NEP 2020 Goals For Vocational Education – Progress On The Ground
                      
NEP 2020 Goals For Vocational Education – Progress On The Ground
Chaitanya Kumari
Writes informational articles on ancient 
Indian artisan 
vocational education, 64 kala or chausat 
kala, along with others articles on finance, 
health, sanathana dharma and wisdom.
While academic subjects are important, vocational learning can be a powerful 
tool for millions of underprivileged people in this country. India has been 
trying to implement progressive educational reforms for the masses for quite 
some time now. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been a most 
imperative step in that direction. The NEP 2020 puts great emphasis on 
vocational education, which has unfortunately been underestimated in this 
country for decades. 
NEP 2020 is focused on integrating hands-on learning experience and skill 
development along with industry exposure to make sure that people benefit 
in multiple ways through effective vocational training. As the implementation 
of this policy is about to end its 5th year, it is time to evaluate and ponder 
how much of its goals have led to actual progress on the ground level 
scenario. 
NEP 2020’s vision for vocational education
NEP 2020 emphasized multiple transformative steps for vocational 
education in India:
•By effectively implementing it from the 6th Standard through activities, 
practical projects, and internships, it arranged mainstream vocational 
education.
•Make sure that at least about fifty percent of students take part in 
vocational education by the year 2025.
•Effectively narrow the gap between skills or knowledge and employability 
through the smart alignment of curriculum with the current needs of the 
industry.
•Promote local skills, traditional crafts, and region-specific employment by 
enabling engagement within the community and the school.
•Improve overall vocational infrastructure by enhancing ITI upgrades, 
apprenticeship programs, skill labs, and comprehensive partnerships with 
the industry.
•Build flexible pathways to *impeccably blend academic and vocational 
channels under the National Credit Framework (NcrF).
The underlying goal was to make education and learning relevant for real-
world applications and not just test scores, so that people can easily find 
employment and focus on building a better life.
 
Ground-level progress for NEP 2020
 
Introduction of vocational modules in schools
MULTIPLE CBSE, Kendriya Vidyalaya, and state board schools have come 
up with vocational subjects, such as carpentry, retail, coding, agriculture, 
beauty and wellness, and electronics, starting from middle school onwards. 
Schools in states like Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu were 
assisted by the Samagra Shiksha scheme to adopt vocational training.
Expansion of skill labs and ITI modernization
As ITI modernization was accelerated in multiple states, it led to the 
implementation of better equipment, upgraded training methods, and industry 
partnerships. Polytechnics and skill labs have benefited from greater 
investments through several state and central programs. However, colleges 
in rural areas still lack adequately trained vocational trainers, sustained 
funding, and equipment. Numerous schools in these areas rely on part-time 
trainers or keep changing their vocational instructors.
Growing industry collaboration
Businesses in sectors like retail, logistics, electronics, and healthcare have 
partnered with universities to give rise to new apprenticeship programs. 
Some companies even provide paid internships that offer real workplace 
exposure to pupils.
Awareness around the standing of vocational education has augmented a lot 
over the last few years. But there are still encounters like rural infrastructure 
gaps, varying state-level commitment, shortage of teachers, and societal 
attitudes that prevent the full-on integration of vocational skills with academic 
degrees.
 
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