For the first time, numerous initiatives seem to have come up to let skill acquisition gain the necessary momentum. Schemes like Swachch Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India have opened up new horizons of hope
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech, announced the launch of National Skills Mission. We already have, since independence, a separate Union Ministry for skill development and entrepreneurship. The National Skill Development Corporation, a public-private partnership entity was set up in 2009. Subsequently, the NSDC formed 32 Sector Skill Council to facilitate skill development in consultation with industry to allow for a better assessment of training needs, in sync with the specific needs of the market. For the first time, numerous initiatives seem to have come up to let skill acquisition gain the necessary momentum.
More than 20 Ministries and various departments of the Union Government are running some 70-odd schemes for skill development. In fact, every Ministry or department is expected to contribute to skill development within and also outside its fold, to enhance sectoral efficiency and output. Skill acquisition and development must become an integral part of the process of teaching and learning, including lifelong learning.
This approach forms the backbone of the concept of basic education, that was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi, who also proved its worth and utility through actual implementation. Education was to begin with ‘working with hands’ and was to strive to ‘bring out the best in body, mind and spirit’.
Imagine how it would be if this plan was accepted and implemented 1947 onwards with commitment, sincerity and devotion. The social, cultural and economic impacts would have helped create a society that believed in human dignity, and equity. We would have had a value-based society, free from unemployment and, consequently, free from hunger, poverty and ill health. But the potential of basic education remained beyond the comprehension of policy makers who preferred continuity to total transformation of the education system.
Such policymakers were trained in the transplanted model of education meant for delinking Indians from India. As the education system expanded, two of the three elements — hand and heart — were relegated to mere statements in documents and all efforts were focused on how to bring out the best in examination, examination and examination. The consequences are now before the nation — there’s a sharp deterioration of quality, practically at every stage and in every sector.
The value of working with hands, of work experience and vocational education was, however, not lost to those who understood India, its people and their aspirations, along with what was acceptable, indigenous and practically feasible. One of the most comprehensive of the documents prepared during the post-independent era, the Report of the National Commission on Education (1964-66), popularly known as the Kothari Commission report, envisioned skill acquisition as the key factor that could impact and accelerate the process of growth and development of the country.
Professor DS Kothari, in his forwarding letter to the Union Education Minister Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao, expressed hope that the report “will provide some basic thinking and framework for taking at least the first step towards bringing about what may be called an education revolution in the country”. In this letter, he mentioned the first point as “introduction of work experience (which includes manual work, production experiences, etc) and social service as an integral part of general education at more or less all levels of education”.
The Commission recommended: “A concentrated and sustained programme is needed to ensure that by 1986, some 20 per cent of all enrolments at the lower secondary level and some 50 per cent beyond Class X are in part-time or full-time vocational and professional courses.” This just could not be implemented with the needed understanding and sincerity. At the implementation stage, it was necessary to understand and appreciate the people’s perception about education, and to prepare them on rational lines.
It must be acknowledged that social conditions were different at time. The stigma attached to working with hands has diminished considerably, as also the craze for a Government job. There is respect for the ‘worker’ which was earlier reserved only for the ‘officer’.
The challenges of skilling millions of young persons with varied educational attainments are many, but none of these are insurmountable. Even in small towns, people are aware of the possibility of employment outside India, and the need to acquire corresponding skills for the same. The craze for degrees like BA/MA has diminished among young persons as well as their parents. In rural and semi-urban areas, young persons join such courses only when no other alternatives are available.
The proposed Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana, which seeks to help young persons in rural areas acquire skills, could go a long way in this direction. In the past, such supportive schemes suffered heavily because of corrupt practices in disbursement of scholarships and other assistance.
One sincerely hopes that the provision of disbursement through the digital voucher, directly into the bank account of the beneficiary, will erase leakages. While the information and communications technology sector attracts the young because of its glamour and glitz, there should be no dearth of those taking interest to acquire skills that are required in the rural areas, particularly in the farm sector.
The proposal for soil testing and making soil health cards for farmers could set the tone. A large number of young people migrate to cities but get distracted in a short span of time. Based on their experience, many are likely to avail of opportunities of training and emerging avenues to utilise it.
World Bank estimates put 400 million Indians below the poverty line. Those entrusted to better their lot must also realise the moral, ethical and humanistic components of this responsibility towards these less fortunate of their brethren. Skill development and nurturance need to become a national movement supported by the Government and the people.
Industry and corporate houses must come forward in a big way. Alternative and innovative models of such cooperation shall have to be encouraged. Flexibility must be zealously in-built into every venture, and should lead to an emergence of a fresh man-machine-market symphony. Several new initiatives, right from the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan to Make in India, have opened up new horizons of hope, particularly for the young. They visualise widespread activity in farms, fields and factories. The enthusiasm generated in unprecedented measure needs to be properly translated into pragmatic terms and harvested with requisite sensitivity and support.