Vocational Education and Training in India

Objective

The main objective of vocational education and training is to prepare persons, especially the youth in the age group 15-25 years, for the world of work and make them employable for a broad range of occupations in various industries and other economic sectors. It primarily trains them in very specific activities, and provides a significant “hands on” experience in acquiring the necessary skills. Historically, higher education in India was designed to offer academic knowledge in humanities, social sciences, and sciences for advanced studies and research.

The products of the formal educational system have created acute unemployment problem. The aim of vocational education is to avoid forcing students into academic channels having limited options. It offers them opportunity to take up subjects and programmes of study in a much wider field in keeping with their aptitudes, interests and ability. In turn, the system provides the vital manpower needed for the economic and service sectors and to a great extent eases the problem of unemployment. Vocational education also helps students to realize their own potentials and provide opportunities for self-employment.

Programmes

After Independence, the scope of professional education and training particularly in engineering and technology, both at the polytechnic and first degree level, had expanded considerably. Vocational courses were introduced in 1988 first at the 10+2 level under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Vocationalisation of Secondary Education (CSSVSE). This was followed by the introduction in 1993-94, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Pre-Vocational Education at Lower Secondary Stage primarily to impart training in simple marketable skills to students of Classes 9 and 10. The UGC took a major step in 1994-95 to incorporate vocational subjects in the existing first degree programmes also.

In fact, the “job oriented” courses have become a very popular alternative to conventional B.A, B.Sc, B.Com courses. Many universities have also introduced a plethora of professional certificate and diploma courses mostly at the postgraduate level in India.

In addition to integrating vocational contents in the formal educational system, there were similar efforts to provide skill orientation to those who for various reasons do not opt for formal schooling. Another major objective of the programmes, therefore, has been to deal with the unemployment of school drop-outs. There is yet another category of institutions which have been established outside the school and university systems mostly by the Central Government to offer a large number of vocational or professional courses in India.

Conventionally, vocational education and training has been oriented towards a number of engineering and technical trades. Though they continue to form the core of vocational education, during the last two decades or so, its scope had been considerably widened to include many non-engineering trades also.