Aiming to equip students with the skills required for the jobs of today and those of tomorrow at a young age, the Uttar Pradesh government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has provided skill training to over 61,000 boys and girls of the state through Project Praveen.

Under this scheme, youths are being provided free skill training and new-age courses to get prepared for the job market. This project is meant for students of classes 9 to 12, studying in higher secondary schools of the state.

It is noteworthy that Project Praveen is being operated under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Secondary Education department and Uttar Pradesh Skill Development Mission. The primary objective of this project is to revamp the education system and curriculum of the state.

UP’s Minister of State for Vocational Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) Kapil Dev Aggarwal disclosed that Project Praveen was initiated as a pilot project in the financial year 2022-23. During this period, 20,582 students received training across 150 government secondary schools. Besides, Kasturba Gandhi Girls’ School was also linked to this scheme, facilitating training for 3,450 girl students. Similarly, a total of 315 government secondary schools have been included under Project Praveen for the year 2023-24. So far, skill development training has been provided to 61,400 students through these institutes.

The skill development minister highlighted that students enrolled in classes 9 to 12 in secondary schools are receiving daily free training alongside their regular studies in trades aligned with their interests such as the information technology (IT) sector, electronics, beautician, healthcare, apparel and accounting. All courses offered are certified and approved at the all-India level by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training. Upon completion of training and assessment, students are awarded certificates that hold validity throughout the country.

Students undergoing training under Project Praveen are given training by private training centres in the school itself. These trainers are certified under the Training of Teachers (TOT) programme and registered under the Skill Development Mission.

In the event of students discontinuing their studies after completing either 10th or 12th grade, they can pursue job opportunities through the certificates obtained from Project Praveen training. However, to be eligible for this scheme, students must be enrolled in government secondary schools and have completed either 10th or 12th grade.