Mumbai: The central government policy think-tank NITI Aayog has recommended a separate central board for vocational education for better credibility and recognition of ITIs, Careers360 has reported.
Among other measures, it has also suggested centralised admission exams for over 15,000 ITIs and reframing courses on the basis of local demand assessment and employment potential.
According to the report, the recommendations are part of a seven-pronged approach proposed by NITI Aayong, in a study titled ‘Transforming Industrial Training Institutes’. The paper recommends comprehensive changes in administration, curriculum, reporting, monitoring, and resource mobilisation.
The study is based on interviews with over 40 principals, 100 instructors and over 1,000 trainees, reports Careers360. The study reportedly found that the placement rate of ITIs stand at an appalling 0.09% even though the average cost estimation per student is Rs 1,32,000. Just 36% of the sanctioned instructor positions in ITIs are filled and only 15% of over 95,000 ITI instructors are trained under as per guidelines.
“ITIs require revamping and upgrading to be in line with the requirements of the changing world of work and re-look at courses and curriculum in terms of their relevance and quality. Quality driven, digitally enabled and technologically empowered ITIs will allow innovative practices for achieving quality in skill development,” the report has quoted the study as saying.
The report notes that there are as many as 14,789 ITIs affiliated to the Directorate General of Training (DGT), of which 78.40% are run privately. Approximately 62% of all the seats are in private ITIs and 38% in government-run institutes. Around 66% of the 14,789 ITIs are situated in 5 states – Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
