EVOLUTION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION THROUGH VOCATIONAL TRAINING

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Alban Robinson
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1 EVOLUTION IN SECONDARY EDUCATION THROUGH VOCATIONAL TRAINING -Smt. Kanchan * -Dr.Mukesh Kumar Introduction In the changing concepts and beliefs of the modern age, our country lags behind other countries in terms of hundreds of years in the race for progress. We want to achieve equality with the developed countries but in this process, as we move forward, the developed countries move even faster and go ahead of us. The reason for this is that our knowledge has not been related to modern science and technology. In view of this, the education commission has proposed the vocationalization of education at every level, not only at the secondary stage. Vocational Education and Training (VET) is an important element of the nation s education initiative. In order for Vocational Education to play its part effectively in the changing national context and for India to enjoy the fruits of the demographic dividend, there is an urgent need to redefine the critical elements of imparting vocational education and training to make them flexible, contemporary, relevant, inclusive and creative. The Government is well aware of the important role of Vocational education and has already taken a number of important initiatives in this area. Why should Secondary Education be Vocationalized? For vocationalizing secondary education, the Commission has considered in detail the vocationalization at both its levels the lower secondary and the higher secondary. In the Commissions view, 20 per cent students in classes 8 to 10 should obtain vocational training. In the same way, 50 per cent of the students in classes 11 and 12 should receive vocational education. The Commission clearly accepted the principle that among the most important reforms is that of vocationalization of higher secondary education. 50% of all students should take admissions to the vocational courses. The views of the Commission regarding vocationalization at both levels are as follows : Lower Secondary level Industrial training centres have courses suitable to post-primary educational levels. If the age of admission to such courses is set at 14 years, the number of students entering such institutions after completing primary education will be very large. (This age limit was 16 years, and was subsequently reduced to 15). Studednts who stop studying after class 7 or 8 usually take up their family profession, while some of them hope to set up a small scale industry of trading organisation. For such people, arrangements should be made for short term or part-time syllabi so that they may be able to develop their abilities and skills The Commission purposed that a separate department should be set up within the education department to keep in touch with youth and provide them with suitable opportunities for receiving vocational training on a part-time basis, along with their general educa lion. Most students belonging to the rural areas will work on their ancestral fields. They should be given opportunities for general education, professional skills, etc. * Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education, C.S.J.M.U., Kanpur. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Education, UPRTOU, Allahabad.

2 A large number of girls get married soon after leaving schools. For them, arrangements should be made to provide them general education as well as education in domestic science. Higher Secondary Level At this level, the Commission has made provisions for a very large number of vocational courses. Along with an expansion in facilities for full-time study, there should be provisions for part-time syllabi at the higher secondary level, though it may be arranged through industries, evening classes, part-time or correspondence courses. The syllabi in the industrial training centres should be such that the minimum qualification for admission to them should be class 10. These syllabi should provide training in health, trade, administration, small scale industries, etc., through courses lasting for six months to three years. At the completion of the course, students should be given diplomas or certificates. In view of the importance it has attached to the vocationalisation of secondary education, the Commission has proposed that the central government should aid the state governments in implementing such a programme. Citing the example of the U.S.A., the Commission has thrust the entire responsibility for the vocationalisation of secondary education upon the Union government. At present, the existing system of secondary education does not make provisions for vocationalization which will ssatisfy the needs for skilled workers in the next twenty years. Vocational Education at the School Level Regarding the vocational education at the school level, the Commission has expressed the following ideas The Central government should introduce a variety of courses for boys and girls in age group. The responsibility for this should fall upon the Union government, thus creating a parallel with the Smith Hughes. Act of the U.S.A. As far as the question of outstanding students is concerned, instead of putting them into special courses, they can be made to do intensive work within the same syllabus thus the deficiency can be made up. At present, there are 356 polytechnic institutions in which 1,13,000 students can study. The Commission recommended that the name of Junior Technical Schools should changed to Technical High Schools. Such schools and the I.T.I. should make arrangement for production oriented training. Current Scenario of Vocational Education and Training in India The structure of current education system can be described as below:

3 Status of Vocational Training received: The World Bank report shows that among persons of age only about 2 per cent reported to have received formal vocational training and another 8 per cent reported to have received non formal vocational training. The proportion of persons (15-29 years) who received formal vocational training was the highest among the unemployed. The proportion was around 3 per cent for the employed, 11 percent for the unemployed and 2 per cent for persons not in the labour force. The activity of persons receiving vocational education is as shown below-: Source: Status of Education and Vocatina1 Training in India, NSS 61 Round Vocational education in five year plan 5 Years Plan Focused area I To establish social school cum community centre with the unit of basic education. II To set up workshop and farms in schools III Integrating and improving the status of vocational education. VI To include experienced craftsman and practitioner of arts to impart skills to the students without undue emphasis on pedagogic issue. VII Radical re-construction of education and envisaged a transformation of the system to relate it more closely to the life of the people. VIII To provide the manpower in the emerging field of economy and on the other side providing some professional and need based skills to the people of various capacities. X To link education with the world of work. Problem Areas in present Vocational Education and Training System In India the following problem areas have been identified -: There is a high drop out rate at Secondary level. There are 220 million children who go to school in India. Of these only around 12% students reach university. A large part of the years age group in India has never been able to reach college. Comparing India to countries with similar income levels India does not under perform in primary education but has a comparative deficit in secondary education. Vocational Education is presently offered at Grade 11, 12th however students reaching this Grade aspire for higher education. Since the present system does not allow vertical mobility, skills obtained are lost. Enrollment in 11th & 12th Grade of vocational education is only 3% of students at upper secondary level. About 6800 schools enroll 400,000 students in vocational education schemes utilizing only 40% of the available student capacity in these schools. International experience suggests that what employers mostly want are young workers with strong basic academic skills and not just vocational skills. The present system does not emphasize general academic skills. The relative wages of workers with secondary education are increasing.

4 Private and Industry Participation is lacking. There are no incentives for private players to enter the field of vocational education. Present regulations are very rigid. In-Service Training is required but not prevalent today. There is no opportunity for continuous skill up-gradation. There is a lack of experienced and qualified teachers to train students on vocational skills. In foreign countries Bachelors of Vocational Education (BVE) is often a mandatory qualification for teachers. However, in India no specific qualifications are being imparted for Vocational Education teachers. Vocationalization at all levels has not been successful. Poor quality of training is not in line with industry needs. There is no definite path for vocational students to move from one level / sector to another level / sector. Mobility is not defined and hence students do not have a clear path in vocational education. No clear policy or system of vocational education leading to certification / degrees presently available for the unorganized / informal sector. No Credit System has been formulated for the same. Over 90% of employment in India is in the Informal sector. JSS offers 255 types of vocational courses to 1.5 million people, Community Polytechnics train about 450,000 people within communities annually and NIOS offers 85 courses through 700 providers. None of these programs have been rigorously evaluated, till date. Expansion of vocational sector is happening without consideration for present problems. Government Initiatives National Vocational Qualification Framework: To stimulate and support reforms in skills development and to facilitate nationally standardized and acceptable, international comparability of qualifications, a National Vocational Qualifications Framework is being established by the Central Government. Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) has resolved to set up an inter-ministerial group which would also include representatives of State Governments to develop guidelines for such a National Framework. The National Skill Development Policy 2009 has proposed the following features for the framework: a) Competency based qualifications and certification on the basis of nationally agreed standards and criteria; b) Certification for learning achievement and qualification; c) The avoidance of duplication and overlapping of qualifications while assuring the inclusion of all training needs; d) Lifelong learning through an improved skill recognition system; recognition of prior learning whether in formal, non-formal or informal arrangements; e) Different learning pathways academic and vocational that integrate formal and non-formal learning, notably learning in the workplace, and that offer vertical mobility from vocational to academic learning; f) Comparability of general educational and vocational qualifications at appropriate levels; g) Nationally agreed framework of affiliation and accreditation of institutions;

5 Reasons of failure of vocationalisation of education In spite of these efforts the country has huge shortage of skilled people and this is hampering the growth of service and manufacturing sectors. Basic education was regarded by urban middle class as suitable for the rural children but not for their own. The landed gentry of the villages rejected the new system because they saw it as a device to deprive their children of good education. The major weakness of the present education system is the dysfunctional linkage between education and the world of work The introduction of Socially useful productive work as third dimension with a hope "to occupy the central place in the school curriculum" has been reduced to a ritual and teacher were unable to tune themselves with the original conceptual basis of the SUPW. The Union Government in spite of being the originator of SUPW, failed to introduce the same in either the Kendriya Vidyalayas or the schools under the Central Board of Secondary Education. Overseas deployment scenarios The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in UK is a credit transfer system developed for, qualifications in England, Wales, Namibia and northern Ireland. The Framework has nine levels covering all levels of learning in secondary education, further education, vocational, and higher education. Different qualifications are divided into different levels, according to three important frameworks namely, the National Qualification Framework (NQF), the Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) and last, but not least, the Framework for Higher Education qualifications. In recent decades, China s vocational and technical education has produced a large quantity of low-level technical workers, low-level managrial professionals, and skilled workers. Vocational education in China is primarily associated with two or three-year institutions, and specialized training institutions closely linked to local industry and business needs. The Korean vocational education system has evolved considerably since it was set up in the early 1960s while initially the emphasis was on churning out semi-skilled workers for the industry, the current focus is on equipping students with basic knowledge and skills and providing them with a foundation which will enable them to learn further. Some key features of the system include: a) Delaying streaming into vocational education till high school (for three years after grade 11). All students undertake a common national curriulum in the first year of high school, following which they choose to enter the general or vocational stream for the remaining two years however the vocational stream includes extensive elements of general education; b) Financing vocational education through government and private resources - about 40 percent of financing for vocational education comes through entrance and tuition fees. A framework to incorporate vocational education at secondary level. Potential industries V.T. Through NGO Schools

6 Potential industries Primary Schools Secondary Schools Fig. No. 1 : Relation among N.G.O. School and potential industries The Plans and Vocatlonalizatlon A powerful V.T. Through programme NGO Schools based on work experience and vocetionalization can be effective in this direction. For this, contact between institutions and government agencies must be maintained. At various administrative levels, organisational facilities should always be available. At the national level, the NCERT can function as an effective clearing house and source of information for programmes ot vocationalization and work experience. At the State level, independent man-power cells should be created under the management of the chief minister or the planning minister, and these cells should make, from time to time, declarations of policy on manpower. The state education institutions should take the help of employing authorities for creating research blocks, training blocks, extension blocks, etc. At the district level, project officers should be appointed for establishing harmony between work experience, teacher training and polytechnics. An employment committee should be set up under the chairmanship of the district magistrate. In the plans work experience and vocationalization have been conceived of as mutual complements. This view finds expression in this plan in the following manners Work Experience It has been presented from the perspective for development. Provisions have been made in this plan for initiating work experience in 50,000 schools, strengthening state educational institutions, employment of district project officers, training of one lath teachers, and the setting up of 125 Common Facility Centres. For this purpose, a sum of Rs crores has been allocated. Vocationalization At the secondary level, the programme of vocationalization has been implemented in many parts and regions. It has, been extended to take within its purview health, agriculture, labour and employment and polytechnic education. An additional provision of Rs. 1 crore has, been made for setting up institutions for survey, collection of information, training, etc., at the district level. - Counselling In order to strengthen vocationalization and make it effective, provisions have been made for the training of 20,000 teachers as career masters. There are arrangements for the appointment of State Bureau and District Guidance Officers Rs. 25 crores will be spent upon this programme. Conclusion In reality, the vocationalization of secondary education is not a novel scheme but, in view of the country present circumstances, it is essential that we provide, employment to every individual according to his innate abilities. This will become feasible only when vocational education is available at every stage of the educational process; And, of all the stages of education, the secondary stage is the most important because 50% of the students have to struggle for employment and livelihood after completing their secondary education. If they are denied jobs at this stage, it will mean a wastage of valuable manpower, and this wastage

7 represents a great loss for the country. From this point of view, the vacationalization of secondary education is of the utmost importance. References Aggarwal, J.C. (1993). Landmarks in the history of modern Indian education. Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. : New Delhi. Bhattnagar Suresh, Saxena Anamika (2008) ; Modern Indian Education and its problems, published by R. Lall book depot Meerut. CRRID (1985) Education in India; policies planning and implementation. Centre of Research in Rural and Industrial Development : India. Ghosh, S.C. (2000). The history of education in modern India. Orient Longman ; New Delhi. Report of the working group on vocationalization (1978). Ministry of Education & social welfare, New Delhi.

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