Lok Sabha Question No. 2015 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Linking of Vocational and Higher Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Francisco Cosme Sardinha

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2015 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2022

## Linking of Vocational and Higher Education

2015. SHRI  COSME  FRANCISCO  CAITANO  SARDINHA

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is planning to link Vocational education and training with higher education in order to make youth employable by creating various avenues; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government has proposed to establish various training institutes for causes of different branches like healthcare education, fashion designing, foreign language training etc. for the youth to access better work opportunities; and

- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (Dr. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a)  &  (b):  National  Education  Policy  (NEP)  2020  has  advocated  integration  of  vocational education  with  main  stream  education  in  a  phased  manner.  Accordingly,  University  Grants Commission  (UGC)  has  facilitated  Higher  Education  Institutions  (HEIs)  to  offer  skill-based programmes under National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). The objective of NSQF is, inter  alia,  to  integrate  relevant  skills  into  the  higher  education  system  in order  to  make  higher education  relevant  to  the  learners  and  the  community.  In  addition,  UGC  has  also  notified guidelines on Internship/Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme in the year 2020. As per the  UGC  Guidelines,  any  Under  Graduate  (UG)  degree  programme  is  eligible  to  embed Internship/Apprenticeship into the degree programme. While UGC's programmes for skill-based education emphasize on developing skilled workforce with vocational education, this emphasis on Internship/Apprenticeship is to improve the employability of students in general stream.

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has also brought out flexibility in the eligibility criteria for admission in Engineering courses in order to integrate skilling courses. It allows candidates having one of the vocational subjects as recognised by CBSE/ State Education Boards / or having B. Voc in specialised domain, for admission through lateral entry into 2nd year of B. Tech Programme in AICTE-approved Institutions.

(c)  &  (d):  AICTE  has  launched  Kaushal  Augmentation  and  Restructuring  Mission  of  AICTE (KARMA)  Scheme for AICTE approved Institutions and Centrally funded Technical Institutions. Under this scheme Institutions are approved for providing Skill training as per NSQ Framework to School Drop Outs, Students Perusing their degree/Diploma and to willing School students of CBSE, State Boards in the vicinity of Institutions. Till February 2022 more than 1000 institutions have registered on KARMA portal.

In  addition,  Indira  Gandhi  National  Open  University  (IGNOU)  is  offering  Certificate, Diploma,  Master  degree  level  vocational  programmes  in  the  areas  of  Information  Security, Business Process Outsourcing; Finance and Accounting, Communication and IT Skills, Fashion Design, Modern Office Practice, Pharmaceutical Sales Management and Entrepreneurship. The University acts as a national resource centre having twenty-one Schools of Study offering skill and competency-based programmes across a diverse  range of disciplines, including the above stated areas.

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