 VOCATIONALISATION OF EDUCATION

12.1 Vocationalisation is one of the areas to which the NPERC attached great importance and paid a great deal of attention. While sharing some perceptions with NPE, the NPERC had major differences with NPE. Following are the common perceptions:

i) vocationalisation of secondary education is crucial for 3 3 Š educational reorganisation and national development;

ii) the importance of the relationship between education and work which implies empowering people for work;

iii) the significance of work experience;

iv) the need for non-formal vocational courses for neo- literates, school drop-outs, working persons and unemployed or partially employed. persons with special attention to women.

12.2 Following are the major differences:

i) NPE envisaged vocational education to be a distinct stream, intended to prepare students for identified occupations. The NPERC, on the other hand, felt that the dichotomy between academic and vocational stream was not desirable and that a core component of vocationalisation should be part of the curriculum for all students at the secondary stage.

ii) According to NPE, vocational courses would be ordinarily provided at the +2 stage; however, prevocational courses may be made available after class VIII to keep the scheme flexible. However, the NPERC was against fragmenting the secondary stage into lower secondary and higher secondary for introduction of vocational courses. The NPERC view would imply a switching over to 8+4 pattern of' education instead of the present 10+2 pattern.

12.3 The divergences are largely explained by the NPERC's absolutist view of work experience and vocationalisation. According to the NPERC, the objective of vocationalisation cannot be merely imparting specific saleable manual skills; it should aim at relating the hand with the head and the heart so that productive labour and socially useful work become the medium for developing creative intelligence and a knowledge base on which one could keep building throughout one's life. The role of education should be empowering people for work and inculcating the appreciation of work for its own sake. Work as a medium of education should be reflected throughout the content and process of education. In coming out strongly against two streams' one academic and another vocational, the NPERC was also influenced by

its perception that vocational stream had come to be viewed by the students as well as parents to be inferior and meant for the less fortunate. The NPERC considered that Work Experience/ Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) programmes had in practice degenerated into trivial activities and put forth the view that instead of being provided through structured programmes, Work Experience should be endogenous to the whole process of education. 3= 3 Š 12.4 We do note that some of the recommendations, particularly, R.Nos.188 and 189, appear to be at variance with the NPERC's vision of vocationalisation. An integrated design of vocational education was suggested for classes IX to XII, according to which the students have a compulsory general core subject, a compulsory vocational core subject and different mixes of elective academic and vocational subjects. The vocational content of one of the options suggested is more vocational-intense than the present vocational stream. R.No.189 also referred to provision for specific skill training as one of the requirements for the long term viability of vocational education. Therefore, the two recommendations seem to imply that the NPERC did not exclude, in operational terms, streaming of subjects and occupation -- specific education and training.

12.5. While the NPERC did not specifically suggest any change in the 10+2 pattern, the integrated design of vocational education (R.Nos.188 and 189) would seem to imply that the four years from class IX to XII constitute a distinct four year block and that there should be a switch over to an 8+4 pattern. Each pattern has its distinct advantages and disadvantages and different countries have opted for different patterns for well considered reasons. However, it took nearly twenty years for the 10+2 pattern to be fully accepted in our country. A transition to yet another pattern would be a long-drawn- out process, and would impose further avoidable adjustment costs. The change to 8+4 pattern would necessitate re-writing the curricula and textbooks not only of vocational courses but also of general education.

12.6 We have taken a holistic view of the preceptions and the recommdations of the NPERC. We appreciate the concern of the NPERC for inculcation of a positive attitude to work from class I onwards, a concern which is very much in keeping with the NPE perception. We also feel that the Work Experience/SUPW courses need to be toned up in keeping with the common perception of NPE and the NPERC on Work Experience. The National Curricular Framework brought out by the NCERT suggested compulsory Work Experience at all stages of education. However, even at middle and secondary stages, the integration of work with learning has not come about as it ought to. The time allocation for Work Experience hardly exceeds ten per cent in many States. Though the NCERT guidelines were made available to the States, there has been no planned intervention either by the Central Government or by most States.

12.7 The idea of a core vocational course suggested by the NPERC (R.Nos.188 and 189) is very appealing. Generic vocational courses which cut across various occupational fields and which are primarily not occupation specific have many potential benefits. The benefits would include promoting the all-round personality of students, acting as a corrective to the textbook oriented learning process that goes on in school, fostering right values and attitude to work and providing 3t 3 Š the students with a general skill base which would facilitate acquisition of more specific skills.

12.8 The litmus test of any vocational programme is the eventual gainful placement of students in their chosen vocational areas. The employability of the students depends to a great extent on the relevance, quality, specificity and intensive nature of vocational education. Specifically tailored curricula have to be provided to students to develop skill proficiency for jobs. It would be necessary to improve the market orientation of the programme and to use training resources efficiently. Good vocational training costs more than general education and it is thus important to manage costs efficiently. We feel that undifferentiated teaching of vocational skills may foster the right attitudes to work but it may not facilitate the development of specific skills. The resources would be spread too thinly to provide the necessary inputs needed for preparation of employable students. We are fortified in our conclusion by the fact that countries which are making rapid progress in education and development such as South Korea, Philippines and China, are streaming their students. We, therefore, advocate retention of the present system of distinct streams of vocational education.

12.9 R.No. 190 dealing with reorganisation of vocational courses for those who do not go in for formal secondary school system, R.No. 192 dealing with work benches and practice schools, R.No. 193 dealing with teacher education courses, and R.Nos. 195 and 197 dealing with management of vocational education have no new policy implications. They relate to implementation modalities which are congruent with NPE/POA. We suggest that these recommendations be taken into account while revising the POA.

12.10 R.No. 194 suggested that the management, planning and implementation of the vocational education programmes should be decentralised and entrusted to individual high schools and school complexes. Flowing from this recommendation, R.No. 196 suggested that the concept of National and State Councils of Vocational Education should be reformulated in the framework of decentralised planning. We note that under the existing scheme, a number of functions are decentralised. These include the planning of courses, and selection of institutions and industries for collaboration. The District Vocational Surveys are expected to provide valuable inputs for the planning process. Arrangements for teaching-learning are also decentralised and are expected to be provided at the school; coordination is envisaged at the district level. However, a certain degree of centralisation of the arrangement is necessary to ensure national standards of

achievement. Therefore, a few functions like overall planning, monitoring and supervisory role have been envisaged at the State and Central levels. The Central Institute of Vocational Education and 3« 3 Š State Councils of Vocational Education are expected to provide the necessary resource support for the programmes at the Central and State levels. Therefore, we feel that the degree of and areas for decentralisation should be determined with reference to the monitoring and periodic evaluation of the scheme.

12.11 We take note of the fact that vocationalisation is a complex programme in which inputs of a diverse nature have to be provided in a coordinated manner. Therefore, we feel that greater rigour must be brought to bear on the planning and implementation of the programme, particularly in regard to the conduct of district surveys, the preparatory measures needed for starting a course, linkages with employers, pre-service and in-service training for teachers, preparation of good quality instructional material, adequate management structure and provision of vertical mobility for graduates of vocational education.

12.12 To summarise, we recommend the following:

i) The existing vocational stream at the +2 level may be suitably strengthened and, wherever possible, the vocational courses may be started from class IX also.

ii) Generic vocational courses may be introduced on a selective basis; to begin with generic vocational courses may be tried out in about ten per cent of the schools.

iii) The Work Experience programme may be systematically implemented by allocating 12.5 per cent to 20 per cent of the school time for these activities; the activities should have a practical orientation in relation to various subjects under this programme. The vocational "core" would find place at the secondary and higher secondary stages; Work Experience/ SUPW would relate to elementary education.

iv) The other recommendations relating to implementation may be taken note of while revising POA.

v) Greater rigour should be brought to bear on the planning and implementation of the scheme.