The School Education Department has issued a government order to introduce vocational education for class 9 students in 67 schools across the State.
It will be an optional subject. One period will be allotted for the subject, which schools have been asked to include in their weekly schedule of classes.
The government order, from School Education Secretary Pradeep Yadav, states that the optional vocational subjects will be offered in four schools in Chennai, among the 67 schools, as part of the pilot project under the Samagra Shiksha scheme.
“Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), a unit of NCERT, has developed the curriculum and the courseware, which will be translated in Tamil and adopted as course material,” the order states.
The State Council for Educational Research and Training will be involved to look into the courseware prescribed before it is implemented across schools.
Long awaited decision
V. Krishnan, joint organiser of the Tamil Nadu Higher Secondary School Vocational Teachers Federation, said the need to introduce vocational education for secondary classes was a long standing one.
“The Central government has been encouraging skill-based development and we have been asking for courses to be implemented for classes 9 for a while. Through this move, we hope that more students opt for a vocational subject and become more employable,” he said.
Vocational subject teachers said that they expect the existing teachers to be trained in teaching the new subjects to the students.
In January this year, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) initiated a study to examine the feasibility of bringing in vocational education for schools at the secondary level.
As part of the study, the nature of industrial clusters and skill training needed in the district were examined.
In the Chennai educational district, courses pertaining to electronics and hardware and automobiles will be offered.
Districts like Cuddalore, Dharmapuri and Salem will have skill development courses pertaining to agriculture among other courses.