Lok Sabha Question No. 2399 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Vocational Education under NEP 2020
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Tangella Uday Srinivas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2399 ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025

## Vocational Education under NEP 2020

2399. Shri Tangella Uday Srinivas:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the number of schools in the country that are eligible to introduce vocational education under NEP 2020 along with the number of schools that have actually introduced it, State/UTwise;
- (b) the number of students who have received vocational exposure, including through "bagless days", internships with artisans, industry partners or skill institutions, State/UT-wise and yearwise;
- (c)  the  number  of  schools  that  have  established  vocational  skill  labs,  workshops  or  related infrastructure as recommended in NEP 2020, State/UT-wise;
- (d) the progress made towards achieving the NEP target of providing vocational exposure to atleast 50 per cent of learners by 2025;
- (e) the funds allocated, released and utilised for vocationalisation of school education in the country, State/UT-wise and year-wise;
- (f) whether any gaps, delays or challenges have been identified in its implementation, if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the steps taken by the Government to accelerate compliance with NEP vocational education mandates?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a)  to  (g):  Education  is  in  the  concurrent  list  of  Schedule  7  of  the  Constitution  of  India. Government of India and State Government, both are responsible for formulation and execution of policies related to Education.

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommends integration of skill education programmes into mainstream education in all education institutions in a phased manner. Focus areas for skill education are chosen based on skill gap analysis and mapping of local opportunities.

The Government of India provides financial assistance for the implementation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, as per the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B) prepared by the respective State/UTs based on their requirement and as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme and availability of budgetary resources.

Pre-vocational exposure for students of Classes VI to VIII is supported under the Innovation component of Samagra Shiksha. Exposure to skill education at this stage enables students to explore job-related skills across various sectors and supports them in making informed subject choices.  A  key  intervention  for  skill  exposure  is  the  implementation  of  the  10-day  bagless period for students of Classes VI to VIII, during which students intern with local experts such as artisans, gardeners and craft persons. Approximately 3.03 Cr. students have been exposed to the pre-vocational exposure and 10 bagless days initiatives up to the year 2024-25. State/UTwise details of students exposed to both the above initiatives is placed at Annexure-I.

Under the Skill Education component of this scheme, National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF)  aligned  skill  courses  are  offered  to  the  students  from  class  9th  to  12th.  At  the Secondary level i.e., Class IX and X, skill courses are offered to the students as an additional subject. At Sr. Secondary level, i.e., Class XI and XII, skill courses are offered as a compulsory (elective) subject.

All middle and secondary stage schools are eligible to introduce skill exposure to grade 6 to 8. All secondary stage schools are eligible to introduce skill education for grade 9 to 12 across the country. Currently, as per data available on UDISE+, there are 3,06,942 secondary stage schools in the country. Based on the proposal received from the State/UTs, approval has been granted to 31,477 schools for introducing skill courses and 20,724 schools have established skill  labs  through  Samagra  Shiksha.  Additionally,  4,988  PM  SHRI  schools  have  also  been approved for skill education out of which 3,798 schools have already been imparting skill education. State/UT-wise details are compiled based on the Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) received from the States/UTs and are available at Annexure-II.

As far as CBSE is concerned, more than 30,000 schools are affiliated with CBSE and all of them are eligible to introduce skill education under NEP 2020. CBSE offers 22 Skill subjects for  students  of  class  IX  &  X  and  43  Skill  subjects  for  students  of  classes  XI  &  XII.  1286 Kendriya Vidyalayas and 647 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools are offering skill courses to the students of secondary stage.

Financial allocations, releases and utilisation for vocationalisation under Samagra Shiksha are monitored through the PRABANDH (Project Appraisal, Budgeting, Achievements and Data Handling)  system.  State/UT-wise  and  year-wise  details  of  funds  allocated  and  utilised  are placed at Annexure-III. Regular interactions and review meetings are held with States/UTs to monitor implementation and address operational issues.

To strengthen skill education, school boards are registering themselves with NCVET to become Awarding body and Assessing Authority. Further, the provision of Hub-and-Spoke model has also been introduced, wherein skill infrastructure available in designated hub schools is utilised by students from nearby spoke schools for skill training. Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), Polytechnics and similar institutions are also being used as hubs to facilitate wider access to hands-on learning. Furthermore, to strengthen skill education, the Department has developed a Career Guide Book with 500 career cards across 21 domains, and also launched 'My Career Advisor' mobile application based on AI/ML for personalised career guidance.

*****

## ANNEXURE-I

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (g) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2399 FOR 15.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI TANGELLA UDAY  SRINIVAS,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION UNDER NEP 2020'.

## Students covered under pre-vocational exposure and Bagless Days

| S. No.   | State/UT          | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   | 2024-25   |
|----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| 1        | A &NIslands       | *         | *         | *         | 20542     |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh    | 130       | 100785    | 825143    | 180121    |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh | 101       | 93978     | *         | 263456    |
| 4        | Assam             | *         | 104945    | 701218    | *         |
| 5        | Bihar             | *         | *         | *         | 4704171   |
| 6        | Chandigarh        | 106       | 36591     | 20329     | 76880     |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh      | 560       | *         | 20329     | 2800000   |
| 8        | DNH and DD        | *         | *         | 9185      | 18475     |
| 9        | Delhi             | 21        | 970       | 145175    | 1390181   |
| 10       | Goa               | *         | *         | *         | 64895     |
| 11       | Gujarat           | 260       | 19986     | 44900     | 778513    |
| 12       | Haryana           | 110       | 112548    | 165245    | 304639    |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh  | 240       | 66828     | 52136     | 203187    |
| 14       | Jammu &Kashmir    | 2000      | 54054     | 74039     | 287167    |
| 15       | Jharkhand         | *         | 18465     | 380299    | 625100    |
| 16       | Karnataka         | 150       | 97363     | 43090     | 3432535   |
| 17       | Kerala            | 14        | *         | 4950      | *         |
| 18       | Ladakh            | 30        | 455       | 2937      | 5137      |
| 19       | Lakshadweep       | 15        | 2622      | 2729      | 1439      |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh    | 844       | 97042     | *         | 1244044   |
| 21       | Maharashtra       | 500       | 33541     | *         | 3829178   |
| 22       | Manipur           | *         | 27920     | 65329     | 26621     |
| 23       | Meghalaya         | *         | 2659      | *         | 5100      |
| 24       | Mizoram           | 220       | 13508     | 25120     | 6144      |
| 25       | Nagaland          | 34        | 22786     | 19044     | 41488     |
| 26       | Odisha            | 100       | *         | 113760    | 1240765   |
| 27       | Puducherry        | 18        | *         | *         | 238383    |
| 28       | Punjab            | 220       | 62878     | 234824    | 60323     |
| 29       | Rajasthan         | 660       | 439595    | 561078    | 1174994   |
| 30       | Sikkim            | 377       | 33409     | 18329     | 32942     |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu        | *         | *         | *         | *         |
| 32       | Telangana         | 192       | *         | 90976     | 1878903   |
| 33       | Tripura           | 205       | 10995     | 16476     | 39873     |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh     | *         | *         | *         | *         |
| 35       | Uttarakhand       | 130       | 6594      | 7503      | 214744    |
| 36       | West Bengal       | *         | *         | *         | *         |
|          | Total             | 7237      | 1460517   | 3644143   | 25189940  |

(Source: Quarterly Progress Report received from State/UTs under Samagra Shiksha)

* Data not reported by State/UTs

## ANNEXURE-II

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (g) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2399 FOR 15.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI TANGELLA UDAY  SRINIVAS,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION UNDER NEP 2020'.

## Schools approved and implemented Skill Education

| S. No.   | State / UT        |   No. of schools Approved |   No. of Schools Implemented |
|----------|-------------------|---------------------------|------------------------------|
| 1        | A &NIslands       |                        75 |                           74 |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh    |                      1578 |                         1378 |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh |                       284 |                          270 |
| 4        | Assam             |                      2001 |                         1780 |
| 5        | Bihar             |                       631 |                           33 |
| 6        | Chandigarh        |                        77 |                           77 |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh      |                      1284 |                         1183 |
| 8        | DNH and DD        |                        33 |                           33 |
| 9        | Delhi             |                       616 |                          289 |
| 10       | Goa               |                       213 |                          206 |
| 11       | Gujarat           |                      1755 |                         1755 |
| 12       | Haryana           |                      1396 |                         1104 |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh  |                      1737 |                         1689 |
| 14       | Jammu &Kashmir    |                      2460 |                         1350 |
| 15       | Jharkhand         |                       929 |                          659 |
| 16       | Karnataka         |                       898 |                          392 |
| 17       | Kerala            |                       261 |                          261 |
| 18       | Ladakh            |                        60 |                           55 |
| 19       | Lakshadweep       |                         9 |                            9 |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh    |                      2982 |                         2276 |
| 21       | Maharashtra       |                       946 |                          650 |
| 22       | Manipur           |                       234 |                          219 |
| 23       | Meghalaya         |                       183 |                          163 |
| 24       | Mizoram           |                       171 |                          167 |
| 25       | Nagaland          |                       186 |                          171 |
| 26       | Odisha            |                      1538 |                          919 |
| 27       | Puducherry        |                        65 |                           65 |
| 28       | Punjab            |                      2055 |                         1981 |
| 29       | Rajasthan         |                      3736 |                         1786 |
| 30       | Sikkim            |                       211 |                          211 |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu        |                       402 |                          402 |
| 32       | Telangana         |                       936 |                          499 |
| 33       | Tripura           |                       556 |                          430 |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh     |                      2556 |                          849 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand       |                      1066 |                          531 |
| 36       | West Bengal       |                      2345 |                          606 |
|          | Total             |                     36465 |                        24522 |

(Source: Quarterly Progress Report received from State/UTs)

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (g) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2399 FOR 15.12.2025 ASKED BY SHRI TANGELLA UDAY  SRINIVAS,  HON'BLE  MP  REGARDING  'VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION UNDER NEP 2020'.

Funds allocation and utilization for Skill Education

(Rs. in lakh)

| S. No.   | State                       | 2025-2026        | 2025-2026     | 2024-2025       | 2024-2025      | 2023-2024       | 2023-2024      |
|----------|-----------------------------|------------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------|-----------------|----------------|
| S. No.   | State                       | Allocation       | utilization   | Allocation      | utilization    | Allocation      | utilization    |
| 1        | Andaman And Nicobar Islands | 1086.99          | 824.71        | 1175.27         | 1175.26        | 1051.00         | 757.51         |
| 2        | Andhra Pradesh              | 8157.72          | 3173.88       | 9770.16         | 9264.31        | 7951.32         | 1769.67        |
| 3        | Arunachal Pradesh           | 3113.91          | 593.03        | 3009.47         | 2365.66        | 1932.48         | 2240.29        |
| 4        | Assam                       | 20982.16         | 4643.39       | 19892.38        | 11350.09       | 13618.03        | 10366.05       |
| 5        | Bihar                       | 11222.12         | 17.11         | 235.11          | 106.34         | 1723.64         | 3844.05        |
| 6        | Chandigarh                  | 702.95           | 241.49        | 665.53          | 581.22         | 216.95          | 216.95         |
| 7        | Chhattisgarh                | 19371.87         | 8552.00       | 18395.16        | 4403.84        | 15086.97        | 8679.36        |
| 8        | DNH and DD                  | 333.15           | 49.11         | 355.30          | 176.13         | 212.74          | 85.00          |
| 9        | Delhi                       | 7936.69          | 599.07        | 5472.52         | 1445.45        | 2745.66         | 2744.28        |
| 10       | Goa                         | 1210.93          | 572.23        | 1512.35         | 873.81         | 1317.64         | 734.64         |
| 11       | Gujarat                     | 18406.75         | 4876.70       | 20403.98        | 12513.08       | 9149.99         | 6850.79        |
| 12       | Haryana                     | 13467.00         | 4636.82       | 23919.02        | 11143.68       | 20470.01        | 10764.35       |
| 13       | Himachal Pradesh            | 15038.13         | 2266.18       | 16593.38        | 8137.64        | 12483.22        | 11974.82       |
| 14       | Jammu And Kashmir           | 16173.71         | 7043.12       | 18251.68        | 5490.70        | 8998.98         | 6088.53        |
| 15       | Jharkhand                   | 9659.14          | 0.00          | 9924.58         | 3787.64        | 8250.27         | 5958.93        |
| 16       | Karnataka                   | 6795.87          | 63.81         | 5727.36         | 2002.38        | 2915.04         | 1293.18        |
| 17       | Kerala                      | 1279.99          | 452.31        | 1869.56         | 346.33         | 1183.48         | 686.97         |
| 18       | Ladakh                      | 402.01           | 188.85        | 508.50          | 342.71         | 379.06          | 237.66         |
| 19       | Lakshadweep                 | 7.50             | 0.00          | 13.50           | 0.00           | 4.50            | 0.00           |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh              | 36878.22         | 8742.57       | 28942.87        | 7478.90        | 19399.43        | 11497.10       |
| 21       | Maharashtra                 | 7393.71          | 971.35        | 8262.45         | 3258.46        | 7135.96         | 2935.45        |
| 22       | Manipur                     | 1750.85          | 707.03        | 2693.53         | 793.46         | 2483.14         | 2245.54        |
| 23       | Meghalaya                   | 2179.44          | 227.75        | 2237.45         | 1159.53        | 1620.19         | 1508.55        |
| 24       | Mizoram                     | 1606.73          | 119.13        | 1276.89         | 1077.80        | 1135.78         | 358.40         |
| 25       | Nagaland                    | 1288.26          | 173.28        | 1328.03         | 1031.91        | 1313.53         | 984.00         |
| 26       | Odisha                      | 10049.36         | 1867.79       | 16960.89        | 5213.32        | 14777.52        | 5304.13        |
| 27       | Puducherry                  | 406.55           | 19.04         | 375.61          | 146.45         | 222.03          | 203.80         |
| 28       | Punjab                      | 18863.80         | 3595.14       | 15889.73        | 8739.77        | 11593.35        | 9315.96        |
| 29       | Rajasthan                   | 32873.20         | 4820.25       | 37221.63        | 16382.00       | 29884.95        | 15965.53       |
| 30       | Sikkim                      | 4121.90          | 812.10        | 4021.39         | 3946.39        | 3348.49         | 3319.11        |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu                  | 0.00             | 0.00          | 2096.91         | 0.00           | 2598.36         | 2396.10        |
| 32       | Telangana                   | 3430.03          | 0.00          | 4373.96         | 3681.11        | 3527.35         | 1732.51        |
| 33       | Tripura                     | 4661.71          | 2269.06       | 3709.27         | 3651.33        | 2987.42         | 2611.24        |
| 34 35    | Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand   | 30944.34 5927.49 | 561.83 317.01 | 9826.72 6069.62 | 2807.81 287.09 | 6051.51 3250.09 | 787.55 1609.01 |

(Source: PRABANDH portal)