New Delhi: On January 21, 2011, a meeting of State Education Ministers was headed by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal. As per sources, the agenda of the meeting was to discuss about necessary policy reforms to strengthen vocational education at all stages of education. D Purandeswari, Minister of State for HRD, 17 State Ministers, Secretaries and Senior Officers from the State Governments also attended the meeting, sources added.
Heads of University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) were also presented at the meeting among others.
According to an offical press release, necessity and rationale of scaling up of vocational education in the country was highlighted by several participants citing demands of high economic growth, technological and demographic changes, global shortage of skilled manpower, skill deficit in various sectors and mismatch of demand and supply of skill. Kapil Sibal said that to sustain a double digit growth, the country would need 200 million graduates and 500 million skilled people by 2022.
In addition, the release informed the sources that there was complete unanimity among the states for the National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF). This framework would set common principles and guidelines for a nationally recognized qualification system, covering schools, vocational education institutes and institutes of higher education with qualifications ranging from secondary to doctorate level, leading to international recognition of national standards, release told.
Furthermore, Mr. Sibal emphasized that standardization of processes is important to preserve the past, energize the present and empower the future. A view emerged that the educational institutions could allow its premises to be used after working hours for skill development, he added.
