Dimapur, August 7 (MExN): Vocational courses for students from classes IX to XII will be introduced in schools under the Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) in a phased manner to nurture skill requirements of learners, in addition to their regular curriculum.
The NBSE announced on Saturday that it would introduce vocational education courses from the 2022 academic session in pursuant to the goal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The vocational education which includes courses in Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS), Tourism & Hospitality, Retail, Beauty & Wellness, Electronics & Hardware, Agriculture, and Automotive, will be an optional subject in classes IX & X and an elective subject in classes XI & XII, it said.
The Competency Based Curriculum and Syllabus for Vocational Education for classes IX – XII has been adopted from the curriculum and syllabus developed by the Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal, the NBSE stated in its notification which was issued through the state DIPR.
Encouraging registered schools to come forward in introducing vocational education in their schools, the NBSE stated that the NEP 2020 emphasises on an education system that stresses on experiential learning with a focus on skills like critical thinking and problem solving. It said that the NEP aims at developing a holistic and multidisciplinary education and therefore, has stressed on the integration of vocational education with the general education so as to eliminate the hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities and between vocational and academic streams. This, it said, would ensure that every child learns at least one vocation and is exposed to several more from Class VI onward and in the process, underline dignity of labour and importance of various vocations.
It is the goal of the policy to reach out to at least 50% of the learners to have exposure to vocational education by 2025, it added.
The NBSE informed that vocational/skill education is within the ambit of National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) which organises qualifications according to a series knowledge, skills and aptitude levels. The NSQF defines common principles and guidelines for nationally recognised qualification and certification encompassing schools, vocational institutes and institutes of higher education throughout the country. Stating that the NSQF is a competency based skill framework that will provide for multiple pathways of vertical and horizontal mobility with multiple entries and exits both within vocational education, vocational training, general education and technical education, the NBSE said that it would enable a person to acquire desired competency levels, transit to job market and, at an opportune time, return for acquiring additional skills to further upgrade their competencies.
In this regard, it informed that the Application Form for the introduction of the Vocational Education is uploaded in the portal, www.nbsenl.edu.in in the Forms section and all necessary instructions are appended in the Form itself.
