Vocational education programme launched for technical colleges

Updated on: Saturday, October 08, 2011

Government's ambitious National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) programme was launched for polytechnic and engineering colleges.

Unveiling the initiative, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said multiple sectors were involved in developing the syllabi which enunciates the requirements of the industry for the skills that are necessary. While NVEQF will start from class IX onwards (certification level 1), today's launch was from the level of polytechnic onwards (certification level 3).

In all, there will be seven levels of certification ending at the university level. The unique part of the vocational framework is that it will be integrated with mainstream education and thus provide students multi-level entry and exit options to enable them to seek employment after class XII.

Any student under NVEQF can be sure that the institution is government authorised and nationally accredited and that the degree and other qualifications are genuine, said AICTE chairman S S Mantha. The framework would link schools, vocational and university education qualifications into one national system.

Sibal said the National Skill Development Council is in the process of launching the 'national occupational standards' supporting NVEQF. He said 'skill knowledge providers' will also be engaged under the framework to certify students seeking to enter certification level 3.

Earlier this year, the government had set up a GoM consisting of state education ministers to suggest developing NVEQF. The report was presented to the Ministry last month. Several rounds of discussions were also held with various sectors in the run-up to developing the NVEQF.

Sibal suggested that skill requirement in the agriculture sector should also be included under the purview of NVEQF and that courses on this field is launched by 2013. The NVEQF will have provisions for subsidised fee structure for larger accessibility and programme delivery in local language.

Vocational education programme launched for technical colleges

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