Time to apply for vocational courses

And the Karnataka Government is planning to revamp vocational education, making it more responsive to the demands of the industry, by coming out with a list of recommendations that include fostering a symbiotic relationship between the institutes and the industry.

Karnataka is one of the pioneers in vocational education, introducing it way back in 1977 following a recommendation made by the Kothari Commission. The State Government has established a separate Directorate of Vocational Education too. However, the mushrooming of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), polytechnics and job-oriented courses in all corners of the State led to the quality of education suffering.

With a view to providing professional skills for gainful employment, the government has proposed to upgrade 200 ITIs as centres of excellence. Also, the vocational education institutes would be accredited and ranked by an autonomous body for providing more effective education and training, says M.K. Sridhar, member secretary and executive director, Karnataka Knowledge Commission.

These centres of excellence motivate students to gain self-confidence and provide adequate labour skills, encourage rural students to take up self-employment, recognise students’ talents and provide appropriate facilities for specialisation. Mr. Sridhar said an asset bank of vocational education and training centres would be created at district and taluk levels.

A total of 25 vocational training centres would be identified for public-private partnership. Greater linkage between vocational education institutes and industries would be established. A draft note on apprenticeship policy has been prepared already, he added.

A plan of action aimed at bringing about greater linkage between vocational education and industry seeks to not only update the curriculum in tune with the requirements of the industry but also improve the job prospects of the students through campus recruitment.

Officials from the Directorate of Vocational Education (DVE) said education is being imparted in 29 trades through 552 government/aided/unaided first grade and PU colleges. About 34,000 students got admission for these courses in 2007-08 and nearly 33,000 students appeared for the examination. The pass percentage is 62 per cent.

Beneficiaries

Vocational education institutes target rural youth, poor and disadvantaged sections of the society.

The reasons include:

• (i) Enhancing individual employability

• (ii) To reduce mismatch between the demand and supply of skilled manpower

• (iii) To provide an alternative for those pursuing higher education without particular interest or purpose

• (iv) To attract the rural students towards self-employment

Eligibility

Candidates who have passed 10th and 12th Standard are eligible to join ITIs and polytechnics. Major areas identified by the Directorate of Vocational Education include agriculture, commerce and business, technical courses and home science.

Nayana Tara of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, said that awareness about vocational education is poor among the students and this has led to a rat race for admissions to degree and professional courses. Poor quality of faculty and inadequate infrastructure have adversely affected the quality of vocational education. There is a need for performance-based monitoring to enhance the quality, said Ms. Tara, who has submitted three reports on vocational education in Karnataka and is also a member of the Karnataka State Vocational Education Parishad.