Kerala   

Making vocational education a popular career choice

`The State needs cutting-edge technology and equipment to cope with technological changes that are taking place elsewhere in the world.'

Sajith Vijayaraghavan

Director of the Department of Vocational Higher Secondary Education Sajith Vijayaraghavan proposes vocational education as an antidote for the unemployment problem in the State. He tells Sangeeth Kurian that by identifying suitable talent for vocational training, the unemployment crisis can be solved by 50 per cent in the next one or two decades.

Sajith Vijayaraghavan is a man on a mission. Though only 18 months into his job as the director of the Department of Vocational Higher Secondary Education, this former director of the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum has sought to infuse an element of dynamism into the department with his style of functioning.

Recognition too has come calling; the latest being a national award from the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for the best promoter in the field of job-oriented education. In a chat with The Hindu , Mr. Vijayaraghavan proposed vocational education as an antidote for the unemployment problem in the State.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan defines vocational education as one that addresses career preparation through practical and applied learning. "This means the students learn through a combination of classroom and experiential learning or in other words, learning by doing," he said. There are currently around 27,000 students in 1,000 batches for the 42 courses offered by the department. Production-cum-Training Centres (PTCs) have been started in all the VHSE schools in the State where children manufacture products related to their course of study.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan admits that getting recognition for the VHSE courses from the Association of Indian Universities was perhaps the toughest part of his job. "It took me nearly eight months of sustained follow-up to gain the recognition." Today, a vocational higher secondary course has gained equivalency with the regular Plus Two course and students who wish to go for higher education can pursue the career of their choice anywhere in the country, he says.

The State needs cutting-edge technology and equipment to cope with technological changes that are taking place elsewhere in the world, the VHSE director says. "Now our students are at a disadvantage when they go abroad for a job. This should change," he says.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan points out that by identifying suitable talent for vocational training, the unemployment crisis in the State can be solved by 50 per cent in the next one or two decades. The teachers should play a proactive role in spotting the talent at the school level itself.

The VHSE director believes that students should identify their talents instead of leaving the job to their parents.

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