NITI Aayog proposes vocational tracks from Class 9, employability skills from Class 6
Report recommends flexible pathways, equal weightage for vocational subjects in board exams and stronger career guidance
NITI Aayog has proposed introducing employability and entrepreneurship skills from Class 6 and structured vocational tracks from Class 9, seeking to embed skilling within the school system to shape employability, career choices and progression later in life.
The recommendations are part of NITI Aayog’s report, Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047, which suggests making vocational education and employability skills a much bigger part of school education.
The report notes that fewer than one in 12 secondary schools currently offer vocational subjects.
Under the proposed model, students in Classes 6 to 8 would receive a common foundation in employability and entrepreneurship skills, including communication, digital basics, financial literacy, teamwork, problem-solving and entrepreneurship.
Schools would also provide exposure to different vocations through projects, local industry visits and school-based vocational labs wherever possible.
From Classes 9 and 10, NITI Aayog proposes introducing Kaushal Tracks that would enable deeper vocational specialisation aligned with local and national skill demand. Vocational subjects could also be given equal weightage in the Class 10 and Class 12 board examination framework.
The report also proposes that students should be able to shift between general education and vocational pathways based on their interest, readiness and progression, rather than being locked into a particular stream at an early age.
At the senior secondary level, Classes 11 and 12 could offer deeper specialisation.
The report suggests that states could adopt different models depending on the size and resources of schools.
These include General Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills (GEES)-only schools, which would focus on general employability and entrepreneurship skills; vocational-integrated schools with trade labs; large industry-sponsored vocational schools functioning as PPP-led hubs offering four to six trades; and multi-skill exposure schools where students can get basic exposure to several vocational areas.
The report also calls for stronger career guidance for students and parents. It says counselling should begin in school and provide clear information on different education and skilling pathways, likely outcomes and the value of vocational options.
