Only 47% of schools offer skill-based programs: Government study

AI-generated picture (Representative)

NEW DELHI: Less than half of the schools in India at the moment offer skill-based programs to college students in Class IX and above, pointing to the restricted penetration of vocational schooling on the secondary and senior secondary ranges. The participation of college students in such programs is even decrease. According to PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 carried out by NCERT’s National Assessment Centre, solely 47% of schools offer skill-based programs for these lessons, and simply 29% of college students in Class IX and above have opted for them.The findings underline vital gaps in consciousness and accessibility that hamper efforts underneath the Skill India Mission, which seeks to equip college students with market-ready abilities and enhance their employability. “Less than half of the schools offer skill-based courses for students in Grade 9 and above, indicating limited availability of skill-based education at this level. Among students in Grade 9, participation in these courses remains low, suggesting the need for greater awareness, encouragement, and accessibility to skill education to enhance career readiness and skill development,” the report noticed.Skill schooling, it careworn, has turn into important for making ready learners to adapt to altering workforce necessities within the twenty first century. It referred to as for introduction of numerous sector-specific programs, stronger business linkages, and higher funding and infrastructure assist to increase these choices in schools. To assist ability growth, sources akin to these listed by PSSCIVE (Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education), an apex R&D organisation underneath NCERT, can be utilized to reinforce coaching and increase employability. The report additionally really helpful popularising initiatives like PARAKH Udyam Sansaar, which focuses on synthetic intelligence (AI) competencies, to make skill-based studying extra enticing.The PARAKH survey coated 74,229 schools – govt and private-across 781 districts in 36 states and Union territories, assessing over 2.1 million college students from Classes III, VI, and IX. While many universities and faculties now combine ability modules in programmes akin to AI, robotics, cloud computing and telemedicine, lack of early publicity in schools continues to hinder college students’ profession readiness.The report emphasised that “strengthening industry partnerships and aligning courses with job market needs can enhance skill development and employability”. It prompt that motivating college students to discover skill-based studying early, alongside use of progressive educating and evaluation strategies, might be key to bridging the education-to-employment hole.