ANY WAY to do Certification without any SAP training and experience?

Question

This simple question is getting so confusing now. Please help.
This is India scenario. If you are mentioning some info for other countries PLEASE remember to do so. The confusion it creates is amazing!
I completed my engineering in July 2013 and then went for SAP ABAP training from an location institution which is NOT an SAP partner. I have no work experience and I'm still looking for ABAP opportunities.
Now, suddenly a friend has told me that someone he knows DID the official SAP ABAP certification by just studying from home for a fees of 40k (INR).
So I call up SAP education in Bangalore (in India) and confirm that the only way to get certified is:
- Through course + certification from their partners for fresher.
- And through your employer if it's an SAP partner.
I already knew this and this is what I've been believing till day. Now enters pearson vue.
So I do some googling and find the below responses regarding the SAP certification from peason vue.
This blog post: Frequently Asked Questions about SAP Certificationsays the following and it doesn't mention any country wise info.
Do certification programs have prerequisites, such as participation in a series of training courses?
While there is no course or set of courses required to take a particular certification exam, SAP provides a list of recommended training you can take to better prepare for an exam. In addition, completing an exam for a lower-level (associate) certification is not a prerequisite for taking a higher-level (professional) exam, although many professional-level certification seekers might find it helpful.
Then there is this post from 2010:
SAP-SD Certification though PEARSON VUE---INDIAwhich got the following response:
"Hi,
Pearson VUE is an examination center (where you can directly book your exam (any exam apart from SAP, like TOEFL,gre..).
Third party for any on line examination. if you wish to do certification without any authorized training , you can go for Pearson VUE.
Where as, Siemens is SAP authorized technology center. where you can get certification training by certain amount and then appear for the exam.
Hope  i am clear.
Regards
Nagaraju"
What this doesn't mention is CAN recent graduates (also called freshers in India) go for pearson vue or previous SAP experience (at an SAP partner) is required?
<span style="color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">TL;DR</span></span>
My questions straight to the point:
I completed my engineering in July 2013 and then I went for SAP ABAP training from an location institution which is NOT an SAP partner. I have no work experience (SAP or ANY other).
Can I go an enroll for the official SAP ABAP certification from Pearson Vue?
I'm asking this for India but if it's possible in other countries then too please reply and mention the rules etc.

Answer 1

Allwyn,
SAP has a very confusing policy with regards to certification as it varies country by country. I wrote this a long time ago and it needs updating (Learning SAP when you don't have an SAP job already - Authorized Classes). This will give you the general rundown of what's available in terms of course of study.
It sounds like your friend signed up for an eAcademy. (I think they may have changed the name now, but basically it's online learning, not onsite, instructor led learning).
Now, here's the kicker. I'm going to divide the world into two groups: Group 1 and Group A. (Yes, it's a mixed metaphor, and it's deliberate. Read on.)
Countries in Group 1 have Authorized Training Providers. If you live in a country with Authorized Training Providers, the only way to get official SAP Training and the only way to sit for a certification examination is to go through Authorized Training. There are some exceptions: you can get your company to swear that you've got several years of experience or get an implementation partner to do the same, but it's a lot of hassle it's an extreme minority route. The bulk of the certifications for folks in Group 1 countries are via paid training via Authorized Training Providers. The certification and the training are completely linked.
For countries in Group A, the only Authorized Training Provider is SAP itself. If you want official SAP training, you must get it from SAP; HOWEVER, anyone can take the certification exam just by signing up at a Pearson Vue center. The training and the certification are completely unlinked.
I purposely used  a mixed metaphor because there is no value judgement here. There are pros and cons to each system. The Group 1 method provides a clear route for folks to get trained and certified in SAP. Also, there is healthy competition between ATPs so the cost to get trained and certified is very low (compared to Group A). As a result, there seems to be far more certified SAP resources coming from those countries. The downside is that we hear horror story after horror story of folks who have been told by unscrupulous ATPs that getting certified is all it would take to get a job. Experience is far more important than certification in getting entry level positions in the SAP world. Certification plays more of a role at the mid-level, but the ATPs have children to feed and seem to accept anyone with enough cash, regardless of whether or not that person will be able to get a job afterwards. Check out SAP Career Blog Links for some blogs on that topic (and other related topics).
The Group A method allows anyone to get certified who has enough cash, but paradoxically, I would wager that the failure rate is much higher as more folks sit for the exam unprepared. Citizens of countries in Group A tend not to see a clear route from college graduate to SAP career. The official training is so expensive, that it isn't really an option to pay for your own training and hope for a job after. In Group A countries, most of the training is taken by folks who have gotten a job first and then have the training paid for by the company who has hired them.
So, by now you have guess that you are in a Group 1 country and your friend is in a Group A country.
While not a definitive list, the last time I checked it broke down something like this:
Group 1:  India, Middle Eastern, African, Asian and South American Countries (+Mexico), Eastern Europe
Group A: North American Countries (Canada + US), Western Europe. Australia
You can find an list of Training Locations and check it out country by country to look for exceptions or specific details. If you're willing to travel, then you can test any time. If you can't travel, you're stuck with finding an ATP that you can afford if you live in a Group 1 country. In the past, all ATPs offered on-site, in-person, instructor-led training. I've heard that some are moving to the eAcademy training so that they don't have to pay local instructors (but still charge essentially the same price). I'd be interested in your experience as you go through this process. I encourage you to blog every step of the way! Blog about the various offerings of each ATP and tell us what the salespeople promise you/say to you before you sign up. Contrast that to the reality of the training and the help you get after you've had the training. You will be providing a much appreciated service to all of those who come behind you.
I hope this helps clear things up. I'm basically going to cut and paste this into a FAQ blog for this topic so folks can refer to it later. This is a fairly frequent source of confusion. I could have sworn that I wrote this all up in a blog earlier, but I can't find it, so I thank you for bringing this up so I can get this properly documented. Please ask any questions you may have so I can address them in the blog when it's ready.
Best regards,
--Tom