The state government of Odisha has decided to include pre-vocational training for elementary students in an effort to instill skills in children from their earliest educational years. The School and Mass Education department will begin pre-vocational education in January for students in Classes VI to VIII, where they will receive training in a variety of trades.
The Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) has prepared a module for pre-vocational exposure, under which, there will be 10 days of bagless activities in a school year. It is during these days when students will receive practical training, lectures and field trips, among other things.
The department has planned to introduce the module as part of Samagra Shiksha, a centrally sponsored scheme for strengthening teaching-learning and results for states programme (STARS), funded by the World Bank, that aims to vocationalise school education. While 100 schools from every district have been chosen under Samagra Shiksha to implement pre-vocational education, 600 schools have been chosen under the WBB-STARS programme. The module covers eleven trades, including agriculture, food processing, hospitality and tourism, plumbing, electronics and hardware, information technology, apparel and wellness and beauty. Additionally, the students will receive training in the local arts and crafts of each district, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The purpose of starting pre-vocational education among students in Classes VI toVIII, according to OSEPA Director Anupam Saha, is to encourage them toward vocational courses so that by the time they reach Class IX, they can select which vocational trade they want to pursue in their higher grades.
Vocational courses are currently offered as a mandatory (elective) subject in government schools to students in Class IX to XII under Samagra Shiksha. The government has allocated Rs 10 lakh for pre-vocational training under the Samagra Shiksha programme for all districts and Rs 84 lakh under the WB-STARS programme. The National Education Policy (NEP) will be in line with how schools are run going forward, stated The New Indian Express report.