EDUCATION AND RIGHT TO WORK
8.1.0 The concept of vocationalisation as presented in NPE, 1986 (para 5.13) is linked to secondary education. The Policy says vocationalisation through specialised institutions or through the refashioning of secondary education, can, at this stage provide valuable manpower for economic growth'. The salient features of vocationalisation as reflected in the NPE are the following:
- Enhancement of individual employability, reduction of mismatch between the demand and supply of skilled manpower and provision of an alternative for those pursuing higher education without particular interest or purposes.
- Vocational education to be a distinct stream intended to prepare students for identified occupations.
- Courses to be ordinarily provided at the post secondary stage but can be made available after class VIII.
- Development of attitudes, knowledge and skills for entrepreneurship and self-employment.
- Vertical mobility for vocational graduates to be provided through bridge courses.
- A target for diversion of 10% of higher secondary students to vocational courses by 1990 and 25% by 1995.
8.2.1 The POA identifies inadequate organisational structure as a single most important aspect of the unsatisfactory progress of vocationalisation. Building up on this, the POA suggests a Joint Council of Vocational Education (JCVE) as an apex body at the Rational level; a Central Institute of Vocational Education (CIVE) to perform research and development and monitoring and evaluating functions, State Councils and Institutes of Vocational Education (SCVEs & SIVEs) and district level co-ordination committees.
8.2.2 In the view of the Committee the objective of vocationalisation is different from that under NPE. It is not merely to impart specific saleable manual skills but to relate hand with head and heart so that productive labour and socially useful work become a medium for developing creative intelligence and a knowledge base on which one could keep building throughout life. While the Constitution could give the political right to work and developmental planning multiple opportunities for work, the role of education is to equip the students with capability for work with socioeconomic relevance i.e. to empower people
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for work. It is also to inculcate an attitude for appreciation of work for its own sake.
8.2.3 The emphasis, according to the Committee, should be on work as a medium of education as reflected through the content and process of education itself at all levels and not so much on creation of an exogenous hierarchy of managerial structures like JCVE, SCEVE etc.
8.2.4 In order to achieve diversion of 10%/25% of higher secondary students to vocational courses, NPE envisages two streams; one academic and the other vocational. In the opinion of the Committee, this dichotomy between streams is not desirable.
8.2.5 Hitherto the focus of vocationalisation has largely been in urban areas. The focus has to be directed to the entire world of work including the unorganized sector.
8.2.6 According to the NPE/POA as already brought out, vocational stream is to be introduced at the post secondary stage though there is provision for introducing the same after class VIII. In the view of the Committee, fragmentation of secondary stage into lower and higher secondary for introduction of vocational courses is not desirable. Work experience according to NPE, 1986, though considered as an essential component at all stages, is to be provided through structured programmes. But such structured programmes have often tended to degenerate into trivial activities. One discovers oneself through the medium of work. This was the fundamental insight of Gandhiji, Tagore, Zakir Hussain and others and this is also the justification for socially useful productive work becoming an important medium for developmental education. Consistent with this, SUPW is viewed by the Committee more seriously as something endogenous to the whole process of education presenting a strong base for vocational education at higher levels.
8.3.0 The need for vocational education has been dealt with by various Commissions from time to time. During the British period the system of education in India was geared to two major goals namely, provision of supporting staff for running the administration and the general needs of making the people of India aware of the science and literature of the West. This British legacy has continued and school education has remained largely general, causing unemployment. Wood's Despatch of 1854 advised that education in secondary schools should be practically useful to the people of India in their different spheres of life'. The Hunter Commission of 1882 gave specific attention to provision of vocational education. It called for two divisions of higher schools one providing access to universities and the other of a more practical character to equip the youth for commercial/non- literary pursuits. The Hartog Committee (1929) called for diversified curricula in the schools for diversion of more boys to industrial and commercial careers at the end of the middle stage, preparatory to special
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instruction in technical and industrial schools. The Sapru Committee (1934) advised vocational studies commencing after 11 years of education. The Abbot-Wood Report (1936-37) suggested a hierarchy of vocational institutions appropriate to the general education structure. The Sargent Report (1944) recommended technical, commercial and art education for full time and part time students on adequate scales. The University Education Commission (1948-49) recommended the opening of intermediate colleges at the end of class X for giving vocational base to the students in a system of general education leading to university courses. The Secondary Education Commission (1952-53) generally stressed the need for vocational education. The Education Commission (1964-66) pointed out that university degrees were not necessary for the majority of jobs at the middle levels which could be competently handled by vocationally well trained higher secondary graduates. The Commission also referred to more than 50% of the students dropping out of the high schools and embarking upon work without any professional competency. This Commission further identified work experience as an essential element of purposeful education. Vocational education at the +2 stage was built into 1968 Policy. NPE, 1986 re-emphasised vocational education with physical targets on a time bound basis.
8.4.1 Pursuant to NPE, 1986 and POA a centrally sponsored scheme of vocationalisation of education was established. The objective of the scheme was to make' post-secondary education relevant to world of work. The overall budget approved by the Government for the Seventh Plan period was about Rs.410 crores. The scheme envisages grant of assistance to States ranging from 25% to 100% for activities such as conduct of district vocational service, acquisition of vocational equipment, construction of buildings, production of resource materials and teacher training.
8.4.2 The physical target was to introduce vocational courses in about 5,000 schools. Exhibited below is a Table containing particulars of physical and financial achievements under this scheme, as presented by the Department of Education:
Table 1
1987-88 1988-89 1989-90 Total
Number of States/UTs 18 22 23 23
Number of Schools 1080 1505 163 2748
Number of Vocational 3167 4169 484 7820
sections
Amount released (Rupees 32.56 49.75 43.96 125.95
in crores) (50.00) (50.00) (47.00)
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8.4.3 According to the Department of Education by the end of Seventh Plan, sanctions were issued for creating facilities for an annual enrolment in vocational courses of about two lakh students. The Department estimated the likely annual enrolment at one lakh. Slackening of progress in the scheme during the year 1989-90 has been classified in terms of non-existence of management structures at the State level, non-establishment of school-industry linkages, slow pace of modification of recruitment rules at the Central and State levels for absorption .of vocational graduates in services, non-availability of trained teachers, inadequate facilities for practical training and apprehensions about blockage of vertical mobility.
8.4.4 Monitoring of progress of implementation of vocational education scheme is done through the following modalities:
- Discussions between officers of Central and State Governments during visits to States/New Delhi.
- Quarterly progress reports.
- Release of Central assistance based only on progress reports regarding utilisation of funds released earlier.
- Review seminars of NCERT in which State and Central Government officers participate.
8.4.5 However, delays and shortfalls in implementation have occurred as reflected by the following Table concerning major States:
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8.4.6 As the above Statement brings out in regard to twelve major States, out of an amount of Rs.108.48 crores sanctioned during the three years 1987-90, an amount of Rs.56.76 crores (52.32%) is yet to be spent. There have been substantial shortfalls in the commencement of vocational courses and coverage of schools against the sanctions in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, Orissa, Rajasthan and UP.
8.4.7 Delays and shortfalls have often been due mainly to the following reasons:
- Non reflection of Central assistance in the State budgets.
- Non provision of counterpart funds by the States for certain elements of the scheme in their budgets.
- Delays on the part of the Planning and Finance Departments of the State Governments in giving sanctions for creation of posts to implement the scheme. (State Governments have been chary of creation of posts particularly because, on completion of Plan periods the financial commitments pass on to their Non-Plan budgets.)
- Delays in the production of teaching/learning material.
- Delays in securing the services of teachers.
8.4.8 As of now, the State Governments do not furnish, at the time of presentation of proposals for Central assistance, specific deadlines within which they will undertake the various activities for implementing the vocational education scheme activities such as production of teaching/learning materials, formulation/modification of curriculum/syllabus, completion of civil construction, procurement of equipment, positioning of manpower including teachers etc.
Recommendation So long as the scheme in the present form is implemented, Government may insist that the State Governments should furnish deadlines for each of the above mentioned activities to be undertaken before funds are sanctioned. Reportedly, in Karnataka State, before seeking Central assistance, the State Department of Education gets all the necessary clearances internally within their Government. This practice may be commended to the other States.
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8.5.1 Historically, the basic reasons for the poor performance of vocational education programmes have been:
(i) traditional class/caste oriented social attitude sustained by fairly easy access to highly subsidised college/university education, particularly in liberal arts and humanities;
(ii) lack of socioeconomic relevance of the courses offered; (These vocations are learnt as 'practicals' mainly by those who drop out at much lower levels in the education system. It often gives the 'practicals' an edge over the 10+2 vocational output in the employment/self-employment market because of lack of proper linkage between the vocational education programme and the employment market. As per 1981 census, there were as many as two crore technical/vocational occupations in the employment market while the total number of technically qualified persons in the labour force for manning these positions was less than twenty lakhs which means 90% of the technical/vocational positions were held mostly by the school drop out 'practicals' mentioned above.) and
(iii) distortions in technical education system and lack of linkage between vocational and technical education.
8.5.2 The Committee in making its recommendations for a new model of education, has taken the above historical facts into consideration.
8.6.0 The Education Commission, 1964-66, identified work experience and social service as essential elements of purposeful education. These two elements were integrated into a holistic concept and was re-named Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) by the Ishwarbhai Patel Review Committee (1978). Work experience which is to develop creative skills, however, has degenerated into trivial activities, most often extra-curricular, the social dimension essential for the concept missing altogether.
Recommendation Work Experience/Socially Useful Productive Work should be integrally linked with various subjects both at the level of content and pedagogy.
8.7.0 The two streams envisaged under the NPE has resulted in a dual system of education in which vocational education has come to be looked upon as the poor man's stream. There is need for
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development of a positive attitude towards work from Class I onwards. There should be higher level of vocational education beyond Class VIII. A core component of vocationalisation has to be part of the curriculum for all and hence the sharp division that exists between the academic (for the 'talented') and the vocational (for the rest) should cease. Besides, for a large section of the students, especially in the rural sector and among the deprived urban communities, vocationalisation at the plus two stage will mean no vocationalisation, in effect. It is necessary to define the meaning of the expression vocationalisation of education, as the Committee uses it here. There is no intention to make all students immediately fit into specific jobs through specific training at the secondary level. In other words, the aim is not to provide terminal vocational courses to all from the secondary stage onwards. But the four year secondary, from Classes IX to XII should be viewed as a stage and integrally, so that courses can be planned that may last one, two or three or four years, in the academic or vocational stream. While, on the one hand, provision has to be made to enable those who wish to train themselves for immediate placement in the world of work, on completion, it is also the suggestion that all, without exception, including the most academically gifted, should be involved in a basic minimum of vocational or pre-vocational courses at the secondary stage, as part of a process of holistic developmental education. In the case of those who complete class VIII and do not go into the secondary stage of formal education, facilities should be provided for acquisition of vocational skills through other means.
Recommendations (i) An integrated design of vocational education to be operated for classes IX to XII may be established as presented in the following model with a general core and vocational core and flexible mixes of academic and vocational subjects:
Classes IX to XII
Compulsory Core General
Core Vocational
Optional Academic Vocational Academic Academic
groupings Academic Vocational Academic Vocational
Academic Vocational Vocational Vocational
Flexibility should be provided for children to opt for different mixes of academic and vocational subjects as per the pattern exhibited above.
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(ii) In order to make vocationalisation a success, substantial structual changes may be introduced in secondary education along the principles of modular courses and credit accumulation, at the same time providing flexibility for multiple exit and entry points for the students. In other words, students opting for any particular vocational course should have the facility of acquiring credits for specific modules of courses, go out into the world of 'work and come back later at their convenience for earning further credits by pursuing further modules. This would make it possible for the schools to offer vocational courses in varying combinations with subjects such as Languages, Mathematics, Sciences and Social Studies. No doubt, vocational and non-vocational subjects should be inter- woven both at the level of content and pedagogy. For those students taking up vocational courses at the secondary stage leading to direct job placements, provision should also be made for further education in those vocations or other fields and, if necessary, bridge courses may be provided. These arrangements are necessary in the expanding world of knowledge and technology, which requires continuing and updating of education for all. What is required for long term viability of vocationalised education is to make provision not merely for specific skill training but also for necessary theoretical background to enhance transferability of well planned and logically designed open learning and distance learning programmes at the school and university levels should be established as the same would be a good support system for vocationalisation of education.
(iii) For those who do not go in for formal secondary education in the school system, vocational programmes should be organised in non-formal stream like through TRYSEM and community polytechnics and in the formal stream through the ITIs, Rural Institutions etc.
(iv) Several vocational courses get sex stereotyped. That is, they are considered predominantly relevant in the domain of women. This stereotyping should be carefully availed; and girls given access to increasingly diversified courses not discriminated in terms of relevance to men or women. (This subject has been referred to in the Section concerning Education and Women's Equality). Access for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to vocational courses should be enhanced too. This has also been referred in the relevant section of the Chapter on 'Equity, Social Justice and Education'.