Ministry of Education and World Bank organised a one of its kind workshop on School-to-Work Transition under the STARS Program in Mumbai today. The workshop was co-chaired by Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, School Education and Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari, Secretary Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. The workshop was also attended by the Secretaries of Education and Skill Department of the six STARS states i.e. Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh along with the State Project Directors of Samagra Shiksha, respective officers, and representatives from the World Bank.
One of the key components of STARS program is strengthening of Vocational Education and School-to-Work Transition. The workshop focussed on discussion on a Skill Gap analysis of the six STARS States and Uttar Pradesh along with convergence of vocational and skill. Shri Sanjay Kumar and Shri Atul Kumar Tiwari elaborated on the present interventions of the Government of India, provisions of the National Education policy on vocational and skill education, and suggestive measures to scale vocational education in districts and take up aspirational districts on pilot basis to foster the common ideology of economic growth by increasing the employability of our youth.
The present performance and interventions of the states were also discussed. A broad-based strategy was proposed with focus on vocational education, industry tie-ups, integrating vocational studies with school curricula and modifying the existing school syllabus to meet industry demands and make students job ready after class 12th.
The workshop also had a session with the industry experts which provided key insights regarding the needs of the skills in current industry situations. The session concluded reiterating that it is the opportune moment to initiate investment in vocational training and make it aspirational for the youth in the country.