Page 43 - EW July 2022

Cover Story

about NSDC and curiously this insti-
tution is not mentioned at all in NEP
2020. Instead, NEP 2020 declares
that “by 2020, at least 50 percent of
learners through school and higher
education system shall have exposure
to vocational education”. “Towards
this, secondary schools will collabo-
rate with ITIs, polytechnics and local
industry etc. Higher education insti-
tutions will offer vocational education
either on their own or in partnership
with industry. The B.Voc degree in-
troduced in 2013 will continue to ex-
ist, but vocational courses will also
be available to students enrolled in
all other Bachelor’s programmes, in-
cluding the 4-year holistic Bachelor’s Dr. Mishra: implementation dampener Popat-Vats: wish-list fear
programmes,” says NEP 2020. gregate enrolment of 15,000 students NEP 2020 is universalisation of
B UT TWO YEARS ON, there’s (including 7,000 women) mentored early childhood care and education

very little buzz about vo-
by a faculty aggregating 450 and over
(ECCE). Perhaps influenced by Edu-
cational education despite
of ECCE from 2007, NEP 2020 man-
its Gram Tarang Employability Train-
wide awareness that gov- 300 lab instructors. Moreover, under cationWorld’s continuous advocacy
ernment, industrial shopfloor and ag- ing Services initiative in collaboration dates that all children above the age
riculture productivity in 21st century with NSDC and the Central and state of three should be enrolled in formal
India is way below BRICS nations and governments, this private university ECCE classrooms. For this purpose,
a large number of developing coun- has trained and certified 450,000 the architecture of K-12 education
tries. Dr. Mukti Kanta Mishra, rural youth and farmers — mostly which was 10+2 has been redesigned
an alumnus of Utkal (Odisha) and school dropouts — as machinists, fit- as 5+3+3+4 with ECCE merged into
Victoria (Australia) universities and ters, welders, electricians, plumbers, lower primary school education. The
former marketing manager at the mechanics and retail assistants. rationale of this new systemic archi-
public sector Hindustan Petroleum However, Mishra’s enthusiasm for tecture is that 90 percent of children’s
Corp, and currently president of the the overdue importance accorded to brain development is complete by age
Centurion University of Technology & VET is somewhat dampened by policy eight. Therefore, early stimulation
Management, Paralakhemundi, Odi- implementation lethargy. “Currently, provides a strong foundation for life-
sha (CUTM, estb.2007), is delighted provision of grants and financial sup- long learning.
that for the first time VET “has been port for skill and vocational educa- Unsurprisingly Dr. Swati Popat
accorded cognisance as part of main- tion in universities is non-existent. Vats, president of the Podar Edu-
stream education” by NEP 2020. To skill India, all grants dispensing cation Network’s 600 owned and
“For India to become a $5 trillion entities such as Department of Sci- franchised pre-primary schools, and
economy within the next two-three ence & Technology, University Grants founder-president of the Early Child-
years, annual GDP growth must aver- Commission, All India Council for hood Association of India (ECA,
age 7-9 percent. This is only possible if Technical Education and the Union estb.2010), is elated that formal, pro-
the education system integrates voca- education ministry and state govern- fessionally administered early child-
tional and skills education and makes ments should revise their budgets to hood education hitherto viewed as
it inspirational and aspirational. To make provision for skilling and voca- peripheral, has been given pride of
this end, I recommend that a special tional education,” says Mishra. But place in NEP 2020.
Right to Skill Act must be enacted with half the financial year 2022-23 “Inclusion of early childhood edu-
by Parliament. This will give VET a almost over and the Centre and state cation into the formal school system
boost and there will be a perspective governments running substantial fis- has impacted the critical importance
change to introduce and integrate cal deficits, this is unlikely to happen. of ECCE, especially nursery, as the
skilling and vocational education into Arguably, the most important starting point of education. Work on
mainstream study programmes,” says recommendation of the Kasturiran- developing content, curriculum and
Mishra. Currently, CUTM has an ag- gan Committee incorporated into assessment framework has to begin on

42 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2022