Progress in skilling the workforce : The Tribune India

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Retrospect- 2017 Education

Progress in skilling the workforce

In 2017 the Union Budget had a specific allocation of Rs 46, 356.25 crore for school education and literacy and Rs 33,327.70 crore for higher education.

Progress in skilling the workforce


In 2017 the Union Budget had a specific allocation of Rs 46, 356.25 crore for school education and literacy and Rs 33,327.70 crore for higher education. The CSR contribution of companies has also been responsible and the various NGOs that are working earnestly towards literacy goals. 

Skill development and e-Learning  

E Learning gained popularity in 2017 and India today is counted as the 2nd largest market for eLearning after the US . Encouragement of entrepreneurship as course in education has taken wings with due support from government to start-ups. The Pradhan Mantri YuvaYojna accelerated by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has resolved to provide entrepreneurship education through 3050 educational Institutions spanning about 5 years and skilling about 7 lakh students across the country. Skill development gained massive encouragement in 2017 with the ‘Skill India’ initiative of Prime Minister. "Kaushal Bharat, Kushal Bharat" scheme is poised to train 400 million youths by 2022 with specific job perspectives. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal VikasYojna (PMKVY) is a boost to skill development and job opportunities. 

Initiatives by the Government

With the increase in budget outlay for education, the central Government has shown keen interest in bringing in quality in the education sector. Initiated to provide elementary education for the age group of 6 - 14 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan bridges the social, economic and gender gaps that exist in society. Government has roped in several NGOs to achieve the mission of education for all through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

PNKVY has also been brought in with the aim of creating livelihood through skill development. SWAYAM ie: Study Webs of Active Learning For Young Aspiring Minds is a web portal for massive open online courses (MOOCs). Here training is made available for all subjects. The e-education platform spans across secondary school and higher education covering all disciplines with about 1,500 

online courses. GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Network) is meant to encourage academicians, entrepreneurs, scientists etc to teach in higher educational institutions in India. Many such government initiatives have propelled education sector towards growth, but considering the huge population, the efforts have to be doubled up consistently.

Looking ahead

The education sector in India is going through a favourable phase with encouraging factors like increase in the capita consumption, greater enrolment ratio, plethora of learning opportunities, government support, flexible curriculum and many more. But this must not make us complacent. There is a lot of work to be carried out to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio to 50 per cent by 2020. Education infrastructure needs upliftment. There needs to be better industry academia interface to enrich the curriculum. With the education scenario transforming to online modes of learning, the higher education sector in India is gearing up for new developments in 2018. 

— Inputs by R S S Mani, Vice President, Institutional Development, ITM Group of Institutions

Challenges 

India's regulatory framework in education sector permits higher educational institutions to operate as "not for profit " organisations.  The regulation on pricing or fee component adds  to the struggle to maintain negotiability and quality adherence.

Virtual classrooms and eLearning portals are a challenge to the brick-and-mortar educational institutions that have invested on the physical infrastructure. 

The gross enrolment ratio (GER) is low and restricted only to a limited set of population. 

Academic Quality is another challenge. The need to change pedagogy to suit the learning needs is vital but limited to only the elite institutions. Growing number of institutions to the tune of 35,000 colleges in 2017 also  poses issues related to quality standards of education and their regular monitoring. 

Not matching the course curriculum to suit industry standards is a serious concern and if unheeded it will lead to unemployable youths.

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