Abstract
With high economic growing rates and an evident shortage of skilled workers, the modernisation of formal vocational education and training (VET) in India increasingly came into focus. Skill development has been on top of the agenda of the Indian government for more than a decade, resulting in state policies and related schemes to upgrade and develop a system struggling with quantitative and qualitative issues. This article gives an overview of the main pillars of the Indian VET system and addresses policies and initiatives to restructure and upgrade formal VET in India. Finally, the main challenges as well as potential for a further development of the sector are highlighted from different systemic perspectives.
Keywords
Introduction
For more than a decade, vocational education and training (VET) in India has been of particular interest for different protagonists. Countries and international organisations engaging in foreign aid and economic development have been active in the field, trying to push skill development by different means and initiatives (see e.g., Dar, 2008; World Bank, 2017). Simultaneously, the Indian government has shown a major interest in skill development through formal VET (Agrawal, 2014) in order to utilise the large potential of a young and ever-growing population. The government presses for further development of an economy that has shown impressive growth rates after liberalisation in the 1990s, but while India is frequently described as one of the most promising countries of the five major emerging economies in terms of economic growth, the challenges with respect to poverty, infrastructure and education are vast. The young and expanding population offers a large potential for growth and prosperity on the one hand but could indeed turn into a threat to economic and societal cohesion if India fails to skill its labour force and provide opportunities for decent work. Every year, approximately 12–13 million young people leave school in search of some vocational education, training or work (British Council, 2016). But while 59% of the population is in the age group of 15–54 years (United Nations Development Program [UNDP], 2019), a shortage of skilled workers is evident (Agrawal, 2014).
A major investment in formal vocational training and education is considered to be essential to solve the problem of ‘skilling’ a major part of the population (Rao et al., 2014), but the system satisfies neither employers’ nor students’ needs, is of a low quality (King, 2012), and has serious problems in quantitative terms (Mitra, 2005). Starting from 2004, the Government of India (GoI) has made several efforts to modernise the formal VET sector, targeting the quantitative challenge as well as qualitative issues (British Council, 2016). However, although a skill development policy was legally implemented in 2009, the overall attempts to improve the system neither succeeded at large, nor enabled the government to meet its ambitious goal to raise the percentage of skilled personnel from 2% in 2007 to 50% in 2022 (King, 2012), as the percentage of population with any form of formal VET is still less than 3% (MSDE, 2018). In the following section, we will take a close look at existing schemes, initiatives and policies of VET in India, in order to detect possible prospects for and current challenges of the system.
Formal Education and Training in India
The Indian educational and training system involves several different stakeholders and institutions. Currently, India has 1.5 million schools with an enrolment of over 260 million (British Council, 2019). In 2009, the GoI passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) which guarantees free education for all children between the ages of 6 and 14. However, although India’s mean years of schooling have improved significantly since the 1990s, they still average 6.5 years, which is significantly lower than in other emerging economies like China (UNDP, 2019). Elementary education covered by the RTE includes primary education up to grade 8; and secondary education may include school-based VET held within institutes (Agrawal, 2014). It is based on school fees charged according to the financial resources of parents (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). India has raised investments in education over the past years (British Council, 2019), but the country still faces serious weaknesses in the area of primary and upper primary education (World Bank, 2018). A decade ago, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) noted that only half the pupils in grade five attending public schools were able to read, and that less than 30% possessed basic numeracy skills (CII, 2009).
Investments in education did, however, lead to improvements as, for example, drop-out rates in primary education fell significantly over the past years and literacy rates among 5–15-year olds have risen to over 70% (see Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, 2010; Ministry of Human Resource Development [MHRD], 2018b). But although education and training are clearly on top of the agenda for the government, improvements take place slowly or get stuck (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). There are large discrepancies between the rural and urban regions (MHRD, 2018b) and among the federal states. Serious problems in the areas of basic numeracy and literacy skills prevail. Because of the weaknesses mentioned for public schools, parents who can afford tuition fees shift their children to private schools, which have an overall share of 31% (British Council, 2019). There are 903 universities and 39,050 colleges that provide academic degrees and a further 10,011 institutions that provide diplomas classified as non-academic. One-fourth (25.8%) of the relevant age group (18–23) in India is enrolled in higher education (MHRD, 2018a). Of such, those courses that provide academic degrees are clearly preferred in the Indian society (Kumar, 2016; Singh, 2001).
Governance in Education and Training
Within the Indian education and training system, there is a clear distinction between vocational education and vocational training. Vocational education is part of the higher education system, including vocational courses starting from secondary or upper-secondary school and colleges which offer vocational diplomas. The latter include institutions like polytechnic colleges, nursing colleges or teacher training colleges that are generally attributed to tertiary education but provide vocational diplomas rather than an academic degree (British Council, 2016). Hence the GoI labels them ‘stand-alone institutions’ (MHRD, 2018a), indicating the position of such colleges as somewhere between vocational and academic education. A further distinction is made between technical and vocational education, with polytechnic colleges offering the former. The division of education and training is also envisaged in a clear separation of responsibilities within governmental authorities. At the national level, vocational education falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and subsequently the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) which administers the different institutions providing vocational education (British Council, 2016; Rao et al., 2014). The main responsibilities of the AICTE are quality assurance and development, planning and development, and regulation and maintenance of norms and standards of technical education (AICTE, 2020). These include recognition and accreditation of the institutes, as well as curriculum and syllabus design for colleges (Schneider & Pilz, 2019). Similar authorities administer vocational education at the state level, the departments being labelled differently from state to state.
Vocational training falls under the responsibility of the MSDE 1 and a larger number of authorities and agencies at the national and state levels. The main authority under the MSDE for vocational training at the national level is the Directorate General of Training, which directly administers central institutes like the Advanced Training Institute (ATI) and presides over the National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT) (MSDE, 2018). Both agencies are responsible for learning content and curricula. At the state level, authorities administer the day-to-day administration of institutions, according to national guidelines. The states are responsible for the implementation of quality improvement and assurance schemes, for conducting tests and the administration and distribution of further teacher training (MSDE, 2019a; Wessels & Pilz, 2018). The complexity of educational governance in India is increased by a large number of further ministries which are engaged in vocational training programmes and initiatives in one way or the other, sometimes ineffectively, through parallel schemes (Tara & Kumar, 2016). Especially with regard to training and programmes that target the informal sector, there exist an extensive and sometimes unclear range of schemes, projects and initiatives (Pilz, 2016; Wessels & Pilz, 2018). Aware of the issue, the MSDE tries to bundle skill development initiatives for effective implementation, involving 16 ministries under their heading (MSDE, 2018).
Vocational Education and Training
Vocational training may start from grade nine onward and goes on into post-secondary education, depending on the type and level of course offered (International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training [UNEVOC], 2018). It is not associated to higher education but refers to certificate-level training in a variety of craft skills. Entry requirements differ from course to course, however, a successful completion of grade 8 is a minimum requirement for all courses except for some schemes targeting the informal sector (MSDE, 2018). It is provided under two major schemes: the Craftsman Training Scheme (CTS) and apprenticeship training under the Apprentices Act (Wessels & Pilz, 2018).
The Craftsman Training Scheme
The most important scheme in terms of number of seats for industrial trade training is the CTS, which was introduced in 1950 by the GoI (MSDE, 2018). Courses are offered at governmental or private Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) that provide training covering 6–24 months, depending on the occupation and course. Presently, there exist 13,912 ITIs with a capacity of around 2,960,000 seats (MSDE, 2018). Privately financed and managed ITIs number 11,751 (MSDE, 2018), a major part of them accredited by the NCVT (Rao et al., 2014). Courses cover 126 occupations, of which 73 are classified as technical and 48 as non-technical. The CTS scheme has a focus on practical instruction which constitutes 70% of the entire training. Entrance requirements vary from successful completion of grade 8–12, according to the respective occupation (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). After completion of the course, students may receive a National Trade Certificate by the NCVT if they pass the exam (MSDE, 2018). Teachers at ITIs are trained for one year under the Crafts Instructor Training Scheme (CITS) in 12 ATIs and other ITIs and training centres that are affiliated with the NCVT (MSDE, 2018).
While the number of ITIs has increased over the past years (see Rao et al., 2014; Wessels & Pilz, 2018), there are still not enough seats to meet the demand of skill training. Both governmental and private ITIs face serious challenges in areas such as teacher qualification and provision, equipment, learning content and curricula design (Dar, 2008). These factors result in an overall poor training quality and a lack of employability with regard to students (Dar, 2008; Jambo & Pilz, 2018; Tara et al., 2016). The MSDE (2018) estimates that the country needs 95,000 teachers to meet the actual demand in ITIs. While currently only 15% of the staff is trained under the CITS, training institutes have the capacity to train only 5,168 instructors per annum. Furthermore, even though the seating capacity is limited, frequently not all the seats are filled. In 2017–2018, only 85% of all places for teacher training under the CITS scheme were utilised (MSDE, 2018). Therefore, a significant increase of qualified teachers is not to be expected soon. While the training is meant to be split between a larger practical segment and smaller theoretical one, in practice theoretical instruction is found to be dominant (Tara et al., 2016), a characteristic prevalent in all segments of Indian VET (Pilz, 2016).
Private institutions are monitored by the NCVT and exams are centralised, but the NCVT is not able to properly administer their mandate, as it is a small organisation that lacks the manpower to fulfil its monitoring task (Rao et al., 2014). For private institutions particularly, the training quality is generally below governmental institutions (Wessels & Pilz, 2018).
Apprenticeship Training
Apprenticeship training is offered in different schemes under the Apprentices Act. It combines training in institutions and at the workplace, following a dual training approach. The Apprenticeship Training Scheme (ATS) offers a variety of training in trades and enterprises, covering occupations designated by the government or ‘optional trades’ suggested by employers under certain requirements (MSDE, 2018). The scheme was initiated in 1961 under the Apprentices Act and was fashioned to meet the needs of industry and structure informal training according to certain standards. The main goal was to involve employers in VET and utilise industrial workplace settings for practical training, as institutional training was considered insufficient to generate the full set of practical skills needed (MSDE, 2018). The legal regulations for apprenticeship training have been modernised a few times to adapt the programme to meet stakeholder requirements (Saxena & Gandhi, 2014), the last revision being in 2014 (MSDE, 2018). Students can enter the programme at a minimum age of 14 and after successful completion of classes 8–12, depending on the kind of training offered (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). Schemes target two separate groups of apprentices: On the one hand, training is given under the label of ‘Trade Apprenticeship’ within the ATS that lasts from six months to four years. Trainees are qualified in occupations such as weaver, tailor, secretarial assistant or welder. There is a wide spectrum of 259 occupations in 39 areas (Saxena & Gandhi, 2014). Under the Trade Apprenticeship scheme, 360,000 seats are available per year (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). Trade apprenticeships fall under the responsibility of the MSDE as they form part of vocational training. On the other hand, the National Scheme of Apprenticeship Training offers programmes for students of higher education who want to acquire additional practical skills. Such apprentices are labelled graduate apprentices, technicians or vocational technician apprentices (Rao et al., 2014). Training is given in more than 137 subject fields, as a post-qualification training for a period of one year (MSDE, 2018) and is monitored by the MoE and corresponding authorities. With 100,000 seats per year, the provision of such apprenticeships falls significantly below the number of places for Trade Apprenticeships (Rao et al., 2014). Trainees receive a monthly stipend financed either by employers (in the case of Trade Apprenticeships), or partly by the central government in schemes run by the MoE (Rao et al., 2014).
The responsibility of different ministries for similar schemes that fall under the Apprentices Act displays the complexity, and sometimes clear inefficacy, of educational governance structures, as well as the problematic and deeply anchored separation between education and training (Singh, 2001). In terms of the significance of the programme, judging by the numbers and its acceptance by young people in search of training, it has proven rather unsuccessful. The number of seats offered is marginal compared to the annual demand of young people in need of vocational education or training provision, as well as compared to the size of the economy itself (MSDE, 2018). Besides, the apprenticeship schemes are not even utilised fully, as each year a large reservoir of offered seats remains unoccupied. In terms of acceptance, the schemes targeting graduates of higher education programmes fare even worse, as more than half the offered seats remain empty (Wessels & Pilz, 2018) compared to 30% for the Trade Apprenticeships (Rao et al., 2014). The MSDE (2018) notes that more than 80% of all the apprentices come from ITIs and that apprenticeships are dominantly provided in engineering, while the service sector, though an important driver of the economy, does not provide training in substantial numbers. The GoI implemented a new initiative named the ‘National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme’ in 2016, to raise the acceptance and involvement of employers and to increase the number of apprentices, targeting 2,000,000 in 2020 (MSDE, 2018). However, in addition to the low participation rate, high regulatory requirements for employers, low stipends for trainees and a marginal number of apprenticeships offered in the service sector (Wessels & Pilz, 2018), the scheme suffers from similar weaknesses as those under the CTS. The main problems are the shortage of trainers, absence of qualified trainers, poor infrastructure at the training institutes, inflexible and partly obsolete curricula, as well as the low rates of employment after completion (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2013).
Apart from these two main pillars of apprenticeship training, there are schemes like the National Employability Enhancement Mission (NEEM) (Skills Training Foundation, 2020) and the National Employability through Apprenticeship Programme (NETAP), which is a public–private partnership programme targeting unemployed youth (National Employability through Apprenticeship Program [NETAP], 2014), both under the aegis of the AICTE and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
Polytechnic Colleges
Formal technical vocational education that leads to a diploma is provided at polytechnic colleges, which play a major part in Indian vocational education, as they form the largest group of institutions after ITIs (British Council, 2016). Located in the upper- and post-secondary sector, they offer tertiary vocational education (UNEVOC, 2018) and various diploma programmes on a wide range of subjects. Being part of the higher education sector, they fall under the supervision of the MoE and are accredited by the AICTE. At the state level, they are administered by the State Departments of Technical Education (MHRD, 2018a), which are responsible for conducting final examinations and issuing diplomas (Schneider & Pilz, 2019). Diploma holders are mainly hired for positions at the shop-floor level (Rao et al., 2014) as they acquire specific practical and theoretical job-related skills and knowledge (Goel, 2011) required for positions as supervisor. Courses are offered full- or part-time, and admission requires the completion of classes 10–12 (Wessels & Pilz, 2018) or a lower secondary vocational education programme (UNEVOC, 2018), depending on the type of course. The general duration of the diploma programmes is three years, some may extend to four, and post- and advanced diplomas are across one or two years. Currently, the AICTE recognises 3,239 polytechnic colleges (MHRD, 2018a), more than 70% of which are private or mainly private with some government-aid (MHRD, 2018a). There are also private institutions that are not accredited by the AICTE, which often have serious issues in the quality of education, combined with high tuition fees. Quantitatively, they are of no relevance to the system (Schneider & Pilz, 2019; Wessels & Pilz, 2018).
In 2017, 1,552,000 students were enrolled in polytechnic colleges (MHRD, 2018a). Programmes are classified into three different categories according to occupational areas (engineering and technology, other vocational fields, and applied crafts), covering a wide range of programmes and subject areas from civil or mechanical engineering to medical lab technology, library science or architectural assistantship (Rao et al., 2014). The focus of the programmes is theoretical (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). However, in contrast to other programmes of higher education in India, a few institutions include industrial training between academic semesters (Rao et al., 2014) and practical instruction is included in the curriculum as part of the institutional training (Schneider & Pilz, 2019). In addition to technical education, another 6,772 ‘stand-alone-institutions’ (MHRD, 2018a) provide diploma courses in nursing and teacher training.
Many polytechnic colleges share the major challenges and problems of all Indian VET institutions in one way or the other. These are: inadequate equipment and infrastructure, an insecure or/and insufficient financial basis, low quality of training, missing or inadequate qualifications for teachers and staff as well as outdated curricula. Also, institutions vary significantly in quality, as states handle administration and responsibilities differently (Schneider & Pilz, 2019). As the number of seats offered is comparably small, the GoI planned to increase the number of institutions significantly under the MHRD Skill Development Initiative from 2013 onwards, targeting the establishment of 700 more colleges in the country. As the number of institutions accredited by the AICTE has decreased since 2015 (Wessels & Pilz, 2018), it remains to be seen how such efforts will turn out in future.
Policies and Initiatives—Skill Agenda for the Better?
The liberalisation of the economy in the 1990s entailed the growth of new sectors like the service sector and IT industry, while areas like manufacturing and engineering lost importance, shifting the need for skilled workers from the more-traditional trades to new occupational qualifications (British Council, 2016). The traditional vocational training system mainly covered such traditional trades (MSDE, 2018), in addition often focusing on isolated skill sets only (Dar, 2008; Zenner et al., 2017). It was realised that in order to solve the country’s qualitative and quantitative problems, some action needed to be taken by the government. From 2006, the GoI, partly in cooperation with the private sector, started to develop measures to modernise formal VET, that led to the implementation of the first National Policy on Skill Development in 2009 (Singh, 2012), VET being considered an essential area during the five-year development period of the Eleventh Plan (Rao et al., 2014).
The first National Policy on Skill Development was followed by different initiatives and programmes like the introduction of the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF), the Apprentices Amendment Act and the constitution of the MSDE that took over the responsibilities of the former Ministry of Labour and Employment (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2019a). In 2015, the first policy was renewed as National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE, 2015) under the Skill India Initiative. Skill India combines different schemes and programmes with the goal of training 400 million people by 2022 (British Council, 2016), a slight downgrade of the former goal of training 500 million people. The following section takes a closer look at a selection of initiatives that are part of the skills development policies of the government.
Fostering Private–Public Partnerships
Within the target to greatly increase the share of formally skilled workers in a short period of time (King, 2012), a fundamental goal of the first skill agenda was to deepen private sector involvement in formal VET. For that purpose, the NSDC, a public–private partnership, was formed (British Council, 2016). It supervises the Sector Skill Councils and training centres affiliated to the NCVT, under supervision from the MSDE. Its main task is to initiate and coordinate actions and the involvement of the private sector in VET as well as the development of Sector Skill Councils. The corporation takes part in curriculum development and the qualification of trainers and is to function as an information system for the government (MSDE, 2018). Currently, the NSDC is also involved in own skill training and development schemes (MSDE, 2018), that work parallel to the existing CTS and ATS schemes. However, while the NSDC still operates in these areas, it has been criticised for its handling of finances and the overall quality of its work (MSDE, 2016). Basically, several initiatives for a stronger involvement of the private sector in formal Indian VET have not proven very successful overall (Pilz, 2016). With reference to their skilling schemes, the NSDC works with a system of National Occupational Standards (NOS) and linked Qualification Packages (QP) in order to establish and structure their curricula (NSDC, 2017). NOS and QPs are linked to the NSQF (Wessels & Pilz, 2018).
National Skill Qualification Framework
Following the National Policy on Skill Development, a first qualification framework, the National Vocational Qualification Framework was developed with help from the World Bank in 2009 (Singh, 2012). Its main target was to enable comparability of India’s vocational and educational qualifications on an international level, as well as to promote the recognition of skills and knowledge acquired in informal settings (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). In addition, the framework was developed to structure and integrate the broad range of qualifications and schemes across states and different providers of VET in India (Singh, 2012).
A further National Vocational Education Qualification Framework was set up under the MHRD, focusing on the integration and recognition of vocational qualifications within the educational system and to integrate pre-vocational content in secondary and higher education (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). Both frameworks are superseded by the NSQF launched in 2013 (MSDE, 2019b), as an attempt to provide comparability of—and mobility between—vocational and general education, enable recognition of prior learning, including skills achieved in informal settings and to implement standards that are recognised and comparable internationally (MSDE, 2019b). Currently, revised curricula are frequently shaped according to NSQF standards for the CTS scheme (Wessels & Pilz, 2018) and in secondary and higher secondary education (PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education, 2019). The NOS and QPs, aligned to the NSQF and used by the NSDC have mostly not been recognised by the private sector (MSDE, 2016). Furthermore, the transition between different kinds of education and training inherent in the qualification framework were not implemented practically (Singh, 2012). It remains to be seen if recognition of prior learning as well as vertical mobility will be facilitated in future, as VET and general education currently coexist without any practical link of relevance between sectors (ILO, 2013; Pilz, 2016).
Upgrading of ITIs
With the initiation of the first attempts at skill development, the quality of ITIs became one of the issues targeted by the government. For this, 500 ITIs were to be turned in so-called Centres of Excellence (CoE), with help from the government and aid from the World Bank under the Vocational Training Improvement Project (VTIP). The scheme targeted professionalisation and further training of ITI instructors, the involvement of industry and upgrading of infrastructure, tools and equipment (MSDE, 2018). Furthermore, the training structure was adapted to a one-year broad-based training followed by modules. In order to revise the training approach, 21 industrial sectors were identified for which new curricula were developed and learning content defined according to employers’ requirements. Private–public partnerships were to be enhanced through Institute Management Committees (IMC), to form a link to the private sector (Rao et al., 2014).
The project ran from 2007 to 2018 (MSDE, 2018), with the part funded by the World Bank ending in 2012 (Rao et al., 2014). Tara and Kumar (2016) carried out a study on the effectiveness, challenges and implementation of CoEs. Its major findings were a lack of awareness among students, parents and the industry; highly variable quality of infrastructure; and a weak position for the IMCs in the institutions. Additionally, there were problems related to missing career options for instructors, students with insufficient stipends, lack of infrastructural facilities like transport and housing, and missing knowledge prerequisites of students (Tara et al., 2016). Attempts headed by the Directorate General of Training to modernise the ITIs and the quality of education continue (MSDE, 2018), through reformation of general affiliation norms, grading of ITIs, and the identification of 500 model training institutes with high training standards and practices (MSDE, 2018). The Model ITI scheme was launched in 2014 which has so far identified 29 ITIs in 27 states (Directorate General of Training, 2020b).
While ITIs do fall under the general responsibility of the MSDE (MSDE, 2018), they are actually administered by the states (British Council, 2014). The quality of institutions and delivery of education varies significantly and general attempts to modernise training and processes by the central government may be complicated by the bipartite structure of responsibilities. However, as high-quality institutions do exist, they may indeed function as a role model for further development.
Schemes Targeting Informal Settings
More than 90% of the Indian working population is employed in the informal sector that generates about 60% of the country’s economic output (King, 2012). The government has launched several schemes to enhance skill development in informal settings, mainly in the form of short-term courses to provide basic skills or enhance employability for those with missing or low basic education. Informal training in India may be financed and organised by the central government or states but is not part of the recognised general education system or vocational training and education system (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). There is a vast and confusing variety of schemes managed by different ministries and at the state level (UNEVOC, 2018). Such initiatives focus on rural regions, and disadvantaged groups through schemes aimed at fostering self-employment (Wessels & Pilz, 2018).
Under the new skill agenda, the Skill Development Scheme (SDI) was launched in 2007. It provided short-term courses that in some cases led to a NCVT-recognised certificate (MSDE, 2018). A popular scheme under the SDI was the Modular Employable Skills (MES-SDI) scheme initiated in 2008 (Unmat, 2013), specially developed for informal settings, and aimed at providing flexible training delivery and short-termed units for school dropouts and current workers. Until 2013, 1,400,000 persons were trained under the scheme, which was considered a success. It was also positively evaluated in terms of recognition of prior learning for those who were already working and received positive feedback from the industry. Nevertheless, the programme faced the same challenges as formal VET in India, such as: no link between training and employment, missing employability potential, lack of awareness of the programme; and a high barrier in terms of formalities that come with the scheme (Unmat, 2013). The overall SDI scheme is now closed (MSDE, 2018), evidence of a certain discontinuity that can be traced in many areas of educational planning and governance in India.
A continuing scheme is the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana launched in 2015, was labelled ‘flagship outcome-based skill training scheme’ (MSDE, 2018, p. 41) by the MSDE. It is implemented by the NSDC and provides short-term training and recognises prior learning. It is aimed at school or college dropouts and unemployed, fostering employability and opportunities for work that suffices to earn a livelihood. The general aim from 2016 to 2020 was to skill 10 million youth (MSDE, 2018). The first implementation of the programme was evaluated critically for its poor employability outcomes, a mismatch between the skills provided and the industrial demand and financial outcomes for participants (MSDE, 2016). As the scheme continues, it needs to be evaluated if qualitative challenges are to be addressed in the long run and quantitative goals met. As recognition of prior learning is one of the key components of the scheme, it may positively contribute to minimise the separation between formal and non-formal learning.
Main Prospects and Challenges
From a systemic perspective, the poor standing of VET in India is highly problematic. General education, and especially academic education, is considered highly valuable in Indian society, mirroring an attitude prevalent in the rest of Asia (Pilz, 2016). For Indian society, education is considered a privilege that has been reserved for the highest castes, while manual work is still stigmatised (Singh, 2001). The implementation of the Anglo-Saxon model of academic education during British colonialism amplified a focus on general education, disregarding existing indigenous models of apprenticeship (Singh, 2001), which could have been built upon to develop further models of vocational training. Today, the disparity between education and training can be observed in terms like ‘white-collar jobs’ and ‘blue-collar jobs’, that are frequently used and clearly denoted in India (Wessels & Pilz, 2018), but it also shows in the clear division of the two sectors in terms of educational governance, described in the previous section.
On these grounds, it becomes quite evident why programmes such as ‘vocalisation of education’, a state-funded scheme set up in 1988 and renewed under the Action Plan for Vocational Education (Singh, 2012), are not embraced by students and parents. The original scheme, aimed at contributing to skill development, offered more than 150 different courses in the upper-secondary sector. Currently, there are 9,583 schools offering vocational courses with more than one million students (Wessels & Pilz, 2018), a marginal number compared to the number of students focusing on general education. Furthermore, the numbers in vocational courses could not be increased significantly under the new programme (Singh, 2012). While vocational education as part of higher and tertiary education may be viewed as ‘the poor cousin’ of academic education, the standing of vocational training in Indian society is even worse (Kumar, 2016), which has serious implications for the system itself and the scope for action on improvement. The current status of VET in India has severe effects on adverse selection, as students who comply with given requirements will always opt for an academic pathway. The NSQF was implemented to enable comparability between different qualifications, skills and educational pathways. The agreement between the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and the DGT in 2016 (DGT, 2016) established academic equivalence of qualified ITI courses and qualifications and linked the systems to enable vertical mobility in education. If accepted by stakeholders and put into practice, such frameworks and initiatives can be a major step to make vocational training and education more aspirational.
While VET is considered a ‘second choice’ for those students that fulfil the requirements for further general and academic education (Jambo & Pilz, 2018), a large part of the population is excluded from formal schemes because of high entry requirements and tuition costs (Ahmed, 2016). Although the percentage of students enrolled in higher education grew over the past decade (see MHRD, 2018a; Singh, 2012), the largest share of youth leave school at some point during the primary level (UNDP, 2019). India’s educational landscape is characterised by a high discrepancy between outstanding institutions that elicit excellent learning and examination results and attract good students, and institutions of low quality that do not fulfil the prerequisites to provide good quality training. The discrepancy between the large uneducated and smaller educated sections may cause severe problems given the growing numbers in the population. Still, India has made good progress over the last years in terms of raising quality on the foundational level of general education, numbers of students enrolled at the primary level, and drop-out rates (Pilz, 2016). The challenge of raising the education level needs to be considered in terms of quantity but at the same time it is necessary to focus on the quality of institutions and provided training. Otherwise, neither general education nor VET participation can be expected to move to a broader base.
The integration of the informal sector and the formalisation of informal learning are major issues that need to be tackled and focused on for a long-term and sustainable skill development agenda (Pilz & Wilmshöfer, 2015; Pilz et al., 2015). Schemes targeting the informal sector, like the MES-SDI scheme, still exclude a large proportion of potential participants as they require the successful completion of primary level education (Unmat, 2013). Also, the exclusive focus on short-term schemes for the sector and the unclear structure of the framework for skill development are problematic (Agrawal, 2014). Skills need to match the complexity of emerging demands and new technologies in workplace environments (Mehrotra et al., 2014). Drop-outs and illiterate young people in search of work enter the informal sector without structured guidance or a perspective on career development and in conditions that are usually worse than those in organised settings (Sivananthiran & Ratnam, 2005). Still, the informal sector generates more than half the economic output in India, which contradicts the prevalent opinion of low productivity and absence of skills and knowledge (King, 2012).
The informal economy is characterised by a high diversity of enterprises ranging from typical street services to small industrial units, with comparably high technological standards and related skill sets (Regel & Pilz, 2019). Past research has given evidence of a wide range of existing skills in informal settings (Pilz et al., 2015), as well as the potential for and willingness of participants to get involved in training activities (Regel & Pilz, 2019). Increasing the quality, recognition, number and accessibility of existing schemes are central aspects that need to be taken into account to upgrade the skills of people already working in the sector, and to prepare those who will enter. Moreover, the existing structures of informal learning, as well as the skills and knowledge of those working in informal settings, may be explored to realise the potential of the sector and create a foundation for decent work (Sivananthiran & Ratnam, 2005).
On the level of individual institutions and related structural characteristics, the curricular frameworks are still often inadequate. In the area of secondary education (PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education, 2019) and pre-vocational education (Pilz et al., 2016), modern and updated curricula exist. In terms of vocational training, the curricula have been revised frequently over years (MSDE, 2018), but often without the involvement of industry, leading to teaching content and skills that does not meet employers’ requirements (MSDE, 2016). Outdated curricula lead to a mismatch of skill profiles between employers’ requirements and are likely to be one reason for the poor employability and transition of ITI students into the labour market (Pilz, 2016). Recently, curricula for craft trade training have been revised and linked to the NSQF (Wessels & Pilz, 2018). Trade committees have been implemented to ensure participation of the industry as well as compliance with the legal guidelines (MSDE, 2018). Still, the number of revised curricula for the CTS scheme is limited. For the ATS scheme, outdated curricula since the initiation of the programme in the 1960s are often still in use (Pilz, 2016). However, as the scheme was amended in 2014 and is targeted to be largely expanded by the government (MSDE 2018), improvements in the area of curricular design and content may be expected. These have been tested in a scheme of dual curricula, following those of the German dual system for the ATS (Directorate General of Training, 2020a). As many attempts have recently been made to revise the curricula, problems in this area should be manageable in a reasonable period of time. In a next step, revised curricula need to be implemented and enacted by qualified teachers.
The provision and qualification of trainers/instructors is one of the greatest challenges and could be considered the weakest point of Indian vocational training institutions. With regard to general education, teachers are generally qualified, well-selected and receive an appropriate salary. The situation in higher vocational education with reference to polytechnics and colleges is also quite satisfactory (Pilz, 2016). With reference to VET, even the MSDE (2018) states that only 15% of all teachers of ITIs are qualified under the CITS scheme. Most of the teachers are recruited as ITI graduates, with no pedagogic and working experience. Stemming from the system, outdated teaching and training methods are perpetuated and thus unable to meet the quality requirements (Pilz, 2016). Furthermore, only 55%–60% of the positions are filled (Pilz & Gengaiah, 2019), adding to the precarious situation of the institutions. As trainers do not have adequate qualifications, they lack the necessary skills and are often employed on part-time or fixed-term contracts (Tara et al., 2016). Such conditions do not motivate experienced and qualified people to apply for positions as trainers. What is needed is more facilities for fundamental teacher qualifications in the area of VET and further training for existing instructors, including pedagogic elements. Basically, the conditions for trainers have to be made more attractive so that more people will opt for the profession.
On the level of teacher–student interaction, the strong theoretical focus of the training (Dar, 2008; Tara et al., 2016) could be considered problematic. While VET needs to involve comprehensive theoretical knowledge, this knowledge has to be capable of being transferred to practical settings. Formal VET in India is rooted strongly in theory, while practical components, in-service training, and the application of theoretical knowledge is neglected (Dar, 2008; Pilz, 2016; Pilz & Wilmshöfer, 2015). Coming back to the status of general versus VET, the emphasis on theoretical teaching may also be related to the issue of the low value placed on manual labour and the overall poor standing of VET in society. This leads back to the area of trainer qualification, which needs to be of a high quality, promote a practical orientation and be based on modern teaching methods. The link between theory and practice serves to create employability of students, ‘physical activity genuinely serves the organisation of the learning process and should not be considered as negative stigma’ (Pilz, 2016, p. 354).
Along with a strong focus on theory comes a strong dominance of the teaching staff. Trainers/teachers see themselves more in a role of a lecturer than as a supporter or guide in the learning processes (Pilz, 2016). However, skills in the area of problem-solving, understanding, communication and social competencies are highly demanded by employers and are of great relevance for individual and societal development and prosperity. In general and higher education, the Indian government has made several efforts to enhance learner-centred methods by means of modernised curricula that integrate new approaches and teaching methods (Brinkmann, 2015, 2019). However, especially in vocational training, the curricula do not provide for certain teaching-learning methods, and teachers mostly lack the relevant pedagogic skills to introduce learner-centred approaches. Here as well, teacher training and the conditions of work need to be targeted to improve the situation.
Conclusion
While the Indian VET system has been the subject of intensive attempts at modernisation for over a decade, it still faces huge challenges in the quantitative and qualitative areas. The above description of the main pillars of the system, policies, challenges and possible prospects is not exhaustive, but it shows that in order to develop the system, a comprehensive approach needs to be taken. The lack of leadership and political goals, and a mere focus on quantity, are counterproductive to the sustainable development of an effective VET system. The complicated system of governance contributes to the ineffectiveness and complexity of schemes and initiatives. This situation is exacerbated by the autonomy of the states regarding education policies and administration. Schemes are often project-based, limited in time and do not contribute to sustainable development and change.
However, with regard to challenges and continuing weaknesses in the system, the intensive attempts at improvements, as well as the first successes in key areas, should not be overlooked. Accessibility to education and hence VET needs to be further established, including the formalisation of informal learning. A key factor for the improvement and development of Indian VET is to raise the acceptance and standing of the system. While cultural attitudes related to the issue may change slowly, raising the quality of VET is necessary to increase the attractiveness and demand for the provision of VET. It remains to be seen how the role of the private sector will turn out in future; a deeper involvement by industry and employers is considered beneficial. Finally, a crucial factor for the extension and quality of training is adequate teacher training and provision, as well as decent conditions of work for the profession. As a multilevel approach is needed to improve key areas of the system, initiatives need to be planned on a long-term basis.
Footnotes
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.