SECTION B : SECONDARY EDUCATION
 

I. Vocationalisation

Assam

- Vocational education should be augmented by (a) opening more I.T.Is and raising their standards (b) enforcing the Apprenticeship Act after necessary amendments.

- The vocational courses should be diversified and the duration of such courses may vary from one another according to requirement.

- There should be restraint in having vocational courses without adequate Preparations. It shall be initiated after preparations, such as teachers, teaching materials etc. are complete.

- The need of a particular vocational course in a locality should be ascertained from a. survey of the district of the locality.

- Vocational students should get apprenticeship through Legislation.

Bihar

- The highly skilled students with a gift of imagination should have an access to technical education in terms of preference.

- Vocationalisation at +2 stage needs radical orientation, from management to teaching.

- Types of vocational courses to be followed should reflect the needs of the area, and facilities being provided there so that such a course becomes commercially viable too.

- An adequate number of vocational teachers should be appointed and trained both on regular and part-time basis.

- vocationalisation at +2 stage should have a link with the development programmes in rural and urban areas.

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Gujrat

- School education both at the secondary and higher secondary levels should provide the necessary vocational dimension for education.

- Vocationalisation at 10 Plus stage should be encouraged and the provision of number of students in the vocational institutions should be equivalent to the number provided for in the academic system.

- Instruction should be imparted in vocational institutions with vocation as the aim, with additional academic knowledge in the, related subjects.

- Vocational guidance and career Management should also become an essential part of the school system and training in vocational guidance should be given to every secondary school teacher.

Haryana

- It should be an integral part of school education system structured in such a way so that students can be sufficiently equipped with both knowledge and skills to join as a part of economic life as a wage earner.

- The aim of vocational education at plus 2 stage should be to provide diversification in educational opportunities for enabling the students to select vocations according to their aptitudes, interests and ability and thereby improve their competence for wage and self-employment.

- The foundation for vocationalisation of secondary education will have to be laid earlier than 10 plus stage.

- higher Secondary or Senior Secondary education should have two stream academic as well as vocational. Vocational education should be regarded as an integral part of 10+2 system.

- It should be ensured that vocational education should not be rated lower than the academic courses.

- Vocational education should be planned as a cooperative venture between school, community and employers.

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- Admission to vocational courses should be strictly based upon the abilities, aptitude and capabilities. For this purpose the strong guidance and counselling service in the school will have to be organised and strengthened.

- Provision of facilities for vertical mobility for those who wish to pursue further education is essential.

- Vocationalisation for self-employment should reckon with the need for supplementary inputs like credit, market etc. and should also aim at extending the scope of possibilities of effective tie up with the district industries centre and other institutions etc.

Himachal Pradesh

- It is expected that 75 per cent students would go to non-academic courses.

- To make the vocational education. system effective and fool-proof there should be a linkage between it and industries or opportunities for self-employment.

- Both practical training and theoretical training in vocational education should be incorporated in actual work situation.

- For Planning training of teachers, preparation of curriculum and select on of courses, an attempt should be, made to appoint Professionals and create a temper of professionalism.

- Adequate financial resources should also be provided well in advance.

- To start with, one school in each block should be selected for starting vocational courses.

- The arrangements for vocationalisation of education for the students has to be planned and executed before restructuring re- admission to academic courses.

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Jammu & Kashmir

- Vocationalisation is an urgent necessity in the context of prevailing educational scenario and socio-economic structure of the country.

- At the secondary level some preliminary knowledge and experience about some basic skills useful in day to day life, like handling of electric gadgets, simple tools and instruments, can be imparted.

- Diversification of courses be made at higher secondary levels i.e. plus 2.

Madhya Pradesh

- The programme of vocationalisation. of education undertaken in the country on the basis of the recommendations of the Kothari Commission has not been a roaring success. At the same time the need of vocationalisation of education in order to link it with life and to equip the students to enter the world of work with confidence and required skills is universally accepted. Therefore, a new strategy has to be evolved. The major components of such a new strategy should be:

- The necessary elementary skills and other capabilities that would be the, foundation of vocational training at higher secondary stage should be introduced in the elementary and secondary stages. This would mean identification and introduction of such skills in the school curriculum as would have a broad based applicability to a variety of vocations and professions.

- At the higher secondary level, there should be P. vocational stream with courses tailor-made for certain identified Vocations that are in demand or that would be in demand in the socioeconomic region, keeping in view its total developmental perspecive.

- The academic stream at the higher secondary stage should also have a component of vocational education. Instead of the present practice of study of three academic disciplines in addition to language only two academic disciplines and a

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vocatonal subject related to the disciplines should constitute the academic stream.

- The entry into professional education like engineering, medical and agriculture etc. should be so organised as to enable a person in the vocational stream to compete on a fair basis with a student from the academic stream. Where admission tests are held for admission to the professional colleges, they should be so designed as to include a common component in which both the Students of vocational stream and academic stream have received the same level of instructions and should have two optional sections, one of which will relate to the curriculum of the academic stream, and the other to that of the vocational stream.

- For those who do well in vocational stream after the practical experience of working in the vocation for a minimum period, say for example five years, there should be opportunities for further training which will have components of improvement of vocational sills as also necessary theoretical components so that after such further training he would be on are with those who have received instructions in a professional college.

- At the University stage the University Grants Commission has recommended restructuring of undergraduate courses in which two optional subjects and one applied component are included. The concept of applied component does not go far enough. It would be desirable to introduce a vocatonal trade or subject in all the faculties.

- A systematic and simultaneous change in the qualifications prescribed for various jobs both in the Government and private sector would have to be brought in to ensure that only those who have undergone vocational training at the higher secondary stage qualify for appropriate jobs in preference to those in the academic stream.

- The new strategy for vocationalization of education, therefore, would start from primary education and shall go right upto the University education. It would not have a clear cut bifurcation at plus two stage but would provide for two different channels both of which can enable the students to go directly to professional colleges or to a

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vocation, with necessary bridge course in the case of the academic stream.

- In order to, make vocationalisation a success, a radical reconstruction of the vocational course with sufficient financial backing from the centre is required.

- To provide a strong vocational bade at +2 stage and, also to enable the students passing out Class-X from the Secondary Schools to go in occupational/technical training course of at least 2/3 Years the pre-vocational and the work experience programmes in class IX and X will have, to be restructured.

- The courses of work experience at the Elementary stage and vocationalisation at +2 stage shall also be restructured as follows:

- Work Experience for Classes a and X may include two courses - one leading to occupational training in specific trades and another for preparing the students to have a strong base for vocationalisation at +2 stage.

- Vocational courses for classes XI and XII should consist of only limited trades suitable for the Region/State/Territory and also having futuristic scope of employment.

Meghalaya

- Vocational guidance and counselling should play its role right from the primary level.

- The students of general education should not be over based with vocational courses and hence legging the two courses together may not be feasible and rather the two courses may not receive proper attention to equip the students begittingly.

- To ensure flexibility it may considered to impart general courses by academic streams to the willing talented in the evening after they have completed teh vacational courses in the day time.

- While starting vocational courses care should be taken that competent teachers are appointed so that the vocational courses should be started only when it con ensure that the vocational get

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employment either in some organised sector or to start self- employment.

Nagaland

Vocationalization of education should be done from class IX level.

Orissa

- The primary aim of vocationalisation should be to provide diversification in educational opportunities to enable the students to acquire skills which increase their employability while at the same time providing the society with personnel having a wide spectrum of knowledge and training to meet diverse manpower needs for its economic development.

- For the post-matriculation stage, two separate streams may be envisaged.

The first stream may be an exclusively vocational stream for which general education upto the matriculation stage is considered adequate. Such vocational courses should be conducted in separate institutions of vocational education.

The second stream may consist of students who join the higher secondary courses of studies, and polytechnics need not be duplicated in institutions offering higher secondary courses in vocational streams.

- It would be necessary to design vocational courses to match the requirements of specific jobs so that persons who have received vocational training arre accorded preference in the matter of recruitent.

Rajasthan

- The facility to opt for vocational stream should be available at plus 8 stage. Students who opt for vocational education after 7 years of general schooling, should be admitted to separate vocational school which can be established at regional/district level. The existing infrastructure of ITI and Polytechnic can be used for setting up such schools, wherever feasible.

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- Four years of specialised vocational training would equip the students with sufficient knowledge and skills to branch out on their own with self-confidence.

- There should be provisions for horizontal and vertical mobility for vocationally qualified students.

- Courses offered in vocational training schools should be need based, relevant and flexible.

- The manpower needs of the region should be kept in mind while introducing and designing courses.

- A core faculty should be employed in vocational schools on a permanent basis and services of locally available technicians should be utilised on as part-time basis.

- Since the success of vocational education and manpower planning will depend, to a large extent, upon placement of vocationally trained candidates, it is suggested that Placement Divisions in each vocational school should be constituted and be entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that their products are absorbed in the market and perform their role effectively.

Sikkim

- Vocationalisation of +2 stage is necessary to identify those having aptitude and to train them so that when they pass out of class XII, they should be qualified for employment.

Uttar Pradesh

- Diversification and vocationalisation of existing general Secondary Education is necessary for making education responsive to regional and national developmental needs.

- Every secondary school should be, converted into a community polytechnique gradually.