SCHEME OF IMPLEMENTATION
Basic Principles 4.01 Vocationalisation of education is a major thrust in the reconstruction of present educational system. While it is recognised that modern education cannot sacrifice its liberal content totally, its principal aim should be to equip the youth with such manual skills founded on basic scientific principles as would be needed in today's society and with capacity to adapt to ever changing scientific and technological developments. The vocationalisation of education has to be looked from the point of view of the country's special needs and the goals set by the Government. Thus the new education envisages an appropriate blend of training in practical arts for the fulfilment of these goals, the requirements of employing agencies in terms of attitudes, competencies, skill excellence and adaptability to change. Education itself does not produce jobs but vocationalised education makes an individual more employable.
4.02 Our economy being a developing one, there must be an adequate supply of personnel for higher administrative and professional levels, as also unskilled and semi-skilled manpower for the lower levels. But there are also crucial middle level supervisory and other positions without which neither production can be increased nor services improved. Through vocationalisation of education we can prepare middle level manpower who would not merely be superior to skilled workers but who would work with their brains as well as their hands. They would interact with others to produce new goods and services, which may satisfy a long felt need of the Community.
4.03 The accent on self-employment is an index of anxiety that all those who qualify in vocational studies are unlikely to secure gainful jobs of their choice. Further vocational education at no stage can be a guarantee for jobs. Millions of jobs cannot be created year after year whatever be the growth rate. One of the chief aims of vocational education is to produce entrepreneurs with special emphasis on agriculture including agro-based and small and cottage industries who through adventurous efforts and abilities, become creators of jobs for themselves and also for others. But entrepreneurship and self- employment are not meant for all. There may be a small but a significant percentage, who will dare to embark upon their own enterprises. They require not only first class skill mastery but the art and science of management of money, machines and men. Specialised entrepreneurship courses must be offered by experts and experienced entrepreneurs or business managers. These will be the future captains of new industries, banks, medical practitioners on whom the society will depend for its needs and progress. Financial assistance, adequate training, apprenticeship in big concerns and continued interest in solving their problems at the initial stages should be provided until they succeed and this requires an imaginative investment policy and administrative set-up.
Occupational Survey 4.04 The demand for new skills arising out of various developmental programmes especially in the rural sector will have to be identified carefully to assess the manpower requirements through occupational surveys. The training schools and institutes providing training in large number of trades have not been able to supply all the skills and competencies required for the growing needs of the society.
4.05 The Survey should identify the emerging industrial, agricultural and commercial development trends to assess the employment opportunities responsive to these trends in the near future. The vocations in which there is shortage of trained personnel and those which offer scope for self-employment should also be identified. There are various traditional occupations existing
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in rural semi-urban areas which require adoption of modern techniques to improve the quantity and quality of their production. These occupations may also be identified, so that suitable vocational courses are prepared.
4.06 The Survey should identify suitable schools, Government and private, where vocational streams can be located or which could be completely converted into vocational schools. The selection must keep in view the facts if the school can attract enough response to vocational stream, if it possesses adequate infrastructural facilities such as classrooms, library, laboratory, workshop and can command ability to muster cooperation from the local community and indus- trialists for on-the-job training and part-time instructors, if it enjoys a reputation for financial soundness, qualified teaching staff and an enlightened administration. The survey should clearly indicate the magnitude of additional inputs needed for successful implementation of the vocational courses.
4.07 The Survey should be conducted preferably by knowledgeable officers and research scholars. It is desirable to entrust the work to the Directorates of Employment and Training or to the Directorates of Technical Education which have required expertise. The Survey should not rely entirely on available records, but collect as much information as is possible through on-the-spot study, field work, discussions and interviews especially to determine the skill levels and types needed for various vocations. The Survey should provide fairly reliable facts and figures to identify vocations and should not take more than three to four months to complete.
4.08 It is recommended that all the three hundred fifty and odd districts should be surveyed within a period of four years in a phased manner. The present On-going Surveys cover about 50 districts and their reports will be available shortly. The remaining districts may be surveyed at the rate of about 100 per year.
4.09 Since the society is not static and various dynamic forces are at work, the changes in socioeconomic structure are inevitable. It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the situations through vocational surveys at regular intervals.
Schools for Vocational Studies 4.10 There are academic and sociological reasons to impart vocational training in the same school where general education is imparted to destroy the unhealthy mental barriers of status, means, intellectual abilities etc. among the students who are admitted to academic and vocational streams. It would also result in economising initial investment by making use of the existing facilities of classrooms, laboratories, library, play grounds, etc. The academic and vocational streams will be controlled by the Higher Secondary Boards and therefore, the question of recognition will present no special problems.
4.11 On the other hand there are equally weighty arguments for offering vocational courses in separate institutions. In such institutions there is a greater possibility that the academic as well as vocational teachers will devote all their attention to the students and better cohesion between theory and practice is likely to be achieved. If both the streams are located in the same school the students of one stream will necessarily work for longer hours than the other to acquire practical skills. The academic stream being essentially college preparatory it is necessary that duration of the course is rigidly for two year. On the other hand, the vocational courses will have to be conducted for varying durations and the instruction should follow modular system. Therefore, the evaluation system, the methods of instruction and duration of courses will have to be different. The Vocational Courses will have to be affiliated to the Councils of Vocational Education for purposes of National and State recognition. Naturally, the school administration will not be happy to be controlled by multiple agencies. The past experience in certain States of the Country where academic and vocational streams were conducted under one roof provides clear indications that psychological factors that were expected to diminish with time, instead, became more acute. Experience cannot be expected to be different for some years to come.
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Therefore, even if any school has a capacity to run both the streams it is essential that the school has a separate wing or set-up to conduct the vocational courses. But the choice of such schools will have to be made very carefully and continuous supervision will have to be maintained.
4.12 To economise on the initial investment all industry-oriented courses should be added on to the existing polytechnics and ITIs. Some schools in the neighbourhood of industries could be attached to the industries with their cooperation and assistance. The paramedical courses should be provided in selected schools close to the hospitals and medical colleges. Vocational schools in commerce and home science will have to be equipped properly. The investment on them may not be prohibitive. The resources of the new defunct Junior Technical Schools and Multipurpose Schools lying unused should be fully harnessed and supplemented. As far as possible new facilities in selected schools on pilot basis should offer those vocational courses for which the existing institutions cannot provide adequate facilities and the demand for supply of new skills are evident.
4.13 Since adequate facilities for vocational education in rural areas are not available, all the new schools to provide vocational studies should be constructed in rural areas only and should be adequately equipped. It is recommended that at least 500 new schools may be constructed in a phased manner.
4.14 The Third All India Educational Survey indicates that during 1977-78, the enrolment in the X Standard in all the 9700 schools/colleges was about 28 lakhs. It might be expected that about 90% of these students have taken the examinations of whom 60% would pass and seek admissions to various institutions, academic and vocational. Assuming that about 2.5 lakhs will join the vocational institutions, there will be left about 12.8 lakhs of whom we propose to divert 3.5 lakhs to the vocational streams by providing adequate facilities in terms of space, equipment, library and well trained staff. This should be specially so for paramedical courses.
4.15 Keeping in view the existing facilities, it is estimated that 2,000 schools (including 500 new schools) would be required to provide vocational facilities during the next five years. The phasing may be as under:
Year 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83
No. of Schools 230 630 1030 1500 2000
Existing Facilities 4.16 Many of the existing technical and vocational schools have either reverted to academic instruction or deteriorated on account of neglect, inadequate supply of raw materials, and poor pay-scales to teachers. These institutions should be revitalised with appropriate inputs and attractive pay-scales for instructional staff. New vocational courses for which there is good demand should be added to these institutions and adequate facilities should be provided in them.
4.17 There are 327 polytechnics, which offer about 42 diploma courses in technical subjects and 13 in Commerce subjects. The durations of these diploma courses vary from two to three years. Some polytechnics also offer post diploma courses. About 8O% of them offer traditional courses in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. To make optimum use of the existing facilities, it is recommended that new courses in these major areas may be added to the polytechnics wherever necessary, strengthening the existing facilities if necessary.
4.18 There are 365 Industrial Training Institutes offering training in 53 trades mostly industry-oriented. Of them about a dozen require pass in 7th Standard and the rest pass in 10th Standard for admission. The durations of courses vary from 6 months to 2 years. Apprenticeship facilities with stipends are offered to those having courses of one year's duration or more. At present
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103 trades are listed for apprenticeship, but many trades which have been designated do not have training facilities so far. It is, therefore, recommended that such courses may be identified for introduction in ITIs if the job potential is good for them.
4.19 Some high schools should be converted wholly into craft schools if there is good scope for employment and offer a variety of craft training. Besides, the existing facilities of the craft schools should also be expanded to accommodate new crafts as warranted by the vocational surveys. If the craft schools have deteriorated or have become defunct in the past it is on account of the non-availability of raw materials required for continuous work, inadequate physical faci- lities in terms of equipment and building space, poor scales of pay for the craft teachers and general apathy of the administration towards craft schools. If these institutions are to be revitalised it is necessary that these bottlenecks will have to be removed and steps taken to make the schools attractive. Since mostly the students from low income groups will be opting for these courses, adequate incentives in the form of scholarships should be offered to them. For the disposal of the finished products adequate marketing facilities will have to be created through cooperative ventures. All craft courses, as far as possible, should be so designed that they should lead to advance training in these disciplines through vocational higher secondary courses.
Teachers 4.20 The role of teachers is crucial in the scheme of implementation. It is the teacher who translates the scheme into action through well thought out instructional plan in the classrooms, laboratories, agricultural fields, workshops, hospitals, banks, cooperative stores, hotels, etc. There is perhaps sufficient expertise available in the basic subjects but very little in the new vocational subjects which may be selected for introduction. To prepare or train the adequate number of teachers requires time and the scheme cannot wait until then. On the other hand, half-baked or ill-trained teachers may destroy the whole scheme because of their poor understanding or incompetence. These are mutually irreconcilable aspects. For a vocational subject a teacher has to be one who has first class practical competence; he must also possess the comprehensive knowledge of scientific principles underlying the practicals. But a person who has a good background in theory only in our context will not be able to impart the practical skills. A compromise is needed at least in the initial stages. It is, therefore, necessary that a practitioner from the particular vocation is invited to participate in the instructional work and arrange for his training in instructional methods through short term courses-perhaps summer institutes. Simultaneously regular staff in certain areas may be appointed and trained. There is an advantage in having persons from the field to instruct the students. Not only the latest practices will be imparted and through his influence regular on-the-job training can be arranged but it may even ensure employment to the students ultimately resulting in a good collaborative arrangement.
4.21 Part-time teachers on suitable remunerations from the vocational fields should be employed. Many private agencies have training centres from which we can draft the instructors. Many retired defence service personnel with appropriate skills can also be appointed on short-term basis. But certain percentage of teaching complement must be appointed in each school on regular basis.
4.22 Periodical re-training of teachers, to keep them abreast of their knowledge in appropriate trades, should be arranged. The Technical Teacher Training Institutes, the Regional Colleges of Education, the Central Training Institutes and Small Scale Service Institutes should be involved in the teacher training programmes.
4.23 To ensure the success of this programme it is recommended that where vocational courses are imparted either the Head or deputy-head of the institution should possess vocational qualification.
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Curriculum Preparation 4.24 A curriculum generally indicates the framework of aims and objectives of a course, the syllabus, instruction in the classroom, laboratory or workshop, teaching materials and evaluation. The main aim is to design appropriate curricula for vocational courses to attract a sizeable section of student population to vocational streams and to provide alternative avenues of training which prepare them for gainful vocations in their future careers.
4.25 The curriculum should be so designed as to develop skills of the levels and quality acceptable to the employing agencies; for, the test of effectiveness of the curriculum lies in the employability of the student. To integrate appropriate components of education and skill acquisition in the curricula, it is most desirable to bring together the experts from the employing agencies and academics and entrust them with the task. Preparing curricula centrally should be done away with. In preparing the curricula broadly the following is considered to be most appropriate :
1. Language 15% of total instructional time
2. Basic subjects relevant to
vocations 20%
3. Vocational studies and Practice 65 %
4.26 Since a variety of courses of different durations are likely to be offered it will be highly advantageous to offer them in terms of well connected units or modules which are complete in themselves. A student may be permitted to receive instruction in as many modules as he desires to go through and on the completion of each module his performance shall be evaluated and certificate issued. For admission to any advanced courses later, completion of certain number of modules may be prescribed which he will be required to complete before seeking admission to a selected course.
4.27 Revision of curricula must be a continuous process to help identifying shortcomings and making modifications in the light of student and teacher performance.
Textbooks 4.28 As teachers, the good textbooks and teaching aids are indispensable prerequisites. Well illustrated books with good practical details without sacrificing the underlying scientific principles have to be ready before the courses are introduced.
4.29 The production of suitable textbooks for a large variety of vocations will be a formidable and time consuming job. It is, therefore, recommended that in the initial stages suitable publi- cations may be procured from the countries where similar courses are conducted and be made available to teachers and students for consultations and study. Simultaneously, if publishers are encouraged to find knowledgeable authors who can write well illustrated books in clear and simple language with authentic practical details on the models of the foreign publications, keeping the local conditions in view, it will help solve our problems more expeditiously and also provide incentives to the publishers.
4.30 Simultaneously, Teacher guides based on the textbooks should be got prepared to help the teachers to modify their methods of instruction.
Courses for Rural Sector 4.31 At present the vocational schools are located mostly in the cities and towns and all the rural students who desire to benefit from vocational studies have no option but to move to urban centres. The courses invariably have urban leanings and a majority of the rural students seldom return to the villages after completion of their education as the urban set-up offers easier life, and several attractions. This is a great loss to the families who derive nothing out of their
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sacrifice. To combat these Problems imaginative steps will have to be taken not only to offer the type of education of their choice but also to create such conditions in their own surroundings which may provide them with a fairly decent living. If this could be achieved the problem of migration from rural to urban areas can be arrested.
4.32 The women population in rural areas have to be given even greater attention. In villages the family structure and age old practices are stronger than in towns and the system of education and training will have to eliminate the prejudices systematically and surely by offering congenial atmosphere in schools and opportunities of employment or self-employment. Social barriers are breaking down but not fast enough. The working group, therefore, feels that the solution to the rural problems would require much greater care and attention than the urban sector and it is the right time to tackle the problems without further delay.
4.33 Vocational Courses generally with agricultural bias should be introduced in rural areas. Vocationalisation of education may be linked with the new strategies for rural development and village uplift through various programmes like Small and Marginal Farmers Development, Integrated Tribal Development, Drought Prone Area Development, Community Area Development and Integrated Rural Development etc. These programmes will generate enormous oppor- tunities for various types of skills and competencies and will broaden the scope of vocationalisation in rural sector. It is stated that 300 Blocks will become operational in 1978-79 and another 500 Blocks by 1979-80 and about 5000 Blocks by the end of the Sixth Plan. It is, therefore, necessary to generate the necessary skills, knowledge and competencies in their own neighbourhood. The future farmers are to be provided vocational training in scientific agriculture and upto-date production skills.
4.34 Courses on modern methods of crop production through mechanised farming, use of appropriate types of fertilizers, methods of irrigation etc. should be offered to those who are likely to benefit from such education and training and possess land holdings of 3 hectares and more. On the other hand vegetable and fruit culture and seed production may offer lucrative proposition to small and marginal farmers. Cash crops such as mulberry, areca, coffee, coconuts, spices etc. can be raised when good irrigation facilities and climatic conditions favour. These courses should provide the special knowledge and techniques required for such cultivation.
4.35 Courses of various durations on animal husbandry, dairying and dairy products, poultry farming etc. should be offered for gainful self-employment.
4.36 Courses on repairing and maintenance of farm machines like tractors, power tillers, pumping sets, plant protection equipment, threshers and others relevant to the rural needs should also be provided. These courses will provide opportunities for self- employment and wage employment in their own neighbourhood.
4.37 Cold storage of vegetable., milk processing, knitting and embroidery, designing and weaving of carpets, food preservation etc. will be equally attractive courses for girls.
Courses for Urban Sector 4.38 Most of the industries, business enterprises, administrative offices, higher educational institutions and health organisations are located in cities and towns, and the living patterns are essentially dictated by the activities in them. The middle-level employment opportunities will be mostly in the industries, public works departments, offices, hospitals, business centres, banks, educational institutions and many social service organisations. For most of the engineering and technological jobs adequate training facilities are available in the polytechnics and industrial training institutes.
4.39 Trade and commerce offer a fertile field for a variety of jobs and require minimum financial inputs. When the plan targets for the export reach 10 thousand crores, as it is expected to reach
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in a year or two, middle level services such as stenographers, office assistants, accountants, import-export assistants etc. will be needed in large numbers. The demand cannot be met with the present institutional training facilities. Good Commercial Schools will then have to be started at the higher secondary stage as an advance preparation.
4.40 Textile printing, garment making, knitting, banking and confectionery and cosmetics are areas quite fertile and offer vast scope for self-employment. Handicrafts have good export potential. Khadi and Gramudyog Commission has big plans for expanding its activities which are expected to throw up large employment potential. For all these vocations facilities will have to be created.
4.41 There are about 618 paramedical schools of which 526 train nurses and 24 pharmacists. The total intake per year is about 5200 whereas the country needs 25,000 every year. For every doctor it is said 5 paramedical assistants are needed. The requirement for Multi-purpose- health workers during the next five years is expected to touch 5 lakhs and ophthalmic technicians 50,000. Besides, much of the hospital equipment is reported to be lying idle because of lack of repair and servicing facilities. It is also likely that 32 medical colleges out of 106 will be elevated to post-graduate level and each college will have to raise its own paramedical staff. In view of the large shortage in paramedical forces, especially in rural sector, creation of new facilities should be given priority. Since paramedical courses cannot be conducted in every vocational school, it is recommended that a certain number of new schools should be developed in the neighbourhoods of medical colleges and hospitals and offer suitable courses by utilising the services of the qualified staff and on-the- job training facilities available there. This will help to meet the needs of these institutions and also the requirements of the society.
4.42 Repair, maintenance of common domestic appliances such as electrical gadgets, refrigerators, scooters, motorcycles etc. have very good self-employment potential. Adequate training facilities are worth creating in big cities like Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kanpur.
Skills for Small Scale Industries 4.43 A variety of other occupations which have bright job opportunities but for which no training facilities available are likely to increase with the development of small scale, tiny and cottage industries. Ancillary industries around big manufacturing centres will also spring up. The existing instructional facilities will hardly be able to cope up the demand for new skills especially in non-industrial areas. Therefore, adequate facilities will have to be provided.
Retraining 4.44 In view of the revolutionary changes in science and technology and the contemplated social transformation, the training in narrow job specifications or in over specialised employment in other areas might become obsolescent with changing pattern of production. It is therefore recommended that the vocational courses should be designed with good knowledge in basic subjects so as to help the student adapt to changing developments or easily undergo retraining in an allied skill.
Vertical Mobility 4.45 The vocationalisation of education at 4 2 stage should be so structured as to make it both terminal and continuing. The aspirations of the students for superior positions on the employment ladder cannot be ignored and this can be done when the system permits him to secure further qualifications for vertical and horizontal mobility whenever they desire or opportunities occur.
4.46 While most of the students of the Vocational Courses will enter into the world of work either through self-employment or by taking up a job, for those who wish to continue and improve
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their qualifications, there should be a provision for allowing them admission in technical and professional institutions in specialised areas of their interests. Similarly universities should not close the doors for those who wish to pursue further studies by suitably offering package courses in different subjects.
Flexibility of duration of studies 4.47 The Vocational Courses should have flexibility in the duration of training appropriate to the expected levels of competencies, skill proficiency, as any rigid pattern of two or three years duration may tend towards perpetuation of the existing straight jacket system.
Further Educational facilities 4.48 Learning is a continuous process, therefore, part-time, on-the- job vocational and technical training should be made available for those who have entered employment and wish to improve their professional competence through further education. Such courses may be of varying duration and may include part-time courses, correspondence courses, sandwich courses, etc.
4.49 The industries mostly have developed on the imported technologies and know-how. These industries demand higher level skills to cope with the operation of sophisticated machinery and equipment. it is likely that as the present industrial practices go obsolete and more advanced techniques are adopted and newer machinery installed, the workers and supervisory staff also need up-dating their skills and knowledge. Therefore, advanced specialised training facilities have to be planned. Besides, those engaged in farming and agro-based industries, small entrepreneurs and those working in small scale and cottage industries, paramedical technicians, secretarial staff and the like may desire to improve their professional status through further education. It is very necessary, therefore, to plan in specialised advanced diploma courses whose standards are equivalent to university degrees. These advanced courses must be distinctly different from the traditional university courses and be indicative of the levels of specialisation. Even if these diplomas are awarded in the traditional colleges they must bear the stamp of professional excellence and acceptance.
Socially Useful Productive Work 4.50 The Education Commission in its wisdom felt that in modern world whose activities are so comprehensively and completely controlled by the fantastic developments in science and technology, every child must be equipped to meet the challenges it will have to face in its life span and for such a preparation the first ten-year education should be general for all the students and include comprehensive studies in elementary science, mathematics, social sciences and humanities. Socially useful productive work should be integrated with the general education to equip the students with certain elementary skills that will enable them to take care of simple functions such as repair and maintenance of domestic appliances and vehicles, care of garments, raising vegetables, rendering social services etc. These not only are productive in a sense but inspire self-confidence and self-dependence among the children. The student may also gain some special proficiency in a particular skill. Since a segment of students drop out at the end of ten-year schooling, the elementary exploratory experiences in general would hardly be sufficient to help him to enter life. This opinion is held by some educationists. In a way this may however, serve as pre-vocational training for those who may opt for vocational studies later.
4.51 An important factor that controls and promotes the pre-vocational training is the availability of means of training for a variety of student interests, aptitudes and inclinations. In this the practice of socialist countries can be profitably emulated. Creative work centres can be established in chosen localities with facilities and equipment which the schools cannot provide for on-the-job practice or production of goods. They can be kept open for long hours of the day for all students, say, of age-group 14 to 16. The finished products prepared by the students, if of good quality, can be sold and the sale proceeds may be able to bring revenue to
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meet the raw-material cost and also some earning to the students. But this assumes that well-qualified training personnel are available and the creative work centres are equipped with a variety of equipment.
Apprenticeship 4.52 Apprenticeship facilities shall be extended to all the students who complete education in vocational streams if they desire to benefit from such training.
Guidance and Counselling 4.53 To help the students to make judicious selection of vocational courses, it is desirable to provide guidance and counselling for careers and courses to the students.
Recruitment Policy 4.54 While the largest proportion of job-opportunities relate to middle level employment it has been observed that advertisement concerning 80 % of such jobs prescribe a university degree as an essential qualification irrespective of the job-requirements. What is needed in most of these positions is adequate skill and proficiency to perform duties efficiently and not a university degree. This could be secured through suitable vocational education/training without the university education. In view of this there is full justification that employment policy of the Government as well as public undertakings should be so revised that wherever vocationally qualified persons are available they should be preferred to graduates and they should be entitled to the pay scales and promotional avenues available to the graduates, so long as the jobs performed are the same or similar. They should also be given opportunities for superior positions when they improve their qualifications through correspondence or evening courses or block time training. Such a recruitment policy will provide the greatest incentive to, the really intelligent students to join the vocational streams especially those coming from low income groups and would go a long way in creating a favourable reaction among the students and more so among their parents. This factor alone in due course will make vocational institutions more popular than academic institutions.
National Council of Vocational Education 4.55 At present different Vocational Courses are controlled by different Ministries and organisations, statutory or otherwise, having professional control over certain vocations. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is responsible for agricultural education at university and polytechnic levels; the All India Council for Technical Education at the Centre and the State Boards of Technical Education in the States control Polytechnic education while the Industrial Training Institutes are controlled by the Directorates of Employment and Training in the Ministry of Labour; all the paramedical schools are under the control of statutory councils, such as the Nursing Council, the Pharmacy Council and Dental Council. Since all these organi- sations are functioning independently there is no co-ordination or cooperation. There is replication of efforts and financial investment. Each of these organisations is functioning in isolation safeguarding its interests jealously even though each is offering education and training for middle level jobs. To avoid the wastage of resources and to bring cooperation and co-ordination among various agencies there must be an Apex Body in a Department of the Government. All other existing statutory and autonomous bodies controlling vocational education should be affiliated to it. As recommended by the All India Council of Technical Education and endorsed by CABE, National Council of Vocational Education should be set up at the Centre with corresponding State Councils in all States. All the agencies imparting vocational education in the fields of paramedical, agriculture and technical etc. shall be affiliated to the State Councils of Vocational Education in the States and to the National Council at the national level. The constitution, membership and its functions have to be worked out in clear terms. These councils should ensure, quality and standard of vocational education, co-ordination and cooperation among all agencies which are at present offering vocational education and those connected with employment.
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Strengthening of Education Department 4.56 Vocationalisation of education falls under the purview of school education although the programmes in vocational streams may extend beyond two years of study at the higher secondary stage. The responsibility of planning, co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of the programmes, therefore, naturally belongs to the Department of the Government which is dealing with the school education at the higher secondary stage. Naturally, the experiment being new and of considerable magnitude with the attendant complexities, it should be headed by very senior officer of the Ministry, not in any case lower than that of a Bureau-Head, who will be supported by adequate competent staff and other facilities. The Bureau of School Education will be responsible for ensuring proper implementation of the policies laid down and the schemes set by the NCVE through the appropriate State Government Bodies. The Bureau will also be responsible for ensuring provision of infrastructural facilities, appointment of competent instructional staff-full time and part time-purchase of equipment, periodical inspection of schools etc. Most importantly the Bureau will co-ordinate the work of the different Ministries insofar as the vocational programmes are concerned and will work out the guiding principles for implementation of the scheme efficiently and economically, scheme of execution, control and monitoring. The Bureau will also ensure, through the SCVEs, arrangement of apprenticeship, conduct of district or regional vocational surveys and collaborative on-the-job training facilities during institutional programmes through cooperation of local agencies.
Obligation of Government and Private Sector 4.57 The Government have a great obligation to the present and future generations in offering a system of education relevant to the vital needs of the nation and the urgent requirements of the masses. Political will, enlightened and imaginative administration and daring to learn from mistakes committed in the past and the present, a will to identify the causes of failure and to find solutions are the major tasks before the Government. However, this huge task, cannot be accomplished without the willing cooperation of all concerned. The country should encourage private voluntary organisations and also the patriotic individuals to participate in this national venture by offering incentives to start new schools and allowing certain autonomy to run them. Incentives may also be provided by allowing certain Tax exemptions in lieu of Training facilities provided to the students of vocational stream.
4.58 Investment in vocational education is an investment for the future generation. The country should find necessary resources to make this investment lest the coming generations should hold the present one responsible for all their miseries and problems. The task is no doubt stupendous; yet a courageous beginning founded upon sound practical principles is needed. The Working Group feels unable to offer a better scheme in the present context other than the one proposed in this report.