IT IS famously said that education is what is left after one has forgotten what was taught in text books. Well, it’s becoming more and more crucial to offer education designed for learners to acquire knowledge, skills and competence based on learning modules, going beyond the conventional education. Introducing changes in the education sector, to make it best suited for the present-day demands is the need of hour. In fact, India has introduced vocational education as a subject. NEP 2020 has also provided impetus to the vocationalisation of education.
Jammu & Kashmir that has seen rampant unemployment has started vocational education across high school to higher secondary schools. This should certainly go well for students for who module-based education has mostly remained elusive. This effort is aimed to enhance employability and entrepreneurial abilities in students, to provide them exposure to a work environment, and to generate awareness among them about various career options. The recent years have seen several policy-backed skill development initiatives that have been supporting the push for vocational learning in schools.
The government’s Samagra Shiksha Program coordinates with vocational education in Jammu and Kashmir. Recently, the J&K government handed over the recruitment drive to private players who were tasked to provide manpower to vocational trades with great transparency. Nearly, more than 1500 vocational trainers are working here in schools to impart trade-based knowledge in government schools. The students are offered various subjects such as information technology (IT), agriculture, tourism and hospitality, plumbing, media and entertainment as part of the school curriculum.
The government must ensure that the funds released should be spent solely on students and any dereliction there should be dealt with an iron fist. Labs, equipment and infrastructure development should be laid stress upon with a clear focus on easing careers for the future generation. Clearly, the day demands job-providing curriculum rather than just dispatching a herd of job-seekers.
