Kolhapur : Over 160 schools and junior colleges in the state have been granted permission to introduce vocational courses from the academic year 2016-17 for students in standard IX to XII.
Last year, the state government had joined hands with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the introduction of vocational courses for class IX to XII at 350 schools across the state.
In the fresh government resolution issued on September 26, the state has announced that introduction of the vocational courses in 164 schools, including three from Kolhapur district. The laboratory in the selected schools will be set up by the NSDC and it will also house some trainers.
For every trade, such as automobile, agriculture, media and entertainment, healthcare, a batch of only 25 students can be admitted. The courses will be implemented under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).
From the academic year 2016-17, students from standard IX and X can opt for vocational courses by dropping the social science subjects. These courses are industry-driven with the curriculum developed and approved by Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (Bhopal).
An official from the Kolhapur district primary education department said the courses are mostly from the fields of automobile, agriculture, media and entertainment, healthcare, retail, multi-skills, tourism, beauty and wellness, and sports. In future, more streams might be added under this scheme.
Satappa Mohite, a city-based education activist, said the initiative from the state government will prove quite useful for the students and the addition of 164 educational institutes is a welcome step. “We will need more industry-driven courses and the participation of more schools from the state to get the most out of this initiative,” he said.
Last year, the state government’s Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) had signed a memorandum of understanding with the NSDC for introduction of vocational education in schools in Maharashtra as per NSQF.
The NSQF-compatible vocational courses for standard IX to XII were then introduced and integrated from the academic year 2015-16 in 350 schools across the state with an aim to make the students employable when they complete their secondary education.
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