NITI Aayog lauds state’s ‘English skills for youth’ intiative

Bengaluru: Karnataka government’s ‘English Skills for Youth’ initiative has been appreciated by the NITI Aayog in its policy report ‘Expanding Quality Higher Education Through States and State Public Universities’.

‘English Skills for Youth’ was one of the four initiatives launched by the Department of Higher Education in 2024-25 academic year, in collaboration with British Council and Microsoft. ‘English Skills for Youth’ initiative was aimed at improving proficiency of students at engineering colleges to improve their employment prospects.

In addition to ‘English Skills for Youth’ programme, NITI Aayog report mentions ‘Scholars for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT)’ initiative, through which a select group of students chosen from 6 varsities are sent on a fortnight-long tour to University of East London to sharpen their critical thinking and innovative skills.

“The Karnataka Government launched 4 programmes in 2024, aimed at advancing higher education, enhancing language proficiency and improving employability of students while fostering their seamless transition into workforce. ‘English Skills for Youth’ programme, in partnership with Microsoft India, was launched with aim of reaching 5,795 students across 16 govt engineering colleges,” the report said.