'A total change in schools' climate is the first step towards bridging this divide'

Year 2022 has brought forth a host of burning issues in the field of education. The gap between the education imparted and the career sought by the students is fast increasing and needs to be addressed in actuality and effectively.

A concentrated focus towards the horizon, where lies the ‘students’ futures’ and how best to harness their skills is the question in hand. Charting a clear pathway from education to employment is of prime importance. It is clearly evident that the education in institutions no longer caters to the demands of the jobs and careers in the market.

To achieve goals that lead to a sustainable development and stability, a holistic education which not only empowers the youth of today but also imparts knowledge, is paramount.

But knowledge alone will not serve the purpose. Those days are long gone when people were satisfied in being considered as a pair of hands, a cog in a well oiled machine. Moreover there is no time to learn on the job. It is expected of every job seeker to be on the go from day one! To be productive from the outset !! The disparity between subjects chosen, knowledge gained, degrees collected with no practical ideas or vision to score goals in the careers opted for has caused this chasm between education and career.

This system of seeing education as a stop gap arrangement to keep the youth and unemployed off the streets should stop immediately ! It is time for the powers that be to open their eyes and through effective leadership turn around the performance of the schools. It goes without saying that this two year turbulence brought forth by the Covid-19 pandemic will have a long lasting impact on students.

But by thinking ‘out of the box’ and quickly, can secure the futures of the youth entering the workforce . Times are unprecedented so outcomes are unknown.

But long before the advent of the pandemic this drift in education and career had started.

It is hoped that the NEP (national education policy) initiative will shed some light on this growing concern on how to rectify the inconsistencies in education and career. A total change in the schools’ climate is the first step towards bridging this divide in education and career.

So only a drastic policy change will reduce the proportion of youth not employed or wrongly employed. To develop the skills of the students, to focus on their aptitude rather than what money can buy or what parents can procure should form the building block of the future policies. Entrepreneurship should be encouraged. We need to develop innovative ways, engage the students more, and establish connectivity with real world experiences. Only then can this hiatus be reduced and the link between education and employment be established.

Racchna Saddi, principal, Sumermal Jain Public School, Janakpuri