Haryana moves to improve vocational education in schools

With a view to enhance the employability of students, Haryana is embarking on a mission to improve vocational educationin 100 schools in the state in collaboration with a Swedish organisation on a pilot basis, education minster Ram Bilas Sharma said here today.
Sharma was speaking at a meeting ofthe Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad, where representatives of the National Skill Development Corporation and Kunskapsskolan, a Swedish organisation, were also present, an official release said.
The pilot project to develop three skills -- retail, IT/ITes and beauty and wellness -- will be launched in 100 government senior secondary schoolsfrom the next academic session.

"It will be a unique model of personalised learning which can be adapted to make vocational education more effective. Under the pilot project, life skills such as effective communication, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, problem-solving and self-management would be the outcome of the proposed innovative methodology that will help the students," Sharma said.
Additional Chief Secretary, School Education, K K Khandelwal said that an amount of Rs 9.4 crore will be invested in the project.
"Out of this, Rs 3.4 crore will be invested by Kunskapsskolan Education (KED) and Manav Rachna International University under agreement with the NSDC, Rs 3 crore by KED via CSR funding from Swedish companies operating in India, and Rs 3 crore via innovation fund from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, routed through the Haryana School Education Department," Khandelwal said.

The CSR funds from Swedish corporates will be routed via the National Skill Development Fund (NSDF), he said, according to the release.

"The National Skills Qualification Framework-compliant digital content and equipment will be put in place by March 2018 for usage of KED technology or methodology," he said.
The students taking up vocational courses will also be enrolled as scouts and guides.
"The scouts already studying in schools will also be encouraged to enroll themselves in vocational courses under the pilot. All stakeholders will take preliminary steps to ensure that the pilot, with prior approval of MHRD, is launched in 100 government senior secondary schools from the next academic session commencing April 1, 2018," he added.

Fourteen new skill-development programmes were introduced in 1,001 government senior secondary schools under a separate vocational training scheme approved by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Sharma said.