The introduction of skill-based education at the secondary level opens new avenues for students and enhances employment opportunities

The introduction of vocational subjects at the secondary level by the School Education Department has brought about revolutionary results. This has not only shaped the careers of thousands of students across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir but has also added a skillful human resource to society. Since the inception of the subjects, students are feeling enthusiastic and are free to choose a field of their choice and interest.
The skill-based education will add such a human resource to society that will be financially independent. These individuals will be self-reliant and capable of opening new avenues for themselves. Such students will not remain a liability to society and will ensure employment generation for themselves as well as for others.
In Jammu and Kashmir, a large population is associated with agriculture-related activities. The option of taking the vocational subject of agriculture at the secondary level has trained hundreds of students to explore a wide range of opportunities in the field of agriculture, such as beekeeping, plant rearing, fruit packaging, greenhouse for vegetables, flower culture, seed culture, which have a great market in Jammu and Kashmir and are capable of providing employment to thousands who are trained in these agricultural practices. The main focus of agriculture at this time is dairy farming, providing students an opportunity to choose such a subject at the secondary level, meaning they can become financially independent while studying.
Like agriculture, there are about thirteen trade-based vocational subjects ranging from IT, media and entertainment, tourism and hospitality, telecommunication, beauty and wellness, apparel, makeup and home furnishing, health care, physical education and sports, plumbing, etc., which offer different job roles like junior software developer, texturing artist, customer service executive, beauty therapist, specialized sewing machine operator, general duty assistant, fitness trainer, and plumber, with tremendous and large-scale scope in Jammu and Kashmir. These can provide employment opportunities to thousands of skilled human resources.
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) provides and envisages the production of such a skillful human resource. The vocational subjects and their simultaneous establishment at the secondary level are a significant achievement of the National Education Policy 2020 launched by the central government. The School Education Department (SED) is leaving no opportunity to shape and chisel the careers of young human resources in Jammu and Kashmir by providing demand-based and market-based vocational subjects in schools. They are providing every possible help to support the establishment and empowerment of vocational subjects in schools by constantly providing financial assistance. Well-equipped labs, centres, and training rooms have been established in schools for training, equipped with modern technological tools and gadgets. Vocational teachers with high-grade qualifications and experience in the respective subjects have been recruited to provide quality-based skill education to the students. The students are being exposed practically to the skill and trade in their respective vocational subjects by arranging special visits for them to the trade sites so that they are well-trained in their corresponding subjects. Vocational teachers engaged have been working with zeal and are ensuring that quality youth are added to society.
Tailpiece: The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP-2020) is ensuring that positive and creative human resources are available, which can independently become self-sufficient. In this context, the introduction of vocational subjects at the secondary level by the School Education Department will yield revolutionary and fruitful results and will contribute to nation-building.
The writer is a teacher and a senior executive member of Jammu Kashmir General Line Teachers Forum (JKGLTF). He can be reached at [email protected]

Gowher Ahmad Bhat