Skill Development Initiatives will transform India: FM… WILL THEY???

 

 

 

What the FM said is theoretically and conceptually right. We at Dheya Lifelong Learning believe that the focus needs to be on EMPLOYABILITY and not just skill development. 

Dheya’s employability programs focus on building the3 major pillars of Employability. These are competencies that enhance the employability of the student. The first being the academic competence (an ability to read , write, analyse, calculate etc), the second being the process competence (an ability to manage the work assigned which includes ability, skills and knowledge to perform on the job ) and the third is about Personal competence and life skills (the most important of all to remain employed and groowing). We believe just be enhancing the skills with no personal competencies is a sheer waste.

The times of India reported that the FM said here on Wednesday that there was no alternative to effective private participation and partnerships for the government to achieve the target of increasing gross enrolment ratio (GER) in Indian higher education from the existing 12.5 pc to 30 pc. The GER  refers to the percentage of students in the age group of 17 to 24 years enrolling for  higher education on completion of their standard XII studies .

This looks damn neat when the FM says this but the words and actions of the government are absolutely divergent in nature. There is absolutely no or minimal effort in getting the private players to actually participate in the process.

Today the  Developed countries in Europe and the US have a GER of more than 60 pc.  whereas the world average is 25 pc. One of the key reasons for a low GER is not about access but about the value we derive out of education and a big disconnect between education its outcome towards economic and cultural growth of the individual.

The FM  was absolutely right calling for a  rapid multiplication of skill development initiatives for transforming India from a ‘degree-seeking’ to a ‘skill acquiring system’. He said that quality ought to be the focal point of all policies and programmes in education. unfortunately the culture of “degree seeking” came in from the public sector as in the past degrees not the skills or competencies ever mattered in the recruitment process of the public sector. The change would happen when competencies are measured more than the marks at the time of admissions, recruitments and entry into various fields. 

The change would also happen when we link up academics to employability and start measuring the results of the institute based on the employability quotient of the students.

The change would also happen if we help the students plan their career and align their educational efforts towards the career would like to pursue.