Maharashtra govt to start skill development centres at 100 BMC schools

Mumbai: To sharpen the talents of students, the state government will soon start skill development centres in 100 BMC-run schools. To be run as a pilot project, the initiative aims at giving lessons to pupils, which will help them in securing jobs. The courses will be offered in English, Marathi and Hindi languages. The department aims to provide jobs to five lakh youngsters in a year. Besides urban areas, the skill development and entrepreneurship department has pledged to open 1,000 centres in state interiors in the next few months.

One classroom in each school reserved for skill development courses

Skill development and entrepreneurship minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said, “One classroom each in 100 BMC-run schools will be reserved for skill development courses. The number of classrooms will increase in the future.” He further said that the state government and the BMC have decided the skill development curriculum. “Initially, we will offer selected courses to students and we will include more courses later,” he added.

The state government came up with the idea of skill development courses in 2015. The intention was to hone the skills of rural students so they get job opportunities nearby and aren't compelled to migrate to cities in search of livelihoods.

No skill development centre in rural areas in past nine years

However, no skill development centre has come up in rural areas in the past nine years. All centers are in urban areas. Therefore, the skill development and entrepreneurship department had written to 28,200 gram panchayats (GPs) across the state for starting a centre. A total of 500 GPs were found fit for running skill development courses as they have transport and internet facilities in their villages. The department has decided to provide equipment needed for starting centres in these GPs.