Teaching of skill-based and vocational courses should begin at primary school level

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

Despite the obstructions raised by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is more critical than ever for us to look forward and evaluate how we can effectively utilise the abilities we already possess. This includes how we educate and promote the next generation of talent, with the assurance that they emerge from this transitory phase, poised for the future, envisioned with a clear path from their educational field to their choice of profession.

School education is the most crucial component of a student’s education, and it has a substantial impact on the trajectory of a student’s professional life. In their senior years, students refine their multiple competencies and are poised to branch out into numerous streams, disciplines, courses, and degrees in order to advance their vocational alternatives.

Although students’ selection of topics and accumulation of in-depth understanding prepares them for excellence in pursuing their ideal field, it has been observed that not every student is fortunate enough to acquire a professional prospect that is perfectly commensurate to his or her qualifications. Students need to also enrol in a plethora of distinctive programs in order to enhance their scholastic foundation. School and subsequent college degrees are insufficient to craft them for the vocations they choose later in life.

This leaves them feeling perplexed and unable to make insightful decisions about their prospective careers. Sometimes the discrepancy between their education and professional expertise leaves the youth marooned, culminating in thoughts of disgruntlement, despondency, melancholy and apprehensiveness.

Often, when students mature into adults, they find their intrinsic strengths and embrace their inclinations, achieving excellence, but their education in a specific discipline proves to be obsolete. During their high school or college studies, their interests may not have been piqued or ignited. As a result of this predicament, a fragmented society of students emerges, whose education proves to be negligible and ineffective by the time they begin to chase their ambitions. For example, after completing a law degree, a student may realize that she is not cut out for law but rather for dance.

In this situation, it is necessary to have an altruistic approach toward education. The teaching of skill-based and vocational courses should begin in primary school to introduce kids to a variety of vocations at an early age, encouraging them to make conscious career choices and provide them with work prospects immediately after their education concludes.

At the secondary level, varied skills such as interpersonal abilities, hands-on capabilities, cognitive analysis, experiential learning, and competency-based studying would aid future professionals in bridging this gap. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has rightly said, “When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.” When establishing the education policy, it is imperative to keep the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in mind in order to eliminate the chasm between education and career prospects. SDG target 4. says, ‘By 2030, substantially augment the proportion of youth and adults with requisite competencies, including professional and occupational skills, for employment, dignified work, and entrepreneurship.”

Starting from the fundamental level is the only way we’ll be able to make it happen. The students in Finland choose several vocational courses from Grade 9 onwards, such as mechanics, carpentry, and other skills, so that when they reach college level they would already know which area is best for them.

The NEP 2020 Framework also recommended/implemented vocational and skill-based education to be introduced in Grade 6 in order to address this concern. The government’s initiative is exemplary, and if we implement it prudently, we will be able to establish a vibrant community of well-educated professionals.

Dr. Reema Tandon, Principal, Kamal Public Sr. Sec. School, Vikaspuri. Views expressed are personal.