Job-oriented vocational education will soon be imparted in 30 secondary schools in the State on pilot basis.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting held under chairmanship of Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra at the Secretariat. School and Mass Education Secretary Usha Padhee placed the proposed action plan for discussion.The scheme will be piloted in 30 secondary schools in different districts of the State in the first phase from coming academic session.
Mohapatra asked the department to choose vocational trades which will link up students to the higher technical education and enhance their employability in job market after completion of formal education.
The programme will be carried on in close collaboration among of the School and Mass Education, Employment Training and Technical Education, Higher Education and SC and ST Development Departments.
Outlining the key elements of the programme, Padhee said it will be implemented within the principles of National Vocational Education Qualification Framework ( NVEQF) and the State-level Vocational Education Monitoring Committee functioning under the Chief Secretary will be the State-level monitoring committee for the programme.
The programme will provide for multiple entries and exists between vocational education, general education and job markets.The programme will be run in partnership with National Skill Development Council (NSDC), National Council for Educational Research & Training (NCERT) and Board of Secondary Education, Odisha.
The School and Mass Education Department will be the apex authority of the project. It will be implemented through Odisha Madhyamik Sikshya Mission (OMSM). The State Project Director of OMSM has been designated as the Nodal officer for implementation of the project.
It was decided that the subjects like IT and IT enabled services, automobiles and construction will be taken up as vocational trades. Each subject will be taught for 200 hours in Class IX and X. This will be an additional qualification for the students passing out BSE exams and will have no relations with general examination of HSE.