Historically, the Indian subcontinent, which covers the modern day Pakistan, India & Bangladesh, had its own system of education. Some say, they had the best system of the time, while some others, as usual, disagree. One thing is sure, in the historical entity called India, there were many avenues of learning. And this learning process not only included the teaching of Vedas or Economics or Jurisprudence etc. but also included different trades, so vital for the effective running of a society. The education systems of those era, not only
concentrated on creating white collar professionals by teaching the Nyay or Niti-shastras, but also
produced workmen. A person, who wanted to be a carpenter or a soldier or a blacksmith, could learn the art of their chosen trade through their Gurus - that too, theoretically as well as practically, through apprenticeship, and the society accepted this as the general practice. It's true that a person with knowledge of all the Vedas, Niti, Nyay and economic theories would be revered by the society. But that did not mean that the carpenter or the blacksmith or the masons were looked down upon as being part of lower strata. This ensured the rise of the Indian kingdoms, which in turn gave rise to the stories of their legendary wealth. On hindsight, these stories of richness attracted the attention of many groups of people, who, although not as sophisticated or civilized as the locals, definitely had better martial skills.
gap
Over the centuries, the region has been invaded by numerous groups, some of whom assimilated with the locals while others chose to retain their distinct identities. These people also brought along themselves, new beliefs, new systems and of course a different social structure. This melting pot of a country or sub-continent, thus developed a mixed system of beliefs, religions, social practices and over the ages, the dignity of labour was forgotten.
gap
Cut to current day India. An India, which has grown at a blistering pace over the last 20 years. A country, which has one of the largest talent pools - in terms of number of persons within the working age - and despite that there is a scarcity of employable candidates in almost all the fields. Now, isn't that a bit confusing? On one hand, we have the largest talent pool and on the other, we are not being able to effectively feed the hunger of industry's ever-increasing requirement of the manpower. This can only mean that either the industrial growth has been too high and as such the manpower requirements cannot be met from within the country or that our education system simply does not produce the skilled manpower that the industry is looking for. As we know that our growth-rate or actual growth hasn't been that high, so the only answer would lead us to accept the shortcomings of our education system, which, according to an industry veteran, teaches us to play Cricket, while the industry demands that we should be good in Baseball. You'll have to add to it the perception of social status among a large section of India's population.
gap
I was earlier talking about the great education systems of yesteryear, but can I claim the same for our present systems too? The answer is a plain and simple "No".
gap
Over the centuries, the region has been invaded by numerous groups, some of whom assimilated with the locals while others chose to retain their distinct identities. These people also brought along themselves, new beliefs, new systems and of course a different social structure. This melting pot of a country or sub-continent, thus developed a mixed system of beliefs, religions, social practices and over the ages, the dignity of labour was forgotten.
gap
Cut to current day India. An India, which has grown at a blistering pace over the last 20 years. A country, which has one of the largest talent pools - in terms of number of persons within the working age - and despite that there is a scarcity of employable candidates in almost all the fields. Now, isn't that a bit confusing? On one hand, we have the largest talent pool and on the other, we are not being able to effectively feed the hunger of industry's ever-increasing requirement of the manpower. This can only mean that either the industrial growth has been too high and as such the manpower requirements cannot be met from within the country or that our education system simply does not produce the skilled manpower that the industry is looking for. As we know that our growth-rate or actual growth hasn't been that high, so the only answer would lead us to accept the shortcomings of our education system, which, according to an industry veteran, teaches us to play Cricket, while the industry demands that we should be good in Baseball. You'll have to add to it the perception of social status among a large section of India's population.
gap
I was earlier talking about the great education systems of yesteryear, but can I claim the same for our present systems too? The answer is a plain and simple "No".
gap
If we look in to our education system, we'll find it to be divided in to pre-schools/KG/pre-primary, Primary, Secondary & Higher Secondary and Tertiary sections. Out of these, pre-schools are mostly in private hands and the Government's real intervention starts from the Primary Education. In these divisions, where does Vocational Education & Training (VET) fit in? The best fit would be to introduce vocational education parallely along Secondary & Higher Secondary and may be allowed to continue up to the Graduation. Of course, professional and technical education run along a different track on a separate plane altogether. This would have solved the problem faced by numerous "educationally qualified" but unemployed, as well as unemployable youths.
gap
Let's take the real life example of a person, who had cleared 10th standard with 41% marks and enrolled in the 10+2 Arts stream. He cleared the Higher Secondary examination too, but with a similar 43% marks and then enrolled in B.A. with Bengali, Political Science and Philosophy. In due course of time, he graduated with 42% marks and then started looking for a job.
gap
A couple of very valid questions then arose regarding his employable skills and those questions are valid even today for thousands of youth like him. What kind of job is this guy fit for? And, where is the scope for practical application of whatever he had studied/learned for 15 years?
gap
Unfortunately, this person, who had been one year my senior, has remained unemployed till date. In his case, the degrees obtained were merely for decorative purposes, so that his parents and family could claim that he is a graduate. The Indian psyche would still rate this "good for nothing" educational qualification as higher than that of a classmate who had enrolled in an Industrial Training Center (ITI) and earns five figure salary per month working as an automobile mechanic!
gap
Luckily for us, the situations have started to change at last, although the rate of change is way too slow. The ruling powers at both the center, as well as the states have or at least claim to have understood the importance of vocational training and have come forward with active support in terms of resources as well as creating an atmosphere that is conducive for such training and education. Suddenly, there has been a bevy of activities in this "supposedly" lucrative market segment in India and every Tom, Dick & Harry are coming up with a vocational education division. This may actually backfire and may result in people losing whatever faith they have in these training programs. Many of these companies also have some kind of tie-up with either the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) or some state government department(s). But the unrealistic target that they quote in terms of number of youths to be trained within a certain time period, makes one wonder about the long term ramifications.
gap
My personal experience tells me that no amount of Government subsidies or grants can ensure the success of the vocational education & training initiatives till the mindsets of the population are changed to accept the vocational qualifications as at par with the traditional degrees when it comes to deciding the social status. But, for that to happen, the entire primary education system, including the teaching methods, need to be overhauled completely. Moreover, the recruitment process for teachers should also be made free of the political considerations. But, in India, no one will seriously believe that such a thing could happen overnight. The Government can also help in this regard by designing courses/degrees which will be equivalent to the traditional ones.
gap
May be, the best bet for the vocational education & training would be to continue working with the same zeal and the results will start to show 5 years down the line. Its a long term business proposition in India. If the companies are there to make a quick buck, then they should rethink their position & goals and should take an informed decision whether they are in the right business or not.
gap
Ultimately, the success or otherwise of vocational education in India will depend on the seriousness of the training providers, quality of training being provided, a positive push from the Government's side and the perception of the general population, especially the middle class, about the vocational degree, diploma and certifications. By 2016-17, it should be clear to us whether we have been able to bridge the targeted gap or not.
If we look in to our education system, we'll find it to be divided in to pre-schools/KG/pre-primary, Primary, Secondary & Higher Secondary and Tertiary sections. Out of these, pre-schools are mostly in private hands and the Government's real intervention starts from the Primary Education. In these divisions, where does Vocational Education & Training (VET) fit in? The best fit would be to introduce vocational education parallely along Secondary & Higher Secondary and may be allowed to continue up to the Graduation. Of course, professional and technical education run along a different track on a separate plane altogether. This would have solved the problem faced by numerous "educationally qualified" but unemployed, as well as unemployable youths.
gap
Let's take the real life example of a person, who had cleared 10th standard with 41% marks and enrolled in the 10+2 Arts stream. He cleared the Higher Secondary examination too, but with a similar 43% marks and then enrolled in B.A. with Bengali, Political Science and Philosophy. In due course of time, he graduated with 42% marks and then started looking for a job.
gap
A couple of very valid questions then arose regarding his employable skills and those questions are valid even today for thousands of youth like him. What kind of job is this guy fit for? And, where is the scope for practical application of whatever he had studied/learned for 15 years?
gap
Unfortunately, this person, who had been one year my senior, has remained unemployed till date. In his case, the degrees obtained were merely for decorative purposes, so that his parents and family could claim that he is a graduate. The Indian psyche would still rate this "good for nothing" educational qualification as higher than that of a classmate who had enrolled in an Industrial Training Center (ITI) and earns five figure salary per month working as an automobile mechanic!
gap
Luckily for us, the situations have started to change at last, although the rate of change is way too slow. The ruling powers at both the center, as well as the states have or at least claim to have understood the importance of vocational training and have come forward with active support in terms of resources as well as creating an atmosphere that is conducive for such training and education. Suddenly, there has been a bevy of activities in this "supposedly" lucrative market segment in India and every Tom, Dick & Harry are coming up with a vocational education division. This may actually backfire and may result in people losing whatever faith they have in these training programs. Many of these companies also have some kind of tie-up with either the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) or some state government department(s). But the unrealistic target that they quote in terms of number of youths to be trained within a certain time period, makes one wonder about the long term ramifications.
gap
My personal experience tells me that no amount of Government subsidies or grants can ensure the success of the vocational education & training initiatives till the mindsets of the population are changed to accept the vocational qualifications as at par with the traditional degrees when it comes to deciding the social status. But, for that to happen, the entire primary education system, including the teaching methods, need to be overhauled completely. Moreover, the recruitment process for teachers should also be made free of the political considerations. But, in India, no one will seriously believe that such a thing could happen overnight. The Government can also help in this regard by designing courses/degrees which will be equivalent to the traditional ones.
gap
May be, the best bet for the vocational education & training would be to continue working with the same zeal and the results will start to show 5 years down the line. Its a long term business proposition in India. If the companies are there to make a quick buck, then they should rethink their position & goals and should take an informed decision whether they are in the right business or not.
gap
Ultimately, the success or otherwise of vocational education in India will depend on the seriousness of the training providers, quality of training being provided, a positive push from the Government's side and the perception of the general population, especially the middle class, about the vocational degree, diploma and certifications. By 2016-17, it should be clear to us whether we have been able to bridge the targeted gap or not.
