Apropos of ‘The room: Fourth layer of the India Stack’; India needs to put in place an ecosystem of vocational education designed to impart skills relevant to the job market, rather than filling universities with unwilling candidates coaxed into getting a university degree. While around 65-80% of children aged 14 or above receive vocational education and training in other countries, the figures are much lower for India. There is a surplus of engineers but a deficiency of skilled plumbers, plenty of doctors but a paucity of trained nurses and paramedical staff and so on. Perhaps, the caste system was initially conceived as an apprenticeship system of vocational education for passing down skills through generations, but somehow lost its original purpose and morphed into a system of segregation and division.
Chander Shekhar Dogra, Jalandhar
Smart card will assess skills
Refer to ‘The room: Fourth layer of the India Stack’; the two-part article rightly calls for looking beyond exams to judge what a person can actually do. The proposal for an independent, portable and updated skill-certification system is promising. The fact that barely one worker in 20 has a skill certificate, compared with three in four in Germany, is telling. Moreover, the argument that the one who trains cannot be the one who certifies is particularly compelling for ensuring credibility. However, the Capability Smart Card could be a useful second instrument for assessing real-world skills only if its design is clear, its certification trusted and its benefits reach all.
Chanchal S Mann, Una
Review entrance tests in totality
Refer to ‘Testing time’; there is a need to review and tighten the National Testing Agency. Implementation of rules is required rather than framing new laws. It would be better if the whole system is reviewed comprehensively. Rather than depending on the MCQ tests only, more weightage should be given to the Board examination marks. The method of conducting these high-stakes entrance tests needs to be reviewed in totality rather than in parts.
Surinder Kumar Mahna, Karnal
Harness youth potential
With reference to ‘Dropouts learn petrol bomb-making online, offered a pittance for Punjab blasts’; it raises questions about the potential of young people who drop out of education and struggle to find employment. Lack of opportunities, isolation and frustration can leave them vulnerable to harmful influences. However, the same curiosity and technical ability that can be misused for destructive purposes can also be channelled towards constructive innovation. Vocational training, apprenticeships and employment opportunities could help turn frustration into productivity. Preventing radicalisation requires more than surveillance and punishment; it needs meaningful opportunities for young people to build a better future.
Vinny Poonam, Ferozepur
Write-off painful for banks
Refer to ‘Banks write off Rs 10L cr corporate loans in 12 yrs’; Parliament was informed that the amount pertains to corporate and services sectors and that the write-offs were an accounting procedure and did not provide any relief to debtors. This statement is not supported by facts on the ground as loans are adjusted making provisions from the bank’s income, severely affecting profitability. The recovery in the written-off accounts is about twenty per cent as the outstanding amount is given substantial reduction so as to make the balance sheet clean. A write-off is painful for banks. Corporate lending should not be sanctioned under political and other influences as a write-off gives a bad impression regarding work ethics in banks.
GS Mann, Nangal
Nations need bridges, not blocs
Refer to ‘Mecca pact’s real test lies in its application’; the proliferation of security blocs raises a larger question: can another alliance deliver lasting peace? CENTO disappeared after Iran’s withdrawal in 1979, while the Warsaw Pact ended in 1991. Today’s conflicts show that military deterrence alone cannot secure a peaceful world. The lesson is clear: the world needs bridges, not more blocs.
Vijay Kumar Katial, Panchkula
