Hoping to bring skill and vocational training at parity with formal education, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is planning to set up a separate education board that would bring pass outs from Industrial Training Institutes at par with Class 10 and 12 certificates.

“We have taken an in-principle decision and are working with the Ministry of Human Resources Development,” said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, on Wednesday.

The move would benefit over 2.3 million students who are getting vocational training annually by awarding them with academic certificates that are equivalent to those given by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. In effect, this would mean that students who pass these courses would not have to go back and pass their Class 10 and Class 12 examinations for enrolling in a college for formal education.

The Minister hoped that the move would remove the stigma of inferiority attached with vocational training and bring these students at par with those who are enrolled in formal education.

The courses would have a mix of both technical and elective learning, he said.

Bank finance

Meanwhile, to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment amongst candidates who have passed skill development courses, the Ministry and training partners are working with financial institutions to provide bank finance to such students.

“We have to train one crore people over the next 3 years. These will be trained and then get wage employment, apprenticeship or bank financing,” he said.

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