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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked all its affiliated schools to include vocational courses as part of their curriculum from the academic year 2013-14.

A number of schools in the City, however, will be introducing them from the academic year 2014-15 as preparations are still on. Sreedevi, principal of the Vagdevi Vilas School, Marathahalli, said that although the move is interesting, her school will not be able to introduce such courses from 2013-14. “Infrastructure for such courses needs to be examined. There is also the need to prepare an appropriate faculty pool for such courses.
Trained teachers, staff and facilities are some things we will consider this year, which will help us introduce these courses next year (2014-15),”  she said.

The aim of the CBSE is to prepare students for real-life situations and to enhance their
employability, while moving away from books and theory-based teaching. The system aims to offer practical training.

‘Many unemployable’

The Board’s directive comes in the wake of revelations that the Indian-educated workforce is largely unemployable. A survey conducted by the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industries of India (ASSOCHAM) estimates that only 10 per cent of total MBA graduates in the country are employable. The CBSE itself, in its circular of January 7, observes, “India has only five per cent skilled workers in its total workforce.”

Several teachers of the Delhi Public School (South), who have completed a teachers’ training workshop in Bangalore, will be heading for Mumbai for the next round of training. “These measures are to prepare teachers for the vocational courses next year,” explained Manu Sharma, the Principal of DPS, South.

Renu Benny Elizabeth, the principal of Kensri School in Nagavara, said serious planning is being made for implementing the courses. A total of 40 such courses for the higher secondary classes and four for secondary classes have been listed by the Board.