I READ THE APRIL issue of EducationWorld with great interest, and was happy to learn that vocational education is being written about and discussed among various other issues in the magazine. This will contribute positively to the perception of vocational education as a career option among students, teachers and schools.
I refer in particular to the cover story ‘India’s Belated Skilling Revolution’, on the need for universalisation of education, promoting skills-based education and measuring learning outcomes. I want your readers to know that many of these policy measures are cuurently being implemented, and that vocationalisation of education has already been approved by the Union Cabinet, and will soon become a reality.
There is also great interest from private sector enterprises keen on entering the skills space. This interest has been sharpened by the inclusion of CSR (corporate social responsibility) obligations in the Companies Act, 2013. In addition, there’s also greater NGO activity in VET (vocational education and training). A National Skills Qualification Framework is being formulated and should be in place within three years. It will define national standards for vocational training with stated learning outcomes for specific jobs.
All in all, a lot is happening in the skills ecosystem, and the NSDC team will be happy to share information with you anytime.
S. Ramadorai
Chairman, National Skill Development Corporation, Delhi
Government responsibility
AS AN INDIVIDUAL with growing interest in India’s labour, especially unorganised labour, your cover story ‘India’s Belated Skilling Revolution’ (EW April) made interesting reading. Yet a notable feature of your article is that India’s skilling revolution seems to be almost exclusively led by the private sector, with companies and NGOs such as H3S and LabourNet filling the huge void created by the Central and state governments’ pathetically inadequate investment in education. While this private contribution is undeniably necessary, pressing the Central and state governments to allocate a much larger percentage of India’s GDP to education is an urgent priority. Government has a greater responsibility towards skilling the country’s neglected workforce.
Simultaneously, attention needs to be paid to revamping the country’s archaic and complex labour laws which have contributed to the creation of a massive pool of poorly paid unskilled labour in the unorganised sector.
The skilling revolution will be meaningless unless there is a concerted national effort to create skilled, well-paying jobs in small and medium enterprises as well.
Tarun Bhalla
Bangalore
Valid point
I WAS SUPRISED TO read your editorial ‘AAP’s irresponsible populism’ (EW March). I believe you haven’t got your facts right. I have been reading about this long before Arvind Kejriwal got into the act, and I believe he is right on this issue.
The initial contracted rate approved by Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani was $2 per mmbtu for 17 years. But the company cut back production citing non-existent geological problems to jack up the rate to $4.2 per mmbtu and more recently to $6.5-8 per mmbtu awarded by the Rangarajan Committee. But the committee’s brief was to set a price based on international market rates — it had nothing to do with Reliance’s costs of production or the price at which the initial contract was awarded to the company. So Rangarajan really had no option but to follow his brief.
If you investigate this issue thoroughly, you will find Kejriwal has a valid point.
Dr. Cavery Bopaiah
Bangalore
Commercialisation bane
THANKS FOR THE SPORTS education column ‘The greatest take-away of sports’ (EW March). In sports and education, commercialisation is a bane, not a boon. Rampant commercialisation is why unscrupulous people are making money the wrong way.
High stakes and big money is spoiling the environment in all sports and preventing sportspersons from developing the true spirit of sportsmanship.
Mahesh Kapasi
DELHI
Words of appreciation
I ENJOY READING EducationWorld and your views on a variety of issues. The strong tinge of acerbic wit in the editorials and the page titled Postscript, coupled with rigorous writing, is very interesting.
Meera Isaacs
Principal, Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai