my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 29 Jan: Under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, vocational education will be introduced in 544 additional schools across the state, for which approval has been granted by the Government of India. In these schools, students will be provided vocational education along with traditional subjects, enabling them to acquire practical and technical skills and making them capable of employment and self-employment in the future. Under this scheme, vocational education in 8 different sectors will be imparted to students from the current academic session. Necessary instructions have been issued to departmental officials for the early commencement of vocational courses in the newly approved schools.
According to officials of the School Education Department, in line with NEP–2020, students in the state are being provided vocational education along with traditional education in schools. As part of this, 544 new schools have been selected under the Samagra Shiksha and PM-SHRI schemes for the implementation of vocational education, which have now been approved by the Government of India. From the current academic session, vocational education will be conducted in these schools in 8 different sectors, including Agriculture, Automotive, Beauty and Wellness, Electronics and Hardware, IT, Plumbing, Retail, and Tourism and Hospitality.
Departmental officials informed that all these sectors have been included in the curricula of the Uttarakhand Board and CBSE and will be taught as a subject at the school level. Students passing Class 10 and Class 12 in these vocational subjects will be awarded Level-3 and Level-4 competency certificates respectively under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). Officials further stated that for the operation of vocational education in these schools, 548 laboratories have been established as per the standards of PSSCIVE (Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education). Additionally, experienced trainers are being deployed for vocational training as per the prescribed qualifications. Proposals for the operation of vocational courses in these schools have been sent to the government, and after the issuance of the government order, tenders will be floated at the departmental level for implementation.
Officials also informed thatm at present, vocational courses are being conducted in 531 schools across the state, with a total enrolment of 50,903 students, including 27,561 girls and 23,342 boys. In addition, 28 hub-and-spoke schools are also operational, comprising a total of 973 students, including 612 girls and 361 boys. The department is actively promoting vocational education in the state. Under this initiative, approval has also been granted by the Government of India for the introduction of Aerospace and Aviation and Food Industry sectors, which have been included in the Uttarakhand Board curriculum. Officials added that a state-level job fair was organised for students of the first Class 12 batch under vocational education, in which 146 students received job offers from various companies.
“The state government’s objective is to provide vocational education to children of the state along with traditional subjects, so that the younger generation can be made self-reliant. Expanding the scope of vocational education, vocational courses will now be introduced in 544 additional schools. Necessary instructions have been issued to departmental officials to complete all formalities at the earliest,” stated Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, School Education Minister, Uttarakhand.
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