BHUBANESWAR: Additional Secretary of School Education and Literacy Vipin Kumar said at least 50 per cent of girls passing Class XII by 2025-26 should be experts in one skill relevant to the job market.
Speaking at the 12th edition of IDEATE 2023, organised by Bansidhar and Ila Panda Foundation (BIPF) in collaboration with FICCI and UNICEF on Monday, Kumar said vocational education is a crucial aspect of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 which emphasises the importance of providing 21st-century skills to girls to enable them to participate in the economy.
President of FICCI and trustee at BIPF Subhrakant Panda highlighted the importance of investing early in adolescent development. He said India has the largest adolescent population in the world, with every fifth person in the 10-19 age group. Given approximately 47 per cent of the cohort are girls, the need of the hour is to ensure their technical and educational upliftment so they go on to have skill sets that enable them to tackle any challenges and be equal partners in India’s progress.
IDEATE, organised under the auspices of G20 Empower Jan Bhagidari-themed ‘Foundational & Lifecycle Interventions to Empower’, brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to discuss transformative strategies for empowering India’s adolescent girls.