Are schools ready for vocational education?

BANGALORE: With the Ministry for Human Resources Development (HRD) all set to introduce vocational education in schools from the next academic year, schools in the city welcome this idea with some schools even introducing their own models of vocational and creative education into their curriculum.But the question is: are schools ready to handle the new inclusion? Vocational education, according to National Vocational Educational Qualification Framework (NVEQF), will be introduced from class nine in the next academic year.What schools need for a successful vocational educational programme is the necessary infrastructure, which is almost guaranteed in private schools.For instance, Sri Vani School has implemented the Zap Zany Project, a creative writing study workshop that encourages writing and oratory skills.“Our education system is too inclined to Maths and Science subjects. Now, schools are implementing various methods to develop critical and logical thinking and other virtues,” said Uday Menon, head (India), Zap Zany Project. Zap Zany’s role is to provide only content and technology. Sri Vani School has the necessary infrastructure to implement such projects.“With more than 35 computers, the school is wellequipped for such programmes. Being able to talk fluently in English is one achievement, but being able to translate that into words is a totally different ball game,” said Sharad Prasad, principal, Sri Vani School.Indus International School recently held a Model United Nations (MUN).“Such exercises help students develop a better understanding of world news.Holistic development of students is important,” said Omkar Joshi, vice-principal, Indus School. This is the question industry watchers are asking: Is it enough to announce vocational education without providing the necessary infrastructure? D Jagannatha Rao, former director, Department of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) welcomes the move, but is skeptical of its implementation.“I want to see how it will be implemented with 50-60 per cent of students dropping out after SSLC,” said Rao. “Earlier, a vocational gardening programme was introduced, with many institutions having not even one acre of land,” he added, stating that the State and the- Central governments will always have some conflict of interests.“Only 5 million are getting quality education in the country. What about the rest of the population? We need a form of education that can build confidence among students,” said Aditya Dev Sood from the Centre for Knowledge Societies.