Vocationalisation can add value to school curriculum

 Vatsala Vedantam weighs the benefits of including vocational training at the +2 level. The latest proposal made by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to all its affiliated schools in the country, regarding vocationalisation of the school curriculum, is a step in the right direction.

When more than one third of high school leavers remain unemployed and also unable to continue further education, it is pointless to teach them only academic subjects which leaves them ineffective after high school.

It is also a colossal waste of money, time, and manpower to take young boys and girls through ten long years of schooling only to leave them unfit for higher studies or the world of work. It can be terribly demoralising for a 16-year-old to find himself in a vacuum after all those years spent in school.

It could also lead to other anti social problems when a healthy teenaged boy or girl finds himself/herself disqualified to study further, and at the same time, disqualified to become usefully employed. The centre had already introduced vocationalisation at the plus 2 stage to overcome this undesirable situation.

The plan mooted by the CBSE is even better, as it aims at teaching useful skills to children right through school, so that they emerge from school portals with the ability to find employment.

If the CBSE links this program with future employers, it would be more practical and job-oriented.

The young school leavers will enter a job market where their vocational expertise can match the employment needs of that market. That is what vocationalisation is all about - exploring the market for fulfilling employers’ needs, and supplying the material to fill that vacant space.

Britain’s national curriculum, introduced in 1993, offers a good example as to how this scheme can be implemented. All schools in Britain offer choices to 16-year-old students who are finishing school.  Their schools are offering vocational courses as an alternative to purely academic routes in order to enable them to seek employment immediately after high school.

Of course, this is done with the support of employers who know what they need to fill up those niches in their business houses. Unless this coordination is there between the schools and prospective employers, vocationalisation cannot be a viable alternative.

For example, when the Government of India introduced vocationalisation at the pre university stage in 1975, the HMT watch factory was roped in to train high school leavers in clock and watch repair. Similarly, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) was given the task of training PUC students in occupational therapy.

Thus, Karnataka became the first state to start technical and paramedical courses in vocational education. And also the first state where students who learnt those skills found immediate employment with those training institutions. This exemplifies how the coming together of future employers and employees is the foundation for a strong vocational course of study.

Britain’s national curriculum came about when a startling discovery was made in 1992. Studies revealed that only 1 among every 12 school leavers found employment after completing high school. The situation of the rest remained unknown.

As a result, more schools started offering job oriented courses to help these children who could neither study further nor find suitable employment. This move, supported by employers who needed not so highly qualified workers as well, was first introduced in 1000 schools which prepared students in a wide range of occupational skills so that school leavers had several options of work to choose from.

They were still taught subjects like English, Mathematics, Science, History, and Geography to enable them to study further if they wish. The main idea behind this concept is to ensure that a 16-year-old youth is not left high and dry after school. He can either continue in his academic pursuits if inclined that way, or enter the world of work if he chooses. In addition to ensuring that young people do not drift aimlessly after high school, vocationalisation at an early stage of education has twin benefits: it helps teenagers to develop useful skills, and at same time helps employers fill up vacancies with trained and skilled workers.

 Such meaningful schooling is what the CBSE has now proposed in its own schools. It is only prudent to implement it in all state schools as well. 

When our school programmes are largely based on the British pattern, why not emulate this one as well?