NEW DELHI: There is some good news for around 18 lakh students enrolled in various ITIs across the country. The Centre has decided to make the two-year diploma course equivalent to Class XII.
A decision in this direction was taken by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the HRD Ministry.
“The HRD Ministry was very supportive and this initiative will lakhs of students,’’ Skill Development Minister Rajeev Pratap Rudy said here on Tuesday.
The minister said arrangements were being worked out with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) functioning under the HRD Ministry.
This move will help the ITI students join mainstream courses if they wish to do so.
“ITI students can do two bridge courses along with their courses with the support of the NIOS. One will be a language course and other will be connected to one’s elective,’’ Joint Secretary Asish Sharma told Express. According to Sharma, it will make vocational education “ more sought-after.’’
“An ITI student will be able to go for any course for higher education he or she wants. Nobody will feel stuck,’’ he added. To make vocational education more attractive, the government is also planning a grand convocation for ITI students with the Prime Minister as chief guest, as part of the Skill India drive,” the official said.
“For the first time in the country, we will organise convocation for students passing out from ITIs. We will do this in a grand manner. They would also wear robes and caps. I have requested the Prime Minister for this,” Sharma said.
Listing the achievements made in the last two years, Rudy said the number of ITIs in the country had increased from 10,750 in May 2014 to over 13,105 in May 2016 and these will be further scale up to 18,000 by September this year. More than 1,141 new ITIs have been added in the last one year. The ministry has also opened five new Regional Vocational Training Institutes for women in skill development.
Emphasising on the need to have a better connection between skills with employability, Rudy mentioned that a skilled workforce is a prerequisite for a growing economy and the success of various other initiatives of the government, including Make in India. He also said there had been MoUs with ministries, including the Railways, defence and health, to leverage existing infrastructure and opportunities for skill development across sectors.
Some 52 skill centres on the Railway premises have been identified so far of which 12 are already operational.
SC warns AICTE: We know how to enforce our order
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for tinkering with the time schedule fixed for granting approvals to technical colleges across the country. A bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy said, “We can exhibit exemplary ruthlessness. Don’t tinker with our verdict. We are not sitting here for nothing.” The court was irked when the counsel for Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University referred to the non-adherence of the time schedule fixed by the SC in its 2012 judgement. “We are final as far as law is concerned. We will issue a contempt notice to you. Let it be clear. We know how to enforce our order,” it said.