be getting full-fledged degrees, thanks to the recent grant of autonomy to the institute.

Through a bill passed in the budget session, NIFT, which is under the textiles ministry, has been allowed to give its own degrees and other academic distinctions to students from 2007 onwards.

"Materially, it changes the profile of NIFT," says Gauri Kumar, NIFT director-general. Students would now be eligible for higher degrees like an MBA, that require a graduation degree to apply.

The institute had started preparing for this move from 2003, when it took initiatives to be at par with international fashion institutes. The three-year professional course was extended to four years, with a foundation year added from 2003 onwards.

It also signed memoranda of understanding with international fashion schools and worked out academic exchange programmes. Field internships and new electives were added to the curriculum. "We bench-marked ourselves against international standards before seeking the change,"informs Kumar.

The President of India will now choose the board of governors as well as the chairman of NIFT. There would be equal representation from NIFT's seven centres (in seven states) on the board.