The Government of India has come up with a novel solution to make our youth acquire skills that would enable them to earn their livelihood and live comfortable lives. The intent is holistic development of students from across the country. Therefore, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government at Centre came up with a revised National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
To mainstream vocational education, enable sharing of infrastructure and developing well-defined pathways for students to continue with their chosen academic-vocational pursuits, Skill Hubs are being created across the education and skill ecosystem. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is giving a boost to the National Education Policy (NEP). This initiative will ensure broad-based convergence of vocational education with formal education in a phased manner. The ‘Skill Hub Initiative’ focuses on the introduction of skill training programmes in the education ecosystems.
Furthermore, for the spread of entrepreneurship amongst the students from their school life itself, the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development has written books on entrepreneurship for CBSE Class IX to Class XII.
Reaping Demographic Advantage
With 65 per cent of its youth in the working age group, India is all set to become a hub of livelihood opportunities. If ever there is a way to reap this demographic advantage, it has to be through skill development of the youth so that it adds not only to their personal growth but also helps Bharat to become an engine of economic growth. Therefore, Skill India empowers youngsters of the country with skill sets which make them more employable and productive in their work environment.
Ready For Job From Day One
Under the National Skill Qualification Framework, Skill India offers a range of courses across 40 sectors in the country which are aligned to the standards recognised by both the industry and the Government. The courses help youngsters to concentrate on practical delivery of work and help them enhance their technical expertise so that they are ready from day one of their job. It would be beneficial not only to the youth but also to private companies as they would not have to make an investment in training young recruits.
In pursuance of this policy, the Narendra Modi Government worked round-the-clock with experts in the vast field of education and came up with Skill India Mission comprising skilling schemes of all Ministries/Departments.
For the spread of entrepreneurship amongst the students from their school life itself, the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development has written books on entrepreneurship for CBSE class IX to Class XII
Under Skill India Mission, whose main objective is to provide adequate training in market-relevant skills to over 40 crore youth by 2022, more than 20 Central Ministries/Departments are implementing Skill Development Schemes/Programmes to enhance skill levels of millions of people on a pan-India basis.
Through this pioneering scheme, 556.1 lakh persons have been trained. Under the Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has been enhancing skills through various schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), to youths across the country. Apart from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the youth of the country are getting skill training through three major skilling schemes of the other Ministries, viz. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojna (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETI) implemented by Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojna– National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM) by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). These programmes are run as per Common Norms as decided by the empowered committee. The National Council of Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) has been established as the regulator in the field and they are tasked with coming up with National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) for standardising skill training in the country.
Encouraging States To Open Skill Universities
The Ministry does not have any scheme to set up Skill University in the State. On the positive note, the Ministry has been encouraging States to open Skill Universities with an objective to promote skills education in an integrated and holistic manner with general education so as to ensure pathways for progression and mobility across forms of education and skill. The State Government themselves may set up Skill Universities through State Act as it has been done by States like Haryana and Rajasthan.
The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education is implementing the component of Vocationalisation of School Education under the umbrella of Samagra Shiksha – an integrated scheme for school education’, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. The scheme aims at integrating Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/Senior Secondary schools; enhancing the Employability and Entrepreneurial abilities of the students, providing exposure to work environment; and generating awareness amongst students about various career options so as to enable them to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence and aspirations. The scheme covers Government and Government aided schools.
Under the Vocational Education component of Samagra Shiksha, NSQF-compliant vocational courses are offered to the students from Class 9th to 12th in the schools covered under the scheme. The employability Skill module has been made a mandatory part of the vocational courses. It consists of Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Information and Communication Technology Skills, Entrepreneurship Skills and Green Skills.
Using Vocational Education To Create Jobs
Vocational courses are taught to the students from Class 9th to 12th. At the secondary level i.e. Class IX and X, vocational modules are offered to the students as an additional subject. At Sr. Secondary level, i.e. Class XI and XII, vocational courses are offered as a compulsory (elective) subject. The State Governments have also been advised that vocational courses are to be treated at par with other academic subjects and accorded a similar status in the scheme of subjects.
After completing Vocational Education in schools, the students have the option to opt for vocational courses in ITIs/ Polytechnics /B Voc colleges or opt for academic courses or consider self-employment depending upon their aspirations and needs. The existing system of integration of vocational education with general education under Samagra Shiksha provides for flexibility to students to choose for vocational path as per their interest and aspirations.
