Rs 365 crore spent, just 504 find job

Thiruvananthapuram: After spending over Rs 365 crore in six years, Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP), funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), could help only 504 candidates find jobs in various industries in the state. The programme, rolled out in 2012 under the UDF government, is powered by $100 million ADB loan for improving employability of youth post their basic education.
Information obtained through RTI regarding the overall performance of ASAP, launched with a professed objective of providing skill training to higher secondary and undergraduate students in the state, said the government has spent Rs 365, 52, 55, 170 for the programme till 2017-18. Based on the training they received from ASAP programmes, only 504 candidates were able to find jobs until 2017-18, it said.
“The impact of ASAP training is being monitored annually through different survey tools like employability assessment and sample tracer study… However, there is no mechanism to track the career graph of candidates who undergo training programmes under ASAP,” the reply said.
As many as 1,54,844 candidates have, till 2017-18, undergone various training programmes offered by ASAP in association with various external agencies. Among those who had undergone the programmes, more than 95% of candidates belonged to SC/ST/OEC categories for whom the government offers free of cost skill training programmes under ASAP. Though it has been stipulated in the terms and conditions of ASAP programmes that candidates who avail themselves fee concession and yet fail to clear the course should pay back the fee to the government, there were no such instances recorded so far in any of the ASAP training centres across the state. “The ADB is helping the Indian state of Kerala provide students of higher secondary schools and arts and science colleges with skills that will improve their chances of getting a job after graduation. The programme will provide the state’s youth with opportunities to improve their English fluency and information technology skills, and learn market-relevant, in-demand vocational skills outside regular hours,” said an ADBI document on the loan given to the state. ASAP has over the years discontinued various courses for want of students and its bleak job prospects. “Since the payment for imparting training to students belonging to protected communities is borne by ASAP funds, agencies selected for the training has almost nil responsibility against an assured payment from the government,” sources in the higher education department said.
The ADB funding would be end by June 30, 2020. As of now the government has not taken any decision with respect to financial sustainability model of ASAP. However, the government is going ahead with plans for setting up skill parks in every district, in association with various industries.