3ll_Vocation_employment

The HRD ministry has admitted that there was a huge gap in infrastructure and that it would take another 10 years to bridge it. Planning Commission deputy chairman K C Pant, who met Central education officials on Friday, noted that it was an alarming situation: 1.5 crore children, educated up to Class VIII, will be unable to study further.

"Such a huge number of literate children without any engagement could well be drawn towards anti-social activities like crime or even terrorism. It could lead to massive social anarchy," said a senior Commission official. "To avoid such an eventuality, Pant has called all Central ministries and institutions involved in vocational education to evolve assured employment and demand-based education models," an official told The Times of India."- No schools for 1.5 cr Class IX students, BISHESHWAR MISHRA, Times of India, 20/10/2003, [C.ELDOC.N22.20oct03toi1.html]

Education is a double-edged weapon even for boys because employment is scarce. "My brother is the only BA here and look at him, he is working in the field. Can you get him a job as a Hindi or Urdu teacher in the nearby middle school,' 1 says a dejected Nawab Khan, a B.Sc, who works in in a Mathura hotel. Uprooted from his class, he is unable to find a wife. Cynicism and despondency is all pervasive among the educated boys. Some have studied up to the tenth and many others up to the eighth "Look what they are doing, all cutting grass,' says Hasina, the old woman of the village. - Meos left in the lurch: Lok Jumbish moves on, Grassroot Development, 01/03/2001, [J.ELDOC.N21.01mar01grd1.pdf]

In India, 72 per cent of the population subsist on farming and handicrafts and less than 5 per cent depend on industrial jobs. According to economists, if the present trend continues, about 60 per cent of the population in our country would become unemployable by about 2045 A.D. Experts on `future studies' say that by 2020, India is going to be a young nation with 52 per cent of its population in the age group 20 plus. - The future of the "neglected majority", JAYA KOTHAI PILLAI, Hindu, 23/07/2002, [C.ELDOC.N22.23jul02h1.pdf]

The schooling system creates a sense of alienation amongst the youth from trade and artisan families...Many are disillusioned as despite the education they are unable to find 'respectable' jobs. They feel that their family occupations are inferior as they have been socialised to believe this by an elitist western looking school system...

"We are unskilled in the sense we are not trained in a specialised trade, and end up doing any kind of physical labour. But a school graduate is unskilled for practically all available work: his education is not enough for white-collar jobs, he has no training for blue-collar jobs, and psychologically he is handicapped for taking up physical labour. You tell me, why should I send him to school for ten years?" asked an agricultural worker near Sivakasi.

To parents like him, the opportunity cost of education is not just the wages lost during the years the child is in school. It also includes the money, time, information network and emotional energy needed to find a suitable career or higher educational opportunity for the school graduate.- 'Learn Thoroughly': Primary Schooling in Tamil Nadu, Aruna R, Economic & Political Weekly, 01/05/1999, [J.ELDOC.N00.01may99EPW.pdf]

It is not clear if vocational education (of the vast unorganised sector of self-employment’) should train students to start small businesses of their own or whether the training should involve participating in or working for ‘unorganised sector’ during and after their education. For, it is this sector that often exploits underage workers. And in the context of increasing contract work on piece rate by MNCs to reduce costs, this emphasis on training for the ‘unorganised sector’ assumes sinister overtones. - Common curriculum for a democracy?, ARUNA RATHNAM, Seminar, 01/09/2000, [J.ELDOC.N21.common_curriculum.html]

The static education system has resulted in churning out youth with degrees but no employable skills...

The current tertiary mass education sector was designed for the needs of British India of the early twentieth century and the clerically intensive needs of public sector business in the latter half of that century. Thus the emphasis was on producing armies of clerks, accountants and laboratory technicians with BAs, BComs and BScs. The shifting structure of the economy has resulted in an increase in the masses of educated unemployed with these general purpose educational qualifications but no skills that are any longer useful or relevant. These educated unemployed are the principal concern of leaders in the growing number of urban centres in India. With over half the population expected to be in urban areas in the not so distant future, the problem is not an "elitist" one, as politicians may be tempted to dismiss without any attempt at solution. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is time to redesign our tertiary sector and focus on professional degrees that produce persons with useful skills and the necessary depth in the respective fields. - Value-added education, Prakash Hebalkar, Business Std(Bombay), 17/04/2004, N00 [C.ELDOC.N00.17apr04bs1.html]

Having powered its way into record books with nearly 100 per cent enrollment in schools, Himachal Pradesh is facing a crisis. Where are the jobs for the educated? All the encouraging data about reaching education to everybody and applause for the massive government efforts have nothing to do with wealth creation and employment generation in the Himalayan province. Unemployment is mounting. Admitted Sudripto Roy, the state’s former education secretary and now its resident commissioner in Delhi, ‘‘At present, the jobless total around 15 per cent of the population.’’ It has indeed been an extraordinary effort over the past two decades, a massive governmental exercise carried out with great sensitivity and innovation, which has almost eradicated the scourge of illiteracy. Now that there are no vacancies in government jobs, the dynamics of the education movement have suddenly been considerably weakened. In retrospect, education planners say that probably the Himachal experience was not really an ideal one; it should not be replicated elsewhere. Cosy government jobs should never be the focus of an education boom.

As Shimla-based bureaucrats point out, Himachal would have done better to create centres of academic excellence like a Jawaharlal Nehru University or proper professional institutions like an IIT or an IIM or at least a couple of medical and engineering colleges. The state has created too many graduates and even postgraduates in the liberal arts and the general sciences who are unemployable.‘‘There are simply no jobs,’’ said a HP bureaucrat. - After school, what?, Diptosh Majumdar, Indian Express, 30/01/2005, N20 [C.ELDOC.N20.30jan05IE1.html]

Full day schooling with enormous memorisation load makes these youth incapable of performing manual jobs. "Varied programmes for the youth who wish to use their occupational skills after leaving school should be provided" — has been the slogan advocated since the Indian Education Commission of 1882 was formulated and this has been repeated by all the Commissions thereafter. But it has remained mostly a pious hope. During the 1930s, Gandhiji advocated craft centered, work oriented basic education to inculcate dignity of labour and as this was tried out in a half-hearted manner, it disappeared from the scene. Rajaji, in 1937, under provincial autonomy, proposed parental occupation for half a day, to assure a livelihood as well as to inculcate working habits among children through apprenticeship on existing vocations at the lowest cost. But his plan was shelved as it was considered that it would perpetuate caste-based labour. The `multipurpose school scheme' of the secondary education commission of 1952, "work experience programme" of 1966, `socially useful productive work' of 1986 — all these fell through because of poor conceptualisation and unsatisfactory pre-implementation preparation. Of course, a few industrial training institutions, polytechnics, junior technical schools, and junior trade schools were established, but not more than 15 per cent of the student population get admitted to such courses, whereas in advanced countries 60-70 per cent go for poly technical education.

Jobs today are being created but mainly in service sectors where an urbane polish is essential... This, people believe can be acquired by learning English

The government claims to have brought nearly Rs 3000 crore direct investment to the state capable of creating nearly one lakh jobs, but most of it is in the knowledge driven IT sector where excellent English knowledge is a must for employment. The government can say that 90 per cent of the youth from Malleswaram, 80 per cent from Basavanagudi or 85 per cent youth from Indiranagar are employed by the IT sector but not even 10 per cent of the youth from the rest of Karnataka can get jobs in the modern day knowledge enterprises due to deprivation of qualitative education to the rural population.

Its policy of providing Kannada Medium education to the majority of the population of the State and at the same time encouraging multinational enterprises to start vocations requiring high quality English knowledge, runs contrary to each other.

Now the government is contemplating another welfare measure to the unsuspecting rural masses, of providing 10 per cent reservation to Kannada medium students knowingly well that such reservations are impermissible under the Constitution.

... Moreover when government jobs are shrinking and private enterprises are thriving in this liberalised era, qualitative education with globally employable lingual skills is the need of the hour. Our blue collar workers are being rendered jobless due to mechanisation and recession but Call Centres are working three shifts a day employing English educated work force. In these day of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation English has become a pre-requisite even for small jobs like security guards, stewards and house maids. Survival of Kannadigas is survival of Kannada. Therefore the government should provide globally employable education to rural masses for a dignified work life. - Populist policies and human tragedies, G Pandu Naik, Deccan Herald, 16/12/2001, [C.ELDOC.N20.16DEC01DH7.htm]

The growing importance of Information Technology (IT) made the State government launch the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation, investing Rs.5 crores. The main objective of the Corporation is to provide IT-enabled education in all universities, colleges and other educational institutions. Efforts are under way to impart computer and IT-related knowledge and skills to the poor and underprivileged rural youth at reasonable costs. The State government has established, with private participation, Network Access Centres in all educational institutions. The centres offer the Maharashtra State Certificate Course in Information Technology (MSCIT) to build basic computer skills in young people. In the academic year 2001-02, around 6,000 additional seats were introduced in IT and related courses in engineering colleges and 3,000 additional seats in polytechnics. Five training centres were set up at the Mantralaya, the State's seat of power, and a programme for training one lakh employees was launched.
- A leader in education, DORIS RAO, Frontline, 01/08/2003 N00, [C.ELDOC.N00.01aug03frn20.htm]

Goverment is formulating more policy on vocational education... as skill acquirement is a prerequisite to employment. But this relationship is not as straightforward. The economics show that the market is not always elastic enough to accomodate a greater workforce.

In the post-liberalisation and structural adjustment phase in India the problem of unemployment is sought to be resolved through skill training and education of workers. Emphasis is laid on not only educating and skilling the workers but also on a continuous process of skilling, re-skilling, multi-skilling and skill modulation. Two notable policy documents that have recently appeared, namely, the study group report on Skill Development, Training and Workers' Education, of the National Commis-sion on Labour (2002) and the report on Targeting Ten Million Employment Opportunities Per Year, of the Planning Commis-sion (2002), argue on the same line. I argue

(a) Skill and education have not shown themselves in any significant way to be a path finder of employment. I find a strong linkage between skill and education. But rather, closely associated pair of skill and education is strongly linked to unemployment.

(b) The above phenomena become far more visible at higher levels of education and still more in the case of technical education.

(c) There are also reasons to argue that education has not even contributed to labour mobility in terms of change of industry and change of occupation.

(d) Even the claim of employability resulting from skill and education is questionable.

(e) The argument that that there is a shortage of skilled workers is also not tenable.

(f) An attempt to correct macro-policy distortion through micro-interventions by way of increasing the supply of skilled and educated workers would, in the skill hierarchy and job competition models, have the consequences of over crowding and bumping down of low skilled workers, and creation of rather a larger pool of surplus skilled as well as unskilled labour force.

(g) Finally, I suggest that the technological policy that exists as such, kills rather than creates jobs.

A recent research on software industries in India [Vijayabasker, Rothboeck and Gayathri 2000] informs that against low skilled requirements in well paying big and medium size firms, engineering graduates are recruited causing 'entry barrier' for non-engineering skilled workers. Even Schultz (1968) who has been in the forefront among the proponents of human capital investment did remark on over supply of certain categories of skilled persons in the US economy: There undoubtedly have been over investments in some skills, for example, too many locomotive fireman and engineers, too many people trained to be farmers and too many agriculture economists! Sen (1971) offers further insight by way of an illustration that if there is already a pool of 10 educated unemployed people and one more person is educated, the number of jobs remaining the same, one additional person will be added to the pool. So, now 11 persons will remain unemployed. He emphasises that market is not so adjustable that it would clear. Thus although education entails high cost the social gain as well as the individual gain would tend to be zero. - Skill, Education and Employment A Dissenting Essay, C S K SINGH, Economic & Political Weekly, 02/08/2003, [C.ELDOC.N00.02aug03EPW.pdf]

It is a dangerous situation when market forces determine the relative worth of subjects...

The report further recommended that all those disciplines (this includes all sciences and social sciences and even disciplines of humanities such as linguistics) that have a market value must not be supported by the State funds. The report proposed that such marketable forms of knowledge can instead be supported by the market forces. Only disciplines such as oriental languages, archaeology, paleontology, religion and philosophy that do not have a market value as yet, may continue to receive State funding. This implies that the nature of knowledge in sciences and social sciences will henceforth be determined by the market forces, which in turn are controlled by the global capital.- RESISTING APPROPRIATION AND DISTORTION OF KNOWLEDGE, ANIL SADGOPAL, THE PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT, 01/05/2004 , [C.ELDOC.N00.01may04tpm4.html]

It also implies that good lucrative new economy jobs will be "reserved" for those who can afford well over two lakhs rupees a year, as this is the minimum fee for such courses.

Still Higher Education

The "Brain Drain" phenomena occurs as the market is unable to do justice to highly skilled talent...

Though recent discussions on brain drain generally give the impression that migration of highly qualified Indians to the United States has abated since the mid-seventies, this impression may be based on a definitional sleight of hand: Human capital transfers through international migration have not necessarily receded just because there is a prima facie evidence of (a) a stabilisation of the total number of immigrants from India under the numerically 'limited' preference categories of the United States visa system and (b) a decline in the share of 'principal' immigrants as defined within the occupational preference categories of the US legislation. This paper argues that human capital has continued to arrive in the United States from India in many guises.

- Migration of Human Capital to United States, Binod Khadria, Economic & Political Weekly, 11/08/1990, [C.ELDOC.N00.11aug90EPW.pdf]

The idea for Pacha Saale (or the Green School) came from the Deccan Development Society's (DS) dec-ade long experience and learning that the develop-ment of a community should start through intensive work with children. In 1993, DDS set up a school, not the usual 8 am to 3 pm kind with classes from the 1 st to the 10 th . This school is meant for those who are around 9-10 years old, some of who are school dropouts and others who are not fortunate enough to go to school at the right age.

The school syllabus is divided into two sections — academics and skills. Skill training is further divided into foundation courses and advanced courses. There are eight skill areas that are taught in the school: permaculture (an organic agricultural method), para-veterinary sciences, masonry, carpentry, pottery, tailoring, book-binding and herbal medicine-making.

Nestled deep within the forests of BR Hills, the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra has been working progressively to make the Soliga community self-reliant, within the context of their distinct cultural iden-tity and way of life.
The school achieves this unique blend in educating tribal children by... Early introduction of vocational education. The Gandhian idea of learning vocational skills early has been taken up by VGKK in earnest. From Standard V the chil-dren learn carpentry, tailoring, cane and bamboo craft, mat weaving, etc. The idea is that by the time the children reach Standard X they are adept at one or more of these skills giving them added options for a livelihood in future. Learning the basics of livelihood - forest produce, agriculture, and horticulture.

1. National Curriculum Framework For School Education - A Discussion Document, NCERT, 01/01/2000, [R.N20.3], - Vocational Education – pg 78- 85 106-110

2. National Policy on Education 1986 - Programme of Action 1992, Government of India, [R.N00.33], Ch10
– Vocational Education- pg 53-60,
- Delinking Degrees from Jobs and Manpower Planning- pg 74- 75

*3. Education and Social Change Literacy
- Literacy, Employment and Social Security: A Review, Seetharamu, A S, Institute for Social and Economic Change, 01/01/2001, [R.N20.9], scan p.g. 1+2

4. Reverse Transfer Of Technology, The : A Survey Of Its Main Features Causes And Policy Statements, United Nations, [R.N40.1]

5. Quality of Education
- Impact of School Quality on Earnings and Educational Returns - Evidence from a Low-Income Country, The, Bedi, Arjun Singh & Edwards, John H Y, 01/07/2001, [R.N22.1]

6. Reflections on Curriculum, NCERT, 1984,
Ch. 4 – Popularising Vocational Courses- LP Agarwal pg. 15
Ch. 23 Vocationalization of Education—AK Mishra pg. 86

7. Committees and Commissions on Indian Education 1947-1977- A Bibliography, AN Patra, - Ch 79. Working Group on Organisation of Vocational Education, 1977 pg 153 NCERT, 1987

8. Entry of Foreign and Private Universities into LDCs like India and the Problem of Brain Drain- Odeyar D Heggade, Indian Social Institute, 21/08/2004- Private Schools, Employment

Books:

1. - Pivotal Issues in Indian Education, Kochhar, S.K., Sterling Publishers Pvt.Ltd., 01/01/1981, [B.N20.K1],
- “Vocationalisation of Education” Ch 13 p.g. 152-162

2. Issues in Indian Education, Dhawan, M I, Isha Books, 01/01/2005, B.N20.D2, 2. Education and Social Change Employment- “Education for Employment and Social Development” Ch 8 p.g. 229-277

3. The Hindu Speaks on Education, Part 3 Professional Education, Kasturi and Sons, 1997, [B.N00.H13]